With all the hours they spend in rehearsals you’d think dancers would want to curl up under a duvet on their day off.
But to be at the top of their game and avoid injury, many professional dancers engage in extra activity outside the studio to keep their body healthy.
City Ballet soloist Giovanni Villalobos, he runs round Central Park with a sandbag to make sure he’s able to lift female dancers above his head in class.
“It’s good to do something uncomfortable and push yourself, that way when I go on stage everything is relatively easy,” he says in the video.
Another soloist Craig Hall practices yoga to keep his body strong but also help him deal with stress.
“It’s really helped me to deal with my nerves when I’m about to go on stage and has helped me to feel centred and connected with the crowd,” he says.
It seems there’s far more to being a top dancer than practicing your pirouettes. Check out the video for more inside secrets from the professionals….
