THE BALLET SCIENCE BLOG
The official blog for the Ballet Science podcast, available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
When I tell people that I went to college while dancing professionally as a ballerina, the reaction is almost always the same: How did you make that work?
In this video, I break down the five strategies that enabled me to balance school with a professional ballet career, including what my daily schedule looked like, the sacrifices it entailed, and what I learned along the way.
Your spine isn’t meant to be stiff, straight, or locked in place. It’s designed to move, absorb load, and adapt, and understanding its natural curves can instantly change your ballet technique.
In this episode of the Ballet Science Podcast, former professional ballerina and biomechanics Ph.D. Caroline Simpkins breaks down the bones of the spine and explains how each region… the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine… supports the technical demands of ballet.
Our research found that older adults who take ballet recreationally tend to be stronger, more powerful, and more balanced than non-dancers. These abilities… leg strength, power, balance, and coordination… are major components of fall prevention. But why might ballet make such a difference?
In this episode, we break down why ballet may support healthier aging through a unique blend of strength training, balance challenges, rhythm, coordination, memory, and attention.
Ballet naturally trains multiple fall-risk factors at once:
We also explain why fall history did not differ between dancers and non-dancers, and why that doesn’t contradict the functional advantages dancers showed. Factors like recent start dates, self-reported data, sample size, and influences such as vision, medications, and home environment all contribute to fall outcomes.
There’s growing interest in how ballet can support healthy aging, but surprisingly little research has focused on independent, healthy older adults who choose to take ballet classes on their own.
While previous studies have shown improvements in balance, strength, and gait in adults aged 50+, many have lacked comparison groups or were based on virtual classes.
This left an important question unanswered: Do older adults who regularly take ballet classes function differently, especially in ways related to fall risk, compared to non-dancers?
Falls are the leading cause of injury among older adults worldwide. As our population ages, finding effective, sustainable ways to improve balance, mobility, and overall physical function has never been more important.
While walking programs, strength training, and traditional balance classes can help reduce fall risk, many older adults struggle to stay consistent. So what type of movement do people actually enjoy enough to continue long-term?
That’s where dance, especially ballet, stands out.
Falls are the #1 cause of injury in older adults worldwide, but can ballet help?
In this episode of the Ballet Science Podcast, Caroline Simpkins, PhD, breaks down her published research in the Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, examining whether recreational ballet dancers aged 55+ show advantages in key fall-risk factors compared to non-dancers.
Using functional mobility tests, leg strength assessments, cognitive screening, and physical activity measures, this study explored how ballet may support strength, balance, power, coordination, and healthy aging.
How does a professional ballet dancer go from the stage… to becoming a strength and personal trainer? 💪
In this Ballet Science Podcast clip, Shane Wuerthner shares his powerful journey from dancing with the Vienna State Opera, the San Francisco Ballet, and the Queensland Ballet to transitioning into the fitness world. Shane opens up about his struggles with patellar tendinopathy, walking down stairs backward to avoid knee pain, and relying on ibuprofen to get through class.
After retiring from his 12-year ballet career, he turned to strength training, not just to stay active, but to heal. That shift ultimately resolved his chronic knee issues and launched his career as a trainer and founder of Athletistry.
What physical qualities are male ballet dancers really lacking, and how do you fix them? 💪
In this Ballet Science Podcast clip, Shane Wuerthner (former principal dancer and founder of Athletistry) breaks down the most common movement limitations he sees in male dancers and dance students.
From dancers who are strong but inflexible… to dancers who have neither strength nor flexibility… to young men thrown into partnering before their bodies have matured, Shane explains why male dancers often struggle with functional movement at 18-19 years old and how to build essential strength the right way.
Are male ballet dancers still being told that strength training will make them “too bulky”? 💪 In this Ballet Science Podcast clip, Shane Wuerthner, former principal dancer and founder of Athletistry, breaks down the BIGGEST misconceptions male ballet dancers and students hear about weight training.
From being warned against leg exercises at 16 to being told to “bulk up” in a professional company, Shane shares why so many young men receive mixed messages about aesthetics, muscle size, and mobility. We discuss the outdated belief that lifting weights makes dancers muscle-bound and explore what strength training actually does for power, partnering, jumps, and longevity.
If you’re a male dancer, or you teach, coach, or parent one, this clip is essential. 🎧 Full episode available now on the Ballet Science Podcast – YouTube, Apple, Spotify.
Unlock what it really takes to build strong, resilient male ballet dancers, without “bulking up” or losing artistry. In this episode of the Ballet Science Podcast, Caroline Simpkins sits down with Shane Wuerthner (former principal dancer and founder of Athletistry) to talk all things strength training for male dancers and students.
We break down the biggest misconceptions about lifting weights, why “just do push-ups” isn’t enough, and how to design smart, dancer-specific strength programs for partnering, jumps, turns, and overhead lifts. Shane also explains how to support young male dancers who feel intimidated stepping into the gym, how to introduce load and plyometrics safely during growth, and how strength training can help prevent common injuries to the back, knees, and Achilles.
Looking ahead, we discuss how strength training for male dancers may evolve over the next decade in professional companies and schools, the importance of collaboration between teachers and strength coaches, and why anatomy and physiology education is so powerful for dancers.
Ballet Science Blog 