Elevate 26 Begins with Safe Stretching

Our Elevate 26 Series got off to a brilliant start on Friday 2 October with a fascinating and very practical session on safe stretching with Sarah Peachey from Starting Pointe Ballet.

Eight of our senior dancers took part, exploring how the body responds to stretching and, importantly, how they can develop their flexibility without putting their bodies at risk.

Understanding What Happens When We Stretch

Sarah took the dancers well beyond simply talking about flexibility.

The session explored the role of nerves and fascia, helping the dancers understand more about what is happening within their bodies when they stretch and why simply pushing harder isn't always the answer.

The dancers began by working on their splits before exploring a series of practical exercises designed to help them understand and work with their body's responses.

They then returned to their splits at the end of the session to see how their bodies had responded.

Sarah also demonstrated the effects of over-splitting, helping the dancers understand the difference between working towards greater flexibility and pushing a joint beyond what is safe.

There was lots of discussion around listening to the body, recognising the difference between a productive stretch and one that could cause damage, and understanding that flexibility needs to be developed safely.

Learning to Stretch Safely

The whole session was practical, with the dancers actively trying the different exercises and techniques rather than simply watching or listening.

One dancer summed up the value of the session perfectly:

“I now know how to stretch safely and know when I'm damaging my joints by overstretching.”

That is exactly the kind of knowledge we want our dancers to take away from Elevate.

A Brilliant Start to Elevate 26

All eight dancers were engaged throughout the session, contributing to discussions, asking questions and getting stuck into the practical activities.

It was a brilliant first session for Elevate 26, setting the tone for another year of looking beyond dance technique and helping our dancers understand themselves, their bodies and their wellbeing.

We are so grateful to Sarah for sharing her knowledge and giving our dancers so many practical ideas that they can take into their own training.

Elevate is about the whole dancer and we're excited for everything still to come.