Advice for someone w/ a dance background?

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I recently started gymnastics, but have many years of ballet training. One of the coaches at the gym asked if I was a dancer and was explaining some stuff to me by comparing it to dance training. ex. a hurdle to a sissone or how in dance you keep your shoulders down but in gymnastics it's key to keep your shoulders up by your ears. Are there any other dancers out there who started gymnastics and have any advice? I've noticed that I really lack arm/shoulder strength...
 
My dd is the opposite. She is now going into her 3rd year of gymnastics and ballet. She is also now getting more involved with ballet and is taking pointe classes starting next week. Her ballet teachers say that she has a great body for ballet (is very strong and flexible and has very long and lean lines), but she has the gymnast's arch in her back and say that she has "hard shoulders". Her teachers say to her "We need to work on getting those shoulders out of your ears!!" So, I know what you are talking about only in reverse!!

It will all balance out once you start doing more gymnastics as I suspect the same will happen with my dd as she does more ballet training. Hang in there and the more you do gymnastics the more arm and shoulder strength you will gain as well.
 
Oh, we can relate! My dd is in ballet and jazz as well as gym, and I notice how the poor ballet instructor has her hands full trying to fix my dd's "gymnastically arched" back, lol. She's very balletic looking, too...except for that back!!
On the positive side, you will find you have a much easier time with your turns...on floor and beam...because of your ballet training. Turns are broken down and pieced apart better in dance than in gym.

You will gain that upper body strength from gym. It really IS the best of both worlds and a great advantage for you!

Good luck!
 
thanks! I hope your daughters keep enjoying ballet class! I'm loving gymnastics so much, but I'm pretty sure ballet will remain my first love in life! I guess I'll just keep going with the arm conditioning. A lot of gymnastics training seems to be repetition of skills non stop, so I'll keep working on it!
 
I only do gym once a week (recreational), but ballet is my 1st love as well. This is my 12th year dancing (ballet). The 1st thing I noticed was my lack of arm strength. :) Chin ups really help.
 
My DD does gym and ballet and generally they are helpful to each other, for strength, flexibility and coordination. The ballet has been an advantage in some ways at the gym, for example she is better coordinated at leaps than some of her classmates because she has already learned how to do opposite arms, which some of the girls seem to be having a bit of trouble with. I think she is also more graceful and 'tidier' than those who haven't done dance classes. But recently she is getting into a bit of trouble at ballet class for having her arms too far back! She also has to focus a lot on her turn-out.
 
Are you still in dance? What I found as a dancer/gymnast is while they do complement each other, gym can hurt ballet at higher levels. I mean concurrent higher levels. As a recreational gymnast through L5, and pointe for 4 hours a week I had no issues with mixing the two. Around L6 and 7 hours a week in pointe my dance teachers were complaining, until they finally told me I couldn't do advanced pointe anymore if I was in gymnastics. My gym coaches never had a problem with ballet though. Beginning and intro intermediate I never had problems combining the two. Body shapes for a gymnast conflicted too much with classical ballet lines is what I was told. A square hip in gymnastics is awesome, a square hip for a high arabesque will get you an earful! It gets really hard to reconcile the two at high levels, and you start thinking you're losing skills in both, when really you're doing ballet as a gymnast and vice versa. If you start having issues with a skill you already know, have someone watch you and make sure you aren't dancing through it rather than being a gymnast. A lot of times it can be a quick fix so never be afraid to ask for a pair of eyes on you.

Where I had issues in gym was learning how to stomp a vault board hard, and some minor power stuff that was worked out. I had fast twitch for days, but had to train hard for the power to back it up. Endurance wasn't ever an issue. Strength....was complicated. I was strong, I had defined arms. I never got the ripped arms of my team mates though. Nor the ripped legs for that matter. I did get the shoulders and back muscles though. A lot of times I was judged as weak unfairly I think, I just didn't know it at that age and did as I was told. My bar coach especially conditioned me HARD, and I did what I was told, never once thinking "hey I can do everything the other girls can, and I get good scores, why am I the only one conditioning 15 min longer each event instead of doing skills?" I just looked 'weak'. The reality is that I spent so long in dance my muscles had lengthened to a point where they weren't ever going to look like everyone elses no matter how many chin ups and bar routines I did. When I describe my training to my boss/elite coach, he dies on the inside, so he says. Do your strength training, but never judge your strength based only on how you look. Factor in the skills you can do too.

Where things will probably go well for you is on beam and floor. You know how to point toes and lock your knees, and how to spot as a dancer. Movements generally look graceful and purposeful will less effort. Being aware of where you are on the floor easily, and not having to look at your feet on beam are big pluses. I value spotting as the greatest single boost to dance brought to gymnastics. I never felt lost in the air or on the floor for that matter, questioned where I was being told to look, and got to work skills while all the other girls were learning how to spot full turns and such. Already knowing how to work performance space in dance really helps on floor where there are boundaries.
 
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Where I had issues in gym was learning how to stomp a vault board hard, and some minor power stuff that was worked out. I had fast twitch for days, but had to train hard for the power to back it up. Endurance wasn't ever an issue. Strength....was complicated. I was strong, I had defined arms. I never got the ripped arms of my team mates though. Nor the ripped legs for that matter. I did get the shoulders and back muscles though. The reality is that I spent so long in dance my muscles had lengthened to a point where they weren't ever going to look like everyone elses no matter how many chin ups and bar routines I did.

Thanks! your post was helpful! Strength and power are my issues right now I think. I'm naturally light on my feet and have trouble really punching the floor. I've had trouble getting the power behind a good roundoff too and I'm always told to be faster in my front handsprings. any suggestions? I think i get what you mean by not coming at gymnastics like a dancer. I do still dance, but I'm doing both ballet and gymnastics recreationally right now :). My parents were worried about me starting gymnastics because they don't think I have the right body type... I have a stereotypical ballet body except I lack really good turn-out. But my friend who also did gymnastics and dance said my longer body may be helpful for certain skills. We'll see how it goes!
 
I did dance then gym then back to dance and now back to gym :p not over a short time span though, did dance for many years and gym for many years. Ballet can be really helpful to gymnastics for flexibility and grace. I have been pushing trying to have a ballet for gymnasts class at my gym. How I wish those girls would turn their feet out slightly on beam and use a plie! I actually imagine after some time these girls are going to hurt themselves, you can't land straight legged and you will roll over your ankel if you come down on it wrong with your foot turned in. I never could get over the gymnast shoulder thing though and through out my ballet career it was a constant problem, coupled with the fact that I have wide set boxy shoulders :rolleyes: Gymnastics is more about quickness and tightness, rather than flow and lightness. If that makes any sence. I don't know if any of that helped.
 

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