Adapt Your Cross-Training to Your Rep

When Sarasota Ballet principal Danielle Brown began taking Gyrotonic classes two years ago, she had an epiphany:

“I could feel the difference immediately in my dancing; I could feel my placement and every little part of my spine,” she says.

Particularly, it helped her perform the company’s two dozen ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton. “Especially with Ashton, you can’t be rigid. You need to be able to move with absolutely no tension.”

Danielle Brown in Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering
Photo Frank Atura, courtesy Sarasota Ballet

Now, Brown adapts her daily workouts, depending on what she is currently dancing.

For Balanchine’s “Diamonds”:
More time stretching

For contemporary work:
More ab work, so she can be grounded

For Twyla Tharp’s
In the Upper Room: More cardio, to increase her stamina

How do you update your cross-training to help you perform new rep? Share your strategies in the comments!