Céline Cassone eats up space onstage. To achieve that fierce energy, she works out a different set of muscles every day. Pre-class routine: 45 minutes of cardio, then 45 minutes of weight training. “I switch between the elliptical, the treadmill and the cross-country machines.” She’ll often do cardio intervals: one minute intense, one minute slow, […]
Melissa Hamilton has the ideal ballet body: endless legs, a streamlined silhouette, eye-popping arches. But that doesn’t mean the Royal Ballet soloist gets to take it easy. It just gives her a different set of challenges. Pre-class routine: Hamilton doesn’t spend much time stretching: “My body’s already quite elastic as it is,” she says. Instead, […]
We’ve all been in those situations before an important audition or performance—a crowded hallway, a cramped dressing room. It’s not always easy to prep your body for what’s to come when you’ve got a small space to work within. Integrative movement coach Bennalldra Williams, founder of Bové (located inside Kinected NYC), works with dancers of […]
Ballet at home: Since she’s not preparing for any immediate performances, Steele takes ballet barre three to four times a week. “I’m working in more of a maintenance mode,” she says, prioritizing her ankles and the intrinsic muscles in her feet. “If you don’t work those muscles, they disappear really quickly. I’ve been focusing on […]
When you spend as much time on the road as The Royal Ballet’s Steven McRae, getting access to a proper gym can be a hassle. To stay fit, the Australian-born principal turns to calisthenics—the old-school art of developing aerobic ability and strength with little to no equipment. “It’s basically just using your own body weight,” […]
As a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the founder and artistic director of contemporary ballet company BalletNext, Michele Wiles is no stranger to putting in the work—in fact, she quite enjoys it. “I’m very much a process person,” Wiles tells us ahead of BalletNext’s return after a year-long hiatus in which she […]
Usually, it’s the jaw-dropping moments on the stage that leave us equal parts inspired and amazed. But National Ballet of Canada principal Svetlana Lunkina has us totally in awe of her behind-the-scenes routine. A 2015 Pointe cover star (and former Bolshoi dancer), Lunkina shares as many clips on Instagram of her classes and rehearsals as […]
Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist Angelia Generosa uses cross-training to tackle the company’s varied repertoire. Cross-training philosophy: Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist Angelica Generosa kicked up her workout regimen a few seasons ago when she was first dancing “Rubies,” along with a lot of contemporary rep. “I realized that I couldn’t afford to get hurt,” she says. […]