Body
In her recent sports and fitness article, Discovery’s online editor, Catherine Davis, asked: Is ballet a sport? And, are ballerinas athletes? To any aspiring and professional dancer, the answers to these questions are painfully obvious. Painful in more ways than one, but sadly only obvious to some. The art and pursuit of making dance look […]
You probably won’t know it, but you could already be deep into sleep debt and this silent loan shark is steadily stealing the shine off your performance. Sleep debt is caused by accumulating sleep loss over time and yes, your body does keep score – that late night I-know-I-shouldn’t-but-I’ll-have-it-anyway coffee sets you back at least […]
Do you ever have those days where you know there is so much more you can do in ballet class, but your body stubbornly refuses to cooperate? Of course you do, silly question, pushing the body beyond its boundaries is basically the definition of ballet, right? After all, there is no such thing as too […]
It may sound counter-intuitive, but if you want to improve your ballet performance, you may need to step outside the ballet class to do it. Cross-training is the new must-do for professional and aspiring dancers, helping you improve fitness, flexibility, strength, injury recovery, musicality and more. Now don’t get me wrong, the only way to […]
I love food. Yes, even the sad little brussel sprouts can take their place on my plate. But there’s only so much a girl can eat before reaching that “uh-oh, I’ve over-done it again” moment. So here’s the best advice I’ve heard to avoid overeating and be kind to your waist-line and your health. Before […]
Did you know that some high performing professional athletes get up to 12 hours sleep a night? Usain Bolt, widely regarded as the fastest sprinter on the planet, gives part of the reason when he says that “sleep is extremely important to me – I need to rest and recover in order for the training […]
When a teacher tells a dancer to lift the arches of the foot, you’d think it’s a simple instruction with no room for misinterpretation. Think again. Are you doing it wrong? Following our recent post on arches (Fact or Myth: Do high heels strengthen the foot arch), we’ll show you one surprisingly simple exercise to […]
Sorry ladies, this one’s definitely a myth, and a dangerous one at that, especially for a dancer. According to the Journal of Experimental Biology, researchers have found that the Achilles tendon of women who wear high heels actually thicken over time and stiffen permanently. In fact, high heel wearers are found to have muscle fibres […]
Enter your email address below to receive updates each time we publish new content.
A few surprises revealed in Joburg Ballet’s Don Quixote casting
Don Quixote is known to be one of the most lively, big, bold and vibrant ballets, and we should be expecting exciting things from Joburg Ballet who love to snatch every opportunity to show off their virtuoso skills. Don Quixote opens at the Joburg Theatre tonight, 28 August, and runs until 13 September 2015, but […]
Joburg’s leading dancers perform in Ballet Highlights Gala – new format, new venue
For three performances only, Joburg Ballet are visiting a new venue with a shorter one-hour programme at a smaller price-point, aiming to take the best ballet highlights to more people. And with an impressive sounding line-up of popular dance pieces, you might want to take up the opportunity too at the Roodepoort Theatre this weekend […]
Cape Town City Ballet takes Thumbelina to Pietermaritzburg
On 8 and 9 July, the full-length ballet of Thumbelina, a Cape Town City Ballet Youth project, will be on stage at the Hilton College Theatre produced in association with the KZN Midlands Youth Ballet Company. Starring nine principal dancers from the Cape Town City Ballet in the leading roles, and 71 ballet students from […]
Grand classical Russian ballet tour to open in South Africa this week
Having already toured to 36 cities in France since the start of the year, the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre open their South African tour on Wednesday 6 May at Montecasino in Johannesburg performing Giselle, followed by Don Quixote and Swan Lake before they head to Cape Town to perform Swan Lake at Artscape from 19 […]
A few surprises revealed in Joburg Ballet’s Don Quixote casting
Don Quixote is known to be one of the most lively, big, bold and vibrant ballets, and we should be expecting exciting things from Joburg Ballet who love to snatch every opportunity to show off their virtuoso skills. Don Quixote opens at the Joburg Theatre tonight, 28 August, and runs until 13 September 2015, but […]
Joburg’s leading dancers perform in Ballet Highlights Gala – new format, new venue
For three performances only, Joburg Ballet are visiting a new venue with a shorter one-hour programme at a smaller price-point, aiming to take the best ballet highlights to more people. And with an impressive sounding line-up of popular dance pieces, you might want to take up the opportunity too at the Roodepoort Theatre this weekend […]
Video: Is ballet a sport? Are dancers athletes?
In her recent sports and fitness article, Discovery’s online editor, Catherine Davis, asked: Is ballet a sport? And, are ballerinas athletes? To any aspiring and professional dancer, the answers to these questions are painfully obvious. Painful in more ways than one, but sadly only obvious to some. The art and pursuit of making dance look […]