Athletes in Tutus

I have always loved ballet. Even though I never danced myself, classical ballet is my favorite dance art form; the more tutu the better. Living now in Raleigh, North Carolina, we have been so fortunate to having the professional Carolina Ballet since 1997. I had season tickets all those years, looking forward to every single performance.

Even the greater my pleasure when I recently had an opportunity to introduce some of the dancers to MELT.

While watching the performances and the performers, it was always quite obvious to me that all that grace that I admire so much is the result of rigorous training, and I was conscious of the fact that injuries are the inevitable by-product of such training.

Over the last 5 years of teaching MELT, I have seen enough of its beneficial results on many bodies that I knew that its positive effects could be felt equally by a professional dancer as by weekend warrior or somebody recovering after a hip or knee replacement surgery.

So it was not surprising to me on some level to hear the same comments about some of the MELT length exercises that I am used to hear from my more conventional class participants. The sensation of length beyond ordinary stretching which can only be described as ‘hurting so good’.

What I absolutely had to admire, though, was the amazing ability of the dancers to take my verbal instructions and translate them into body movement. Those familiar with MELT know that the greatest impact is often made by the smallest changes in body position, and those require a great deal of body awareness. And while this is hardly unexpected, it is nonetheless astounding to watch.