Dancer bodies?
Replies
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Ballet focuses on balance, energy, impulsion, and flexibility.
Not sure what the other gal does, but it looks like a lot of weight lifting!
Personally, I never liked women who were so overdone. Toned arms, flat stomach, and tight *kitten* is enough. No need to compete with the men.
If she's a professional athlete, then that's different and I have her props.0 -
You won't typically find ballet dancers with muscles like the first woman pictured because hers is not the body type the top ballet schools and professional companies are going for. When they audition for the schools and companies, they are definitely selecting based on a very certain body type, and part of what they're looking for, especially in women, but with respect to the guys too...is not being what you might call "bulky".
Dancers are not anorexic or weak bodied people, unless of course they are ill with an ED. Most are not, however. My son is surprisingly strong for his size/weight, and says the women he dances with are very strong as well. You have to consider that professional dancers have been working like dogs at ballet since they were little kids. The reason their bodies look as they do is partially genetic--they are selected for those bodies. But also (I suspect) due to the sheer volume of their very specific training.
Just for some perspective--my son started dancing when he was 8. By age 10 he was in a 1.5 hr class daily, 5 times per week. By age 13 he was at a residential school where he danced for around 6 hours a day and schooled in between dance and conditioning work. He danced for a few hours on Saturdays as well. That 6 days/6 + hrs thing has pretty much continued nonstop since then, and they dance all summer long as well, only resting for a few weeks here and there. Couple weeks at the end of summer, and a couple more at Christmas, providing you weren't being "used" in The Nutcracker. My son didn't even come home one year, he was too busy.0 -
Your right - I've only been HERE half a year.
HAPPY SIX MONTH BIRTHDAY!!!!
oh, wait, you weren't actually born 6 months ago? Life begins before MFP? who knew?0 -
Why do they have such a different look? Their muscles seem longer and more stretched out.
....because a person's body will adapt accordingly according to the dominant activity undertaken.
For instance running, a long distance runner will look totally different to a sprinter, yet both are doing running.
A dancer will have a totally different physique to a non-dancer.
Thanks. I already know that, I'm interested in the different exercises or the way different muscle groups are worked to achieve the desired results (genetics aside), but it has been covered already now.0 -
Your right - I've only been HERE half a year.
HAPPY SIX MONTH BIRTHDAY!!!!
oh, wait, you weren't actually born 6 months ago? Life begins before MFP? who knew?
Excellent! Have you not heard my other theory - that Yoga as rejuvinating powers if you do it long enough? I really am six months old.0 -
The other thing to mention is that (female) dancers don't train their arms all that much relative to their core or legs. So you're posting pictures of these women with very strong chests and arms and comparing them to ballerinas- they're two completely different things.
If you want an better comparison of strength training vs dancers, go look at the aerial dancers in Cirque du Soleil. A lot of the aerialists I know train primarily with body weight, but you'd have a difficult time telling them apart from someone like Zuzanna.
Comparing people like Zuzanna with aerialists would have definitely been a much better comparison. Ballet dancers usually don't need to train their arms, since it's core, leg strength, and endurance that's required. Aerialists train with their body weight and a lot of focus is on their arms. And genetics definitely do play a role, there are slimmer aerialists and there are aerialists that look closer to Zuzanna, it depends on their frames and how their body gains muscle. My coach is definitely strong, but her body doesn't look like Zuzanna's. However, it is more comparable to Zuzanna's body than a ballerina's body is, simply because ballerina's don't train strength as much as they train endurance and their core (They do have leg strength though. How else would they get their high leaps?)0 -
Comparing people like Zuzanna with aerialists would have definitely been a much better comparison. Ballet dancers usually don't need to train their arms, since it's core, leg strength, and endurance that's required. Aerialists train with their body weight and a lot of focus is on their arms. And genetics definitely do play a role, there are slimmer aerialists and there are aerialists that look closer to Zuzanna, it depends on their frames and how their body gains muscle. My coach is definitely strong, but her body doesn't look like Zuzanna's. However, it is more comparable to Zuzanna's body than a ballerina's body is, simply because ballerina's don't train strength as much as they train endurance and their core (They do have leg strength though. How else would they get their high leaps?)
You're right. There Cambridge ballerina photos I posted aren't a brilliant example, but there are some fantastic ones on this pinboard: http://pinterest.com/garad/tap-shoes/
Like this:
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0ovc7OceB1qedzdjo1_500.jpg
Note: The woman is nude in the photo, so I can't post it properly on here0 -
Do dancers, acrobats, yoga practitioners appear to have longer muscles simply because they do have developed muscles obviously but they also work on flexibility so they have a greater range of movement compared to many weightlifters who tend to have a shorter range of flexibility and so appear to have shorter muscles.
I know that is a general statement and there are weighlifters who do work on flexibility just as there are dancers who have a shorter range of suppleness.
- so it's perhaps not a case of muscle size but how far a muscle can be stretched - a stretched muscle appearing to be longer and leaner than a comparatively contracted one?0 -
Do dancers, acrobats, yoga practitioners appear to have longer muscles simply because they do have developed muscles obviously but they also work on flexibility so they have a greater range of movement compared to many weightlifters who tend to have a shorter range of flexibility and so appear to have shorter muscles.
I know that is a general statement and there are weighlifters who do work on flexibility just as there are dancers who have a shorter range of suppleness.
- so it's perhaps not a case of muscle size but how far a muscle can be stretched - a stretched muscle appearing to be longer and leaner than a comparatively contracted one?
This is interesting...
Plus, I read about lifting lighter weights but doing more reps, which is supposed to give the appearance of "long", lean muscles (using the word "long" loosely here). I'm wondering if that, combined with yoga, might achieve something similar to the svelte dancer look? Without being a dancer, of course.
Misty Copeland is a really nice example of the body type I like:
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Why do they have such a different look? Their muscles seem longer and more stretched out.
....because a person's body will adapt accordingly according to the dominant activity undertaken.
For instance running, a long distance runner will look totally different to a sprinter, yet both are doing running.
A dancer will have a totally different physique to a non-dancer.
Thanks. I already know that, I'm interested in the different exercises or the way different muscle groups are worked to achieve the desired results (genetics aside), but it has been covered already now.
Ahh that's okay then, nothing really left to say.0 -
Of course I am biased because I love yoga, but I find once you get into yoga there is enough strength work training for the more advanced poses that weightlifting is not necessary to progress in yoga.
I do bodyweight exercises to supplement my yoga if I find a weakness that can be addressed more directly in the short term and I find yoga doesn't develop the pulling side of the muscles so I do bodyweight pull-ups to cover this.
Having said all, there are experienced female weightlifters on MFP who lift heavy, tend to increasing flexibility as well and have physiques similar to the goals you have in mind.0 -
The muscles look longer because they are smaller. Skinny people aren't elongated compared to fat people. They're just thinner.0
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Your right - I've only been HERE half a year.
HAPPY SIX MONTH BIRTHDAY!!!!
oh, wait, you weren't actually born 6 months ago? Life begins before MFP? who knew?
Excellent! Have you not heard my other theory - that Yoga as rejuvinating powers if you do it long enough? I really am six months old.
Carlos, I love ya brother, but this theory is just as valid as the one that johnnyboy is shooting down.
There is no lengthening of muscles. It's total selection bias. You, the OP, and everyone else that is talking about "dancer bodies" or "yoga bodies" or even "football bodies" or "basketball bodies" is picking out pictures of person that was genetically disposed to have the type of body that you like and they you're extrapolating that they did some special form of training to get there.
There are short dancers. And fat dancers. And muscular dancers. Same with yogis, or football players, or whatever type of body you prefer. But you're picking out the one type, tall and lean, that you like while ignoring all the other people with different bodies that do the same exact training.
For your theory of specific training leading to a specific bodytype adaptation, you'd need to provide examples of a dancer (or whatever) that had these short bulky muscles that the OP want to avoid, and then started stretching, and doing BW exercises, and dancer training, and the morphed into the lithe body frame that she is today.0 -
A dancer has most of her strength in her legs. Dancers have bulkier thighs and calves, and the upper body looks very lithe.0
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Carlos, I love ya brother, but this theory is just as valid as the one that johnnyboy is shooting down.
There is no lengthening of muscles. It's total selection bias. You, the OP, and everyone else that is talking about "dancer bodies" or "yoga bodies" or even "football bodies" or "basketball bodies" is picking out pictures of person that was genetically disposed to have the type of body that you like and they you're extrapolating that they did some special form of training to get there.
There are short dancers. And fat dancers. And muscular dancers. Same with yogis, or football players, or whatever type of body you prefer. But you're picking out the one type, tall and lean, that you like while ignoring all the other people with different bodies that do the same exact training.
For your theory of specific training leading to a specific bodytype adaptation, you'd need to provide examples of a dancer (or whatever) that had these short bulky muscles that the OP want to avoid, and then started stretching, and doing BW exercises, and dancer training, and the morphed into the lithe body frame that she is today.
I appreciate what you're saying. By comparing dancers to Zuzanna, I was trying to show something on the opposite end of the scale. Of course, I'm not genetically programmed to look like a ballet dancer, nor am I trying to look like one, but I was interested to know if there is a way to avoid the slight bulkiness that Zuzanna has and achieve something more lithe looking, yet still strong and fit.0 -
....because a person's body will adapt accordingly according to the dominant activity undertaken.
For instance running, a long distance runner will look totally different to a sprinter, yet both are doing running.
A dancer will have a totally different physique to a non-dancer.
I don't find this to be the case. At the lower rungs of an activity or sport, you'll see many different body types. In football you'll see a skinny kid playing guard and a fat kid playing RB. In track you'll see sprinters that have bodies that you associate with long distance physiques. At a dance recital you'll see large framed women and small framed women, same with the males. Even within weight class sports, a boxer or wrestler weighs exactly 167 lbs can have a totally different body type than his opponent that also weighs 167.
The reason we perceive different types for sports is because at the elite level, which is where we form a lot of our opinions, we tend to see one particular body type for a particular sport because that is the body type that tends to dominate that particular sport/activity, not because they magically transformed their body type .
"Dancer type" bodies get selected by directors over shorter, taller, or thicker auditioners. The skinny kid playing guard gets steamrolled at the college level, the, skinny sprinter gets smoked by the muscular sprinter, and the fat RB is too slow at the NFL level. You think you are seeing transformation but what you are really seeing is selection.0 -
For your theory of specific training leading to a specific bodytype adaptation, you'd need to provide examples of a dancer (or whatever) that had these short bulky muscles that the OP want to avoid, and then started stretching, and doing BW exercises, and dancer training, and the morphed into the lithe body frame that she is today.
DavPul - I agree with the above point you make and I was arriving at this thought myself. I am naturally short and stocky and as I lose the excess fat I find I am developing - or uncovering - a muscular physique and a trend toward abilities in handstands, hand balances and plank strength type yoga where others show a natural flexibility that I have to work much harder at.
I do still think that a flexible physique will look like the muscles are longer simply because the muscles have a greater range of movement compared to someone who is muscular but not as flexible. As you stretch a muscle out the peak is less high and so the muscle appears to be longer. I'm not saying the muscle is longer as it can only be as long as its anchor points on the skeletal frame but as range of movement increases, muscles can look longer in the more open poses.
Thinking about it - when a weight trainer poses, generally muscles are contracted to increase size and peak to the max whereas a dancer generally shows suppleness even when the muscles are contracted as some of the pics above, so it is largely how the subject of the photograph is asked to or wants to pose to show off a particular aspect of their physique.0 -
misty copeland doesnt have a "dancer's body" yet she's a ballet dancer in fact she looks pretty similar to how i looked when i was an athlete and I pretty much have a sprinter's body. i'm sure others have pointed out the OP's scientific ignorance. activities do not change your genetic code, mmkay?
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i'm sure others have pointed out the OP's scientific ignorance. activities do not change your genetic code, mmkay?
I know that, and have not said that anywhere! I do wish people would read before assuming any of this stuff. I don't even want or expect to look like a dancer. :explode:0 -
all depends on the type of dancer. classic, yeah, very slim long tone. on the other hand strippers (don't ask my how i know all of this) have a thicker more cut build. I'm trying to get back to a stipper body. I like curvs, just not soft ones! LOL0
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Strength training is going to bulk you up, your going to have a toned look and a very visble defined look. When your a dancer you do not want a defined look, you want a smooth gentle look the way a dancer trains her body is by stretching, constricting, balance, and core. Your movements are very controlled and concentration is very important. When your weight training your focused on the muscles your building at the time not every single one at once. If your looking for a true understanding i suggest looking into a dancers workout they have one they have been advertising.
If you want a toned, hard, defined look strength train with bouts of cardio.
If you want a smooth gentle look core, cardio, and balance are key.
pretty much nonsense here
I disagree. The training of a ballet dancer is totally different to the training of somebody lifting weights to try to show muscles. Ballerinas use their own bodies as weights. The exception may be if they are contemporary or modern ballerinas or if they are recuperating from and injury, but not classical ballerinas, especially those trained with the Balanchine method.
Ballerinas that are part of a company or ballet school are not allowed to run, jog, or even bike. Pilates, Yoga, walking, and sometimes swimming are the only activities allowed besides ballet training. And honestly, who needs it, when they are dancing 6 to 8 hours a day. No body fat in their bodies either.
I agree with another poster that genetics is very important, and even very technical and talented ballerinas don’t make it very far unless they have what is called “perfect lines.”0 -
I know a girl who is a professional dancer and she is built like a modern gymnast. Of course, I love that look.0
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Strength training is going to bulk you up, your going to have a toned look and a very visble defined look. When your a dancer you do not want a defined look, you want a smooth gentle look the way a dancer trains her body is by stretching, constricting, balance, and core. Your movements are very controlled and concentration is very important. When your weight training your focused on the muscles your building at the time not every single one at once. If your looking for a true understanding i suggest looking into a dancers workout they have one they have been advertising.
If you want a toned, hard, defined look strength train with bouts of cardio.
If you want a smooth gentle look core, cardio, and balance are key.
pretty much nonsense here
agreed...just no0 -
misty copeland doesnt have a "dancer's body" yet she's a ballet dancer in fact she looks pretty similar to how i looked when i was an athlete and I pretty much have a sprinter's body. i'm sure others have pointed out the OP's scientific ignorance. activities do not change your genetic code, mmkay?
YESSSS MISTY COPELAND I was just going to go there. FYI Misty Copeland is a Soloist with American Ballet Theatre, one of the top ballet companies in the U.S.
Exhibit A. Misty's AWESOME legs.
Exhibit B. Just awesome in general.
Especially in the U.S., what the professional dance world wants is changing. And it's a good thing.
WHY WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO LOOK LIKE THIS? I for one, want her crazy hyperextended legs.
However, we will always have the Svetlana Zakharova-shaped-types. Right now, Zakharova (Prima Ballerina with the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia) is regarded as one of the best ballerinas in the world.
Dancers are going to have longer, leaner muscles because of the way they use their muscles. Lifting your leg in developpe for a 180 degree extension is much different than doing squats.
Also, whether you are a male or female dancer, you need to have incredible core strength. For your viewing pleasure, I present to you ballet god Roberto Bolle.
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I'd better go. Thanks for all of the informative replies, guys. :laugh: And to clear up any misconceptions...
I don't want to be a dancer or look like a dancer, I don't think you can change your genetics, and I don't think you can stretch or lengthen a muscle. I'm just interested in how body composition differs across different athletic pursuits. That's really all!
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dancers are using their own body weight and do a ton of stretching which will lengthen0
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Many American female dancers have adopted a more muscular look not just for aesthetics but also injury prevention.0
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[img]file:///Users/wendygale/Desktop/8178519.jpg[/img]
I will never be chunky, it's just genetics.
I
I
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For your viewing pleasure, I present to you ballet god Roberto Bolle.
OH.
Well I'll stick around for that... 0 -
Strength training is going to bulk you up, your going to have a toned look and a very visble defined look. When your a dancer you do not want a defined look, you want a smooth gentle look the way a dancer trains her body is by stretching, constricting, balance, and core. Your movements are very controlled and concentration is very important. When your weight training your focused on the muscles your building at the time not every single one at once. If your looking for a true understanding i suggest looking into a dancers workout they have one they have been advertising.
If you want a toned, hard, defined look strength train with bouts of cardio.
If you want a smooth gentle look core, cardio, and balance are key.
pretty much nonsense here
agreed...just no
To whomever wrote this... have you ever taken a ballet class?
Ballet is not smooth or gentle.
At an advanced level, it's painful, hard-core cardio and strengthening that can leave every part of your body aching for days. And also involves blisters and/or blood.0
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