Abdominal Exercises for Ballroom Dancers

Ballroom dancing requires great poise and elegance. While it is true that a dancer's greatest asset are her legs, developing good core strength means that your abdominal muscles become your next greatest asset. The key to abdominal training for dancers is to pay particular attention to the lower muscles, located in the pelvic girdle. The reason for this is that these muscles hold the internal pelvic organs firmly in place, preventing them from shifting about. This means that the dancer's center of gravity remains steady, greatly enhancing posture and movement.

  1. Prone Bridge

    • Lie flat on the floor, stomach down. Turn your toes underneath and stretch through the backs of your legs. At the same time, press your forearms, elbows and hands into the floor. Your elbows should be beneath your shoulders, and your hands beneath your face, pointing forward in front of you. Raise your whole body until your weight is being supported by your elbows, forearms and toes. Use your abdominal muscles to hold your whole body above the floor. Hold this for 10 to 15 breaths. This will develop your upper abdominal muscles, located just below your lower ribs. They work hard in this posture to keep your upper body suspended above the floor.

    Lateral Bridge

    • In the Prone Bridge you are facing the floor, with your weight on your elbows, forearms and toes. From this position, keep your weight suspended off the floor -- still using your abs -- and turn onto your right side. You are now leaning on your right elbow and forearm and the outside of your right foot. Your torso and legs are still suspended above the floor. Hold this for 10 breaths and repeat on the other side. This develops the oblique muscles at the side of your waist. Strong oblique muscles help maintain a dancer's upright poise when she is executing turns in a routine.

    Supine Bridge

    • Lie flat on your back and raise your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor, heels close to your buttocks. On an in-breath, contract the muscles below the navel and raise your lower back. Lower it to the floor on an out-breath, and repeat 10 times. This will strengthen your lower back muscles as well as your abdomen, helping to balance your core and protecting the lower back. Dancers who have a weak lower back may sometimes have a concave curve at the base of the spine, giving the appearance that vertebrae collapse forward, causing the pelvis to protrude forward also. This posture helps straighten and strengthen the vertebrae of the sacrum and the coccyx.

    Pelvic Thrusts

    • These are ideal for developing the lower abdominal muscles in the pelvic basin and the muscles around the lower spine, again helping to keep the center of gravity fixed and preventing it from shifting. Lie flat on your back and raise your legs off the floor until they are perpendicular to your back, forming an L shape with your torso. With your legs held in place, raise your hips off the floor, and lower them again. Repeat this 10 times.