The Five Top Physical Qualities Wanted in the Body of a Classical Dancer | The Odyssey Online
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The Five Top Physical Qualities Wanted in the Body of a Classical Dancer

Could you have the body of a dancer?

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The Five Top Physical Qualities Wanted in the Body of a Classical Dancer
Unsplash.com

When people talk about how they wish they looked like a dancer, most of the time they are referring to women who go into classical ballet. We tend to love the long, classical lines that these gorgeous dancers make, along with the difficult, and sometimes tragic art that brings them to that point.
Now, not everyone wants to look like they do ballet, and for those hip hop, jazz and tap people out there, I'm happy for you, because your dreams of looking like a dancer are very alive and real. With the proper diet, exercise, and life balance you can quite realistically get lean, tone and achieve that healthy, vibrant body you want.
See this wonderful guide by wikihow! http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Dancer's-Body

However, if you do identify with those of us who want to look like a classical dancer, there are a few requirements that you may not be able to challenge no matter how many squats you do.

So you want to make that classic line?

Here are the five common physical requirements wanted in most classical dancers.

1. A long, thin neck.

2. Long legs when compared to the torso.
A good way to calculate if your legs are shorter, longer, or perfectly balanced to your torso is to measure from your crotch to your feet. This is your inseam. Take your inseam and divide it by your total height, and multiply by one hundred. short legs to torso will be anything less than forty five percent. Forty five percent is when your legs perfectly match your torso, and anything bigger than forty five percent means you have the long legs to torso ratio that most classic dance demands.
If you are still confused, check out this version of the calculation!
https://forums.soompi.com/en/topic/244813-the-real...

3. a slim, lithe build.

4. Slim, strong and flexible ankles

5. Feet with high insteps and arches. The Idea here is that the feet are more flexible than "normal" feet and make anyone performing in pointe shoes look like they are almost floating over their own feet.
See this awesome article by Quora on ballet feet!
https://www.quora.com/What-do-ballet-dancers-mean-...

Now most of this is just genetics. You will be hard pressed to find a way to increase your inseam, or get a thin neck or ankles when you weren't naturally blessed with them. Getting slimmer and fit is always possible, but changing your genetics, now that's a quest!

If you fail one of these criteria, or maybe even more, don't give up on your dream of looking like a classical dancer. There will always be some new or old process to try on your problem areas. Just make sure you know that realistically, the "dancers body" isn't common, and is really quite hard, not impossible, but quite hard to achieve.

Good luck to you all!

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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