Expert: Dianne M. Buxton - 2/29/2008

Question
I am a 44 year old male and have just started taking adult beginner ballet classes (it seems to be a healthy way to deal with a mid-life crisis and cheaper than a new red Corvette). I have a successful career as a scientist and no desire or expectations of becoming a performer. But, I've always been intrigued by ballet for its beauty and physical demands and decided, finally, to try it for myself. In general, I find that I am in excellent physical condition relative to the other students in my class, but quite lacking in my ballet knowledge and experience as many of the other students have had ballet training in their youth.  Could you point me to some good beginner resources and perhaps suggest a short daily routine to help bring me up to speed?  I have two young daughters who keep me very busy, so  time out of my daily routine is tight. But, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated so that I can make the most of this experience.

Answer
Hi Laurence. Good for you for choosing ballet! It's a wonderful way to get more fit.

I'm going to make a couple of suggestions....

Slow Burn is a regimen using weights at a slow motion pace. If you want to check it out, the book is probably in your local library - it's by Frederick Hahn. He has a web site http://www.seriousstrength.com - you can read about it and order a DVD for home guidance if you like. It's a 30 min. workout once a week that has phenomenal results.

To get REALLY technical I recommend a manual - written for girls who aspire to pointe work - by a physiotherapist, former dancer. It is geared toward pointe work but has such a load of technical information and anatomical info and more, (videos, photos) that I recommend it to male dance students, always. It covers turnout, posture, foot types, how to strengthen just the intrinsic foot muscles and so much more. And it's one of the few more scientific approaches I've seen. It gives self-assessment guides, and very well planned weekly routines to improve rapidly, safely, and quickly. At just a few minutes a day.

You can see a link to it at http://www.theballetstore.com It is an ebook that you download. It's at the top of the first page, towards the left I think. There are many articles on that site too that you will find interesting.

All the best, Dianne