A deep, juicy plié isn’t just delicious to watch. “It’s how we absorb shock,” says Elisa LaBelle, a physical therapist who works with dancers at NYU Langone’s Harkness Center for Dance Injuries. “It’s our spring, our power.” And it forms the basis for everything from dynamic jumps to smooth transitions to safe floorwork. But achieving […]

We all know that the general population’s knowledge of ballet is sometimes…a bit skewed. (See: people touching their fingertips to the top of their head, and Kendall Jenner hopping around at the barre.) Would your average Joe know how to do ballet’s most basic step: a plié? Or, more to the point, even know what […]