Giving Thanks for Ballet: Ballet and Health Benefits, Learning and Creativity
Genoveva Uzunova, M.D., Ph.D.
Physician -Scientist Studying and Developing Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Treatments for Psychiatric, Neurologic, Immunologic, Rare Disorders, Artist, Ballerina, Art Therapist, Positive Psychiatry Enthusiast
The Thanksgiving holidays are a time for celebration and meals with dear ones. This can become unhealthy and during this time, it is great to incorporate more movement and exercise. One excellent way is to dance ballet. Ballet, of course, is not for everyone. First, it is very important to enjoy it and to have genuine desire to learn to dance it. Ever since I can remember, I eat rather little, do not drink alcohol, and do not like a sedentary lifestyle, l, and love to dance ballet since a little girl, which for me is a great source of joy. For people who enjoy dancing ballet, in this Holiday issue of the Biomedical Artist I would like to highlight amazing health benefits of dancing ballet, many of which I have discussed already with my ballet dance videos. I will also emphasize aspects of learning to dance ballet, creativity, and perfectionism that may help people who wish to dance ballet, and may translate to learning and performance in other areas of life such as biomedical sciences.
Why do I think these are important topics to write about? Knowing the different aspects, benefits and risks (or drawbacks) of different forms of art, you can choose which one/s to practice and learn for enjoyment. Knowing the process of learning is useful for beginners. I think it is good to share your experience with the hope that it may benefit other human beings lead a more fulfilled, healthy and happy life.
Some notable health benefits of ballet:
1.???Improves the functioning of the musculoskeletal system and flexibility of joints
2.???Improves the posture, balance, coordination and gait
3.???Stimulates the activity of the cardiovascular system and lymph drainage
4.???Promotes the functioning of the respiratory system
5.???Stimulates mindfulness:
?????????????? Ballet teaches to be and live in the present moment and to enjoy it:
6.???Promotes concentration and attention
7.???Alleviates stress and anxiety
8.???Speeds up metabolism
9.???Promotes increased energy throughout the day
10.?? Promotes better sleep
11.?? Protects against cognitive decline and dementia
12.?? Stimulates intuition
13.?? Stimulates creativity
14.?? Dancing to music has additional health benefits for the brain.
Of course, these effects depend on dancing with proper initial instructions by a knowledgeable ballet teacher, gradually, by adopting a proper diet (which I already highlighted in a previous newsletter) and with caution.
I love dancing because it is movement and does not involve use of computers (unless I am recording a video) like my profession of a biomedical scientist. Ballet involves movement and poses a strain on different groups of muscles than reading or writing. For example, when reading and writing, there is tightness in my facial and ocular muscles, and my skeletal and muscular systems, breathing and cardiovascular system may not be functioning optimally, whereas dancing ballet places more strain on the limb and body muscles.
This made me think that besides for enjoyment and art therapy, perhaps it would be good if people have two professions, which are quite different. This will engage different efforts, brain areas and physiological systems, and it may be more satisfying. Sometimes practicing the same profession may be boring, and once this happens, complacency may result; ideas and creativity may be blocked.
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Similarly, to ballet dancers becoming physicians, psychologists or lawyers, isn’t it possible for a physician and scientist become a ballet dancer? This raises the question of how much effort would a person like to devote to each profession and still have time for their personal life.
This holiday season I am learning to dance fragments of the fairytale holiday ballet “The Nutcracker” and already made videos with “The Waltz of The Flowers” and the “Dance of Sugar Plum Fairy” One important reason why I love ballet is that it transports me in a magical beautiful and romantic world.
This is my new Holiday edition of “The Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker ballet, which we watched with my sweetheart Lloyd at The Lincoln Center in December 2013.
Ballet, being a performing art, in its essence is life. Ballet consists of movements and dancing to the sounds and rhythms of music, dancing solo, dancing with a partner, dancing in a group. Life similarly is movements to the sounds and rhythms of the Universe, dancing solo, dancing with a partner, dancing in a group.
Ballet trains to be motivated and to lead a healthy life. Sometimes I need more motivation to dance ballet in the morning, especially when it is cold and all I want to do is eat something warm and read. However, after a cup of coffee with milk, I get dressed up, put on makeup and when I start dancing, I forget about eating and feel happy and proud of myself for taking on the challenge and staying motivated. Afterwards, I am energized for the entire day and want to eat less. In the evenings, I love dancing instead of eating out or drinking. ?
?If one's profession is a scientist, which involves a lot of writing, ballet (or art), which involve different skills are excellent hobby to practice. For example, in the morning, I dance and afterwards I work on the computer. Dancing helps me to concentrate better and energizes me. There are physicians who love to paint in their free time, including me. Knowing that you will do an art activity makes you focus better on your work so you have time for your art.
If a person includes more art in their life, just like I include a lot of ballet, my life becomes more exciting and my energy level is higher, I vibrate on a happier frequency, which as my Dad advised attracts more happy experiences in one's life and draws to you everything that you want to achieve. Ultimately, ballet dancing raises your energy level, you become happier and more productive, and you cope with challenges better.
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” - Neale Donald Walsch
This quote sheds light a main reason why I like ballet so much; it always keeps me on my toes!
From learning to dance ballet, I learned that the process of learning of ballet or anything else that requires technical skill and concentration is similar. You have to motivate and push yourself in the beginning, because it will be new, unfamiliar, hard, and even painful (if you are learning how to dance en pointe). You need a good teacher but ultimately it is up to you. In the beginning you may not know exactly what you are doing, repetition is key until at one point it gets easy without your knowledge how this happened. You (or at least I have to find fun ways to motivate myself). One way I motivate myself is by researching the history and story of the ballet I will be dancing or making up a ballet myself, and putting together a suitable outfit. I love fashion. All this involves learning and creativity, which are playful and fun. I like to enjoy every moment, the process of learning, and I like to pick a nice outfit and approach dancing with a happy attitude. When I start learning a new ballet I pace myself and try not to overexert myself, which is not healthy, may damage my body and will inhibit my desire for further learning. Ballet learning in my view is best with small gradual steps and repetition. Even if you have a teacher, ultimately it is up to you to learn and to modify the material according to your individuality.
Ballet involves intense learning, but you do not have to be perfect and a virtuoso to start dancing. It is desirable to have proper instructions and a teacher, but ultimately it is up to you to learn and to perfect your dancing technique. I remember as young PhD, when I was learning molecular cloning, my teacher explained to me the principles, showed me once and left me to do it on my own and further learn from practice and books. Everything we do is individual. I have taken lessons on dancing with pointe shoes with professional ballet teachers, many ballet classes, in person with ABT, video classes with the Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, and have videos CDs with Peter Martins and other notable choreographers. Ultimately, it is about teaching yourself to dance; just like everything else we are taught. You go beyond what the teacher told you! For example, George Balanchine studied classical ballet and later when he became a choreographer, he modified it so it became neoclassical. It is different from the English or French classical ballet. And so on...
Even basic details how to tie properly the ribbons of your pointe shoes and how to break them in varies between ballerinas. I would think how to dance en pointe depends in your weight, body structure, muscles, foot arch, joints, ligaments and other anatomical and personal factors!
I think that all of this learning how to dance on your own develops your stamina and creativity. In dancing ballet for enjoyment, you can modify the movements yourself. This raises the question of creativity in ballet and perfectionism. I have been told that my personality is somewhat perfectionistic, even by my parents and mentors. I wonder, do I love to dance ballet since a girl, because perfectionistic tendency is an inborn trait I have, or did I develop my perfectionistic trait, because I dance ballet and want to repeat all of the positions and movements properly and have a slim body?
This is an informative article on the topics of ballet, creativity and perfectionism:
I think that the issues discussed may translate to other areas of life, even science.
Perhaps dancing more ballet and inclusion of more art as a hobby, or even a second profession will help to alleviate and prevent many human disorders, including those that there are no effective treatments currently for such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, treatment-resistant depression, Parkinson's disease, sleep disorders, obesity, addiction and heart disease.
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