#cross training

“You need to add weight. It looks too easy.”

1. Fuck that must be so difficult! Wrong skates, heavy restrictive gear. Kudos!

Cross-training: I understand its appeal, but I’ve always associated it as more of an “American” thing. We used to do barre exercises at home, repeating them endlessly, while the American dancers turned to weight training and other forms of cross-training. Now, it seems everyone does it. I get why—it’s a response to the increasing demands of ballet today, and I would also say that it is necessary today. But it saddens me to see dancers feel compelled to “cheat” their way to meeting those demands through supplemental training, I think it damages them in the long run, therein lies the problem.

Take the plié, for example. A plié in first position isn’t just about bending the knees; it’s fundamental for developing stability, turnout, and stretching the Achilles tendon. It also forms the foundation for most jumps and other movements. Cross-training might offer faster results on paper, but it can never replicate the depth of strength, control, and artistry built through countless hours of pliés.

Consider pliés in second position. At first glance, they may seem “too easy.” Yet, they are essential for opening the hips. If students practiced enough pliés in second, they wouldn’t need to spend hours sitting in splits. The same principle applies to tendus. When performed correctly, closing into a tight fifth position naturally strengthens the adductors. Endless abductor exercises outside of class become unnecessary because the ballet class itself should build that strength.

In addition, if students are not getting stronger in ballet class, and have to rely on cross training to fill the gaps, it's a red flag signalling a mistake in their training and technique. Perhaps they are sitting in their plies, or perhaps they are not keeping their heels perfectly down for as long as possible, or perhaps they are not going down and then up for the same amount of counts.

Why are my students spending countless hours on exercises to strengthen their backs and raise their legs higher, instead of simply doing millions of arabesques? If they focused on arabesques, not only would they develop stronger backs and higher legs, but—surprise, surprise—their arabesques would also become aesthetically stunning on stage.

The same logic applies to port de bras. A dancer who builds strength by doing countless port de bras will always have more beautiful and natural arm movements than a student who does port de bras in class and then relies on separate “ballet exercises for stronger arms” at home. Do you see what I mean?

What many students today overlook is the discipline and patience required by classical methods like Vaganova. This method spans at least eight years and is meticulously designed to ensure dancers develop both strength and flexibility by its conclusion. Yet so many dismiss this slow, methodical approach in favor of quick fixes and shortcuts.

But Vaganova academy herself is part of the problem: look at the 9 year old children they admit into the academy: they are already almost fully formed ballet dancers. There is no way they have reached those standards through the Vaganova method. No, those children have been overworked, hurt and taught improperly to get them to look like that at 9 years of age. It's deplorable.

But it’s not only the students’ fault. In fact, it’s never the students’ fault, especially the younger ones who are still in academies. Their schedules are overwhelming. It’s no surprise—though regrettable—that many students opt for 45 minutes of cross-training targeting specific muscles rather than spending four hours "just" on pliés. Given their circumstances, it’s a natural choice.

However, for professional artists already in the theater, there should be more time and opportunity to engage in ballet training the proper way. Their schedules should prioritize deliberate, focused practice that allows them to refine their craft, rather than relying on shortcuts to maintain physical readiness.

I mostly agree with you. cross training is like cortisol shots: very effective in the short run, destroys your ability to perform beautiful lines in the long run. It can be good to catch up with your peers if you're starting late, or maybe as a last resort during injury?? but it can't keep you in the running forever.

I think the best type of cross training a dancer can do is literally another sport, perhaps swimming or karate. Because other sports will work on muscle connections and coordination, while static cross training exercises do not increase coordination and muscle memory, only strength.

In addition,

Épaulement and aplomb cannot be learned through cross-training. Imagine the absurdity! It’s like committing to train exclusively en face, never venturing into the realm of croisé or effacé. A world without écartés—can you even fathom it? Forget the nuanced interplay of shoulder, neck, head, and the expressive use of the torso. Cross-training may build strength and stamina, but it strips away the richness, the artistry, the essence of form that is born from the depth and discipline of true classical technique.

Speaking of épaulement, The ability to rotate the neck smoothly from the early stages of training should be an educational goal in any style of dance, not just classical ballet. Sometimes on stage, it is noticeable when an artist's neck is tense, and with it, the head. Their performance, now stiff, has lost the fluidity and expressiveness of the line. In this case, the muscles of the face do not engage, freezing in a position where they neither show the emotional state nor convey the dancing expression.. and it's always a pity when that happens.

Take the croisèè poses: By keeping the arms in the basic position, you can instead turn the head to the left and look under the left arm, or raise the eyes towards the left arm, in which case the head should slightly tilt backward. With this variation of the gaze, the expression of the face will also change, albeit involuntarily: while in the previous poses, the lowered head gathers the facial features, in those with the gaze lifted, the facial features smooth out and soften, giving the expression a more spiritual quality. It is desirable to introduce this kind of change in facial expression into dance as soon as possible, to avoid later on having a permanently petrified expression with a fixed, frozen smile, which is not an uncommon sight on stage.

How many times in competitions or ballets do you see dancers with no expression on their faces or with stagnant, forced smiles? It’s because the dancers are not working on their poses.

I would also slightly disagree with the idea that relying solely on cross-training saves time. I feel bad when I see dancers warming up endlessly before class, when all they need to warm up the whole body, gain aplomb, stability, the perfect discipline, and 'get on their legs' is through battement tendus.

Also, the endless foot exercises with elastics—I hate them. I find them useless. If your feet require that, it means you're not articulating properly during ballet class. It means you're not closing your tendus well enough; it means you have incorrect technique. No theraband will save you from bad technique. That said, it is also true that cross-training can help an already great dancer become even better.

Why You Should Do Cross Training

Cross-training has gained popularity in recent years 💪 But what is it, and should you try it?

In the article, we talk about all the benefits of cross-training and how you can incorporate it to your routine 👇

This is sort of incoherent but quick question- In Ali’s variation, when they can choose to land and go all the way down. How???

Ahahaha, so you’re referring to when the dancer does a big assemble jump, lands in all the way down in grand plie, and then does a big explosive sissone out of it. Landing in that position requires a lot of quad and glue strength, which, you guessed it, is built over years of practice: grand plies in ballet class, working out in the gym, pilates and calisthenics etc

Hi! I am 25 and want to become a great ballerina. Not professionally or anything, but just for me. I danced from age 2-11 and then stopped so I have a fairly decent grasp on the concept of ballet. I was wondering if you have any tips for someone starting from scratch? I’m not overweight but I have virtually no strength or stamina. I’m not terribly flexible and my hips are weak. Basically, I’m wondering what routine of classes/exercises/stretches you would recommend and how often. Thanks!! 

My first and most important piece of advice: GO TO CLASS. Find a good studio or school that has quality teachers, ideally someone who has experienced life as a professional and has credentials or a good body of work as a teacher. Do your research! 

If you can make it to class around 3 times a week, that’s a great start as an adult beginner. 

In addition, I recommend incorporating daily yoga/stretching, balancing with pilates and some lightweight training a few times a week, and your preferred form of cardio. 

Hi Ale! I have a question: are some styles of executing movements (Vaganova, Balanchine etc) harder than others? Or are they all similarly difficult but just different?

I tend to argue the latter, I personally find the Balanchine technique more difficult but that’s because I didn’t train in a Balanchine school. A lot depends on a dancer's education as well as what kind of company they end up dancing in and the repertoire performed there. 

you at some point commented on how a ballerina (i don't remember her name) struggled with keeping her heels down in plies. i used to dance - amateur, but i did love it - and had difficulty with that as well. are there any stretches/exercises that can help, or is it just that some people are born with a better ankle configuration than i have?

Some people definitely have more flexible ankles and Achilles tendons. However, improvement is totally possible and honestly a good idea for people in general. Look up ankle mobility drills as well as Achilles and calf stretches. 

Hi Ale! I don't know if this is going to be a very unpopular ask, but do you think the tall ballerina era ruined some things forever in ballet, or at least in Russian ballet? Watching Ulanova, Plisetskaya, Makarova, Bessmertnova etc, in SL is so perfect. With their puffy tutu and small limbs, they look like a perfect, fragile swan, due to their small figures. Nowdays, super tall ballerinas, with giagantic flat tutus can't look like a Odette at all (I take Lopatkina off this list). Maybe a Odile.