In one of the Rhode Island English classes where I volunteer, there’s a former soccer pro. I do not know if he’s following this blog, but I would love to hear from any soccer player about the topic for today: ballet for sports agility and strength.
From an article by Toby Bryant in the Irish Times: “It’s November 29th, 2020, and Manchester United are 2-0 down at Southampton. Bruno Fernandes skews a shot goalward, it’s off target. Defeat seems inevitable.
“Out of nowhere, gliding across the box unnoticed with long black locks flowing, Edinson Cavani springs into the air and nods the misfired shot into the back of the net. With movement so stealthy and so swift, you’d easily mistake Cavani for a ballet dancer.
“As it happens, two months earlier the striker had swapped the football boots for the pointe shoes of ballet to train in his homeland of Uruguay at the Ballet Nacional de Sodre (BNS). … The images shared by the ballet company had soccer fans’ heads turning when they emerged. Such a sports star dabbling in ballet may have seemed unheard of, but it wasn’t a new trend.
“In 2017, over in the United States, St Paul Ballet and Element Gym’s boxers formed a partnership. The premise was simple: the ballet dancers box and the boxers dance ballet. Not simply as a social experiment but, for the boxers, to enhance footwork and balance. …
“American Footballer Eddie George spent hours forcing his 245lb body into demi-pliés and spins so it would become second nature on the field. England women’s rugby star Zoe Aldcroft spent her formative years balancing rugby with ballet and is now the Rugby Players’ Association England player of the year. … Former England rugby league international Darrell Goulding now coaches Wigan Warriors’ under-19 squad, another group who have dipped into ballet in the past.
“ ‘The season before we started we had quite a lot of ankle injuries and stability issues, so it was something we were keen to look at.’
Goulding tells the Irish Times, ‘Obviously our lads are not built for some of the ballet work, so a lot of the delicate stuff we didn’t progress to, but we used a lot of the simple drills to focus on that ankle area.’ …
” ‘Pound for pound, ballet dancers are the strongest athletes you will find,’ remarks ballet physiotherapist Luke Abnett, who believes the cross-sport benefits that ballet can offer are evident. ‘In ballet, there’s a need to not only have strength of movement but precision of movement. It’s a combination of the strong movement muscles with the fine-tuning stability muscles. …
“ ‘When you get to more advanced levels of ballet skills, you’re working on jumping, turning, pirouettes, control and rotation,’ Abnett says. ‘Landing in interesting positions and transferring your weight as you move into the next step – all of that would apply to situations like that.’
“Injury prevention is another benefit. While ballet can’t help stop the collisions that come with sports such as rugby and soccer, its muscle development can reduce the risk of any overuse injuries.
“One study compared basketballers, prone to ACL problems, and ballet dancers. Even though dancers would land at more difficult angles, their training meant they suffered far fewer ACL injuries. …
“ ‘Cavani’s movements have always been sharp but at his age and with the physical demands of the Premier League, it’s impressive,’ one fan tells the Irish Times. ‘Cavani’s spatial awareness and manoeuvrings are so incredible, it has me wishing he’d make ballet a thing in the United dressingroom too,’ another admits. …
“As well as the physical benefits, mainstream sports stars are entering the ballet studio to improve mentality and actively combat stereotypes.
“When speaking of his Wigan Warriors youth team, Goulding believes that ‘people only grow when they are outside of their comfort zone.
“ ‘As you can imagine, the idea of these physical rugby lads from tough working-class areas is a total contrast from ballet and how graceful it is. From the first session there was a lot of embarrassment – it wasn’t a comfortable situation for the lads. They grew a lot of respect, even from just trying the basics. They came back really sore and couldn’t believe some of the muscle they used.’ ”
More at the Irish Times, here.
Photo: ESPN.
“Manchester United fans’ hopes of seeing … Edinson Cavani dancing through Premier League defenses may be helped by the striker’s passion for ballet,” says ESPN.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
I can remember back in the 1970s hearing about the Pittsburgh Steeler’s receiver Lynn Swan taking ballet. He could leap to amazing heights to catch the ball so I totally believe it was true. Great bit about busting stereotypes. Thanks for sharing.
I think I remember that. I know it’s not new.
How neat! I read somewhere a while back that a lot of wrestlers take ballet classes for flexibility.
Good example, Michelle!
Cross-training.
And maybe a few athletes will find something else in it besides physical training.
I love the “pound for pound” ballet dancers are the strongest! This cross training sounds fabulous.
It must be extra hard to interest young rugby players in ballet during a pandemic, though. Role models matter.