Ballet fitness workouts continue to skyrocket in popularity, in some part due to the press surrounding Natalie Portman's portrayal of The Black Swan, but also because the fitness community has begun to recognize the grace and strength that dancers exhibit.
The workouts vary in name, (Pure Barre, the Bar Method, Core Fusion and more) but by any name, LIVESTRONG.COM (Ballet Barre Exercises for Non-Dancers) and the NY Times (Lining up to the Barre) are among the leading publications that have written about the appeal of a workout that elongates the body, tightens the core and works small muscle groups.
Here in Silicon Valley, we're lucky to have classes available by Stephanie Herman, the prima fitness guru, former principal ballerina, who has performed with world-reknown luminaries such as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. If you're interested in giving this type of workout a try, check out Herman's upcoming classes:
- The Barre Workout - Sundays, July 10th & 17th 1:00pm - 2:30pm at Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto – sign up at: sh1dancer (at) aol.com or call 650-328-4909 (The Barre Workout helps you learn how to control your body from the inside out)
- Muscle Ballet Sunday July 24th - 1:00pm - 2:30pm at Equinox in Palo Alto ,sign up in advance - Kirsten.Johnson (at) equinox.com ( Muscle Ballet is a cardio dance workout for teachers and students in which Herman shares her secrets on how ageless beauty defies gravity while bringing out the dancer in each of you. )
- Stephanie Herman's Fitness Camp - Sunday July 31st, 1:00pm - 3:00pm. at “NoXcuses in Palo Alto ” - sign up at: sh1dancer(at) aol.com or call 650-328-4909 (Fitness camp includes Stretch-eze®, a resistance spandex fabric circle for the whole body, which gives you a balanced, highly effective workout without neck, lower back, or hip flexor pain.)
Herman describes her life as one that has been about illuminating and controlling the body from the inside out. Being creative when injuries knock her down, she has been able to therapeutically fight against the natural aging process. In addition to her ballet training, she was taught directly from Carola Trier, the first disciple of Joseph Pilates,and Juliu Horvath creator of Gyrotonic Expansion System.
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