Branch out--take other styles

Are you a seasoned ballet dancer who has never taken another style?  Are you a ballroom star who has rarely danced without a partner?  Or are you a street trained hip-hop legend who has never seen a barre?

If you are currently taking only one style of dance, taking another style can greatly benefit your training.  Even if you want to be a pro in your "home" style, branching out will do you good.

Ever heard the term "Ballet is the root of all dance?"  It's not necessarily true, but ballet classes strengthen the body in a way that is beneficial to all styles.  Even the most basic barre class can strengthen the core and leg muscles.  If you do a street style like hip-hop or krump, just getting into the studio and learning new combinations and choreography in any style will strengthen you all around.

If you are on a ballet-only track, taking a more expressive style like modern or hip-hop can help you move your muscles in new and different ways.  If you tend to be a "stiff" dancer (like me), taking classes in a style that is more based on emotional movement can work wonders in adding emotion to your ballet.

If you are a ballet, jazz, or modern dancer and you want to work specifically on faster footwork, try taking tap.  If you want higher jumps, try Irish dance, which is completely built on a foundation of lower body work.  To get in touch with your upper body, posture, and arm movements, take some ballroom classes.  Your carriage will improve almost immediately.

If you are looking for a dance friendly fitness class to use for cross-training, take a look at Zumba or LaBlast, both of which are based on latin ballroom movements done without a partner in an aerobics-like environment.  If that's not for you, jazzercise is still around and still has a strong following.  There is always everyone's favorite fallback, Pilates, which will absolutely strengthen the core muscles.

Do you take classes in a secondary style?  Leave a comment below!