Footballers Use Ballet to Enhance Performance
Yes, football players are super strong, in great shape, worshipped by many, and yada-yada-yada. They still have nothing on ballet dancers. In fact, some NFL players practice ballet to enhance their performance on the field.
This isn’t a new concept. Herschel Walker and Lynn Swann, both NFL Hall of Famers, were known for taking ballet classes during their football career. Footballer Steve McLendon also states that him taking regular ballet classes helps him stay injury-free and that it’s harder than anything else he does.
Ballet Helps Your Brain
Dancing ballet (or any other kind of dance for that matter) has its physical advantages, of course, but it greatly benefits the brain too. Studies show that taking regular dance classes improves our memory and can reduce the chances of dementia by more than 70 percent!
It could be due to the fact that dancers link the move sequence they learn to both their physical body and the music, which better anchors their memory of the routine they learn or perform.
Strength and Flexibility
Sure, ballet dancers have really strong legs. But can't that be achieved through squats? Well, yes and no. All strength and no flexibility means there is a lot of unlocked potential in the muscles.
While regular squats will make your legs strong and tone your backside, those muscles are more prone to injuries if you don't include some flexibility too. This is where ballet kicks in.
How About Some Interactive Dancing?
Imagine going to a ballet show and having to join the dancers at some point. Non-dancers would shudder at the thought of making fools of themselves this way. However, back when ballet was performed for the amusement of royals and nobles, that's exactly what happened.
During their performance, the dancers would teach some moves to some of their lucky spectators who would perform them with the ballerinas. So not only did they have to be good dancers and entertainers, but they also had to be good teachers!
Ballet Dancers Are Super Versatile
The foundations of ballet dancing can be used as tools for learning almost any kind of dance. Basic ballet terminology such as plié, relevé, pointe, and flex is used in jazz, contemporary, ballroom dancing, and more.
Most professionally trained dancers, no matter their expertise, were initially trained in ballet before branching out to other genres.