Numerous studies show that, beginning at around 40, balance is a vital skill associated with longevity and quality of life. In one study, 20 percent of people over 50 couldn’t balance on one leg for 10 seconds. This correlated with a twofold risk of death within a decade.
Ballet classes often focus on single-leg balance or keeping your balance as you transfer weight from one position to another. “I don’t know many disciplines that can train the lower limb the way ballet does,” said Dr. Madeleine Hackney, an associate professor at Emory University’s School of Medicine.
While yoga and Pilates offer similar flexibility training and core strengthening, ballet offers a wider variety of movements. “We jump in the air, we rise all the way up on our toes, we lower all the way down as far as we can,” Dr. Hackney said. “It’s that whole range of what the human body can do.”
Ballet has in recent years gained traction among older adults. Though there is no public data on the number of senior ballet students, there was enough interest in 2017 for the Royal Academy of Dance, among the largest teacher-training authorities in the world for classical ballet, to create its Silver Swans program for teaching people 55 and older. The academy has since certified over 1,000 of these ballet teachers, operating out of 51 countries.
American schools have been offering similar programs, including the Golden Swans at Oklahoma City Ballet, Senior Steps at Ballet West in Salt Lake City and Boomer Ballet at the St. Paul Ballet in Minnesota.
Google ballet workouts at home, . . . for beginners, . . . for seniors. There are many You Tube options available.
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