Getting Started with Ballet Beautiful

Dear Beauties, When I was growing up I was completely obsessed with ballet. I hated sports and was generally terrible at everything in gym class with the exception of gymnastics, which was the closest gym activity to dance at my school. Yet while was the last one to be picked for neighborhood kickball and softball games, I was the first in line at my ballet class. Many years later when I was dancing professionally with New York City Ballet I suffered an injury that forced me to take time off from dancing. It was at that time that I first began to think of the athleticism of dance and what that meant for my body. As part of my recovery from that first serious injury I joined a gym and began experimenting with fitness. I spent hours working on strengthening my body while working to keep my “ballet muscles” long and lean. I began putting together a mini workout for myself that lay the groundwork for what would become Ballet Beautiful. Fast forward to 2018. I have since retired from New York City Ballet, created Ballet Beautiful and launched dozens of original online workouts. As we debut our new intro series, Beginning Ballet Beautiful, I am thinking back to founding Ballet Beautiful and our goal of making dance and fitness accessible to all. I created this new series as a starting point for someone trying Ballet Beautiful for the first time. Because the pace is slower it is also a terrific warm up and a lovely intro back to exercise after injury or even childbirth. I have a particularly soft spot for these videos because I was pregnant with my youngest daughter Rosabella when we filmed them, I love knowing that she was in my belly through this series! If you have been thinking of trying our workout and looking for a more gentle introduction to our program this is an excellent resource. I recommend to start first with either our mat or barre video and follow with the center workout. The exercises in these videos are meant to build a strong physical foundation, focusing on proper placement and technique while developing strength and tone. I hope you love them as much as I do!