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At 6′ 6.63″, Fabrice Calmels towers over his fellow dancers at the Joffrey Ballet. His
height gives him an undeniable presence onstage—whether he’s playing the
statuesque lead in Apollo or the domineering Von Rothbart in Swan Lake. It also
recently earned him a Guinness World Record as the “World’s Tallest Ballet Dancer.”
But that much length comes with its own set of challenges. “People assume that
height makes dancing easier, but it’s actually the opposite,” Calmels says. “There’s so
much more mass to coordinate, which takes a toll on your body.”
Though beautiful, long lines could also increase your risk of injury. Katie Lemmon,
certified athletic trainer at Athletico Physical Therapy in Chicago, says dancers with
long legs need to build more strength to counterbalance a limb that is farther from
their bodies, especially if they have a shorter torso. “If you don’t have enough core
strength, you could sustain strain injuries to the hips or lower back,” she says.
Some tall dancers struggle with balance and alignment—especially when it comes to
grand allégro and pirouettes. “When you’re tall, you can’t just spin. Multiple pirouettes
aren’t possible unless you’re in perfect alignment,” Calmels says. “I’ve had to work
harder at rotating around my spine, which means engaging my back and abdominals.”
Experts agree that the key to avoiding injuries and maintaining coordination is a strong
core. It’s an important asset to all dancers, but an especially crucial one for those with
lengthy limbs. Calmels starts each day with 200 sit-ups before he even gets out of
bed. Lauren Kreha, certified athletic trainer at the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries
at the NYU Langone Medical Center, suggests holding a plank for about a minute per
day, focusing on keeping a straight line throughout the body and gently engaging the
abdominals. “Especially for dancers who’ve already started experiencing back pain,
planks will strengthen without irritating the spine,” Kreha says. “I recommend starting
with a forearm plank and then, as you feel more stable, moving to your hands.”
The next step is Pilates, which not only builds strength but also improves range of
motion in the hips. “Pilates exercises help make sure dancers’ hip flexors are strong
and well-balanced with the core and back muscles,” Kreha says. “They can give you
the extra control needed to manage all that length.” Here, Kreha and Lemmon share
four Pilates-inspired exercises to strengthen tall dancers’ core, improve control of
lengthy limbs and decrease the chance of injury.
To Improve Alignment
1. Lie on your side in a straight line from head to toe. Your head can rest on your arm to
keep your spine in line.
2. Flex your feet and lift your top leg to hip height, keeping the leg parallel.
1. Lie on your back with your abdominals gently engaged and arms at your sides. Bend
your legs into a tabletop position at a 90-degree angle, with the lower legs parallel to
the floor.
2. Slowly lower your right leg from the hip, retaining the 90-degree bend in the
knee,until your big toe touches the floor. Then return to the starting position.
3. Alternate legs, repeating the exercise for 3 sets of 10 toe touches (5 on each leg).
“I recommend doing this exercise before class to help engage your abdominals,” says
Kreha. “Be sure to breathe throughout.”
To Increase Stability
1. Stand with feet together and arms out to the sides in a T shape.
2. As you plié on your left leg, extend your right leg into a parallel arabesque, but only
as high as you can with your hips square to the ground. The key is to avoid rotating and
to keep the standing leg’s hip, knee and second toe lined up.
3. Hold the arabesque position for 3 seconds, then return
to the starting point. Do 3 sets of 5 on each leg.
To Improve Balance
1. Lie with your upper back on the floor and your feet on a
stability ball. Your
arms should be by your sides, and your body
and legs straight, so hips are off the floor.
“This exercise is great for balance,” Kreha says. “The ball adds an extra challenge that
teaches your body to maintain stability.”