Thera-Band

“I don't want people who want to dance, I want people who have to dance.”

- George Balanchine

There are many ways a dancer can stretch out, exercise and warm up their bodies for a day or night of dancing. A great tool to use, that can lead to several benefits is the use of the Thera-Band, a dancer can use it to work a stretch, especially the glutes, rotators and core. The Thera-Band can be seen as a human size rubber band, it has a low to moderate resistance when using it to stretch the body at the barre.

To start stretching exercises using the Thera-Band one should first, have the dancers wrap the band around both calves, a good length above the ankle. In this position, the band should feel secure, with a moderate amount of resistance. The stretches should be done facing and holding the barre.

For the first exercise, plie in a comfortable second position. From there, lift the heels into a forced arch and then lower. Repeat this in three sets, doing ten raises, with a rest in between each set. Keep in mind the body alignment, the dancer should have a neutral pelvis, continuously bent knees, and engaged hip muscles, which include the glutes and rotators.

The next stretching exercise you can do with the Thera-Band are arabesque leg lifts. The dancer should begin with their feet in parallel. With tightened external rotators and core, have the dancer slowly extend one leg into a slight turned out 45-degree arabesque, then just lower the leg back into a parallel stance. This exercise should be done 10 times on the right leg, and then switch over to ten times on the left leg.

Finally the last exercise is completed by starting with the legs straight in parallel. In this exercise it is important that the dancer keep the core and glutes engaged, maintaining tension in the band. The exercise is performed by stepping one foot out about a foot, while bringing the opposite foot to meet it. Basically, side stepping across the barre for about 15 steps. Repeat this back with the flopped stepping pattern to return back to the original location. Also note, that as you bring the foot in to meet in a sixth position parallel, it should be moving slowly for best results.

These three exercise with the Thera-Band are super quick to do and show amazing results in strengthening your glutes, rotators and core. Always keep your muscles engaged, and take your time to execute the stretches properly.

~Julia

Disclaimer: These are all ideas taken from Kylee Kitchens’ morning routine from the Dance Magazine 2011 December edition.