Things an Aspiring Ballerina Needs Besides a Leotard and Ballet Shoes

You probably already know that ballet is good for correcting your posture, improving balance and coordination and maintaining your weight and shape. But on top of that, practising ballet can also be beneficial for your mental health and overall well-being. How is that so? Well, ballet is essentially an intense physical workout to classical music which has been shown to have a calming influence on the brain and improving focus and concentration.

If you plan to start learning ballet and reap the great benefits it has to offer, have in mind that throwing on a leotard and grabbing your ballet shoes is not enough. Aspiring to become a ballerina requires a lot of patience, great effort, and some essential ballet supplies.

A Good Ballerina Dance Bag to Store Everything

Source: facebook.com/vrnqstore/

There are several things that you’ll need to take with you to every practice. That said, the first thing you’re going to need is a good and spacious girls dance bag to store all your ballet essentials.

I’d like to stress out that what you need is a dance duffle bag. The everyday bags, purses and backpacks are not a convenient solution at all, since they tend to be small, without any separate compartments, and “stuffing” them with all your dancing essentials can only result in your bag getting ripped. What’s more, these bags don’t come with waterproof compartments which you’re going to need for storing all that gear that’s drenched in sweat after a demanding class.

For this reason, you’d want to invest in a specialised ballet dance bag that’s made of sturdy and resistant materials that can withstand the wear and tear it goes through, such as high-quality polyesters and nylons. The dance bags also need to feature plenty of compartments to organise things like water bottle compartments, mobile phone pockets, exterior zipper pockets that come in handy for many situations, and enough sections to put your ballet clothes, make-up bags, jewellery cases or folded accessory rolls and all your personal belongings.

But most importantly, a specialised girls ballet dance bag must feature at least two separate shoe compartments so you can carry your pointe shoes and your ballet slippers conveniently. If the bag doesn’t offer these compartments, it should at least be enough wide for you to put a satin pouch for your dancing shoes, so you don’t need to carry them separately.

In addition to being wide and having sections for everything, a girls dance bag’s purpose is to be easy to carry from one place to another, and this is only possible if it features tough double handles or adjustable shoulder straps that are sturdy enough to support everything you loaded inside.

In addition to all these functional features, the dance bags come in different styles, shapes and designs – from the basic black ones that are also suitable for boys to the pink ones embroidered with ballerinas and other decorations.

Magnetic Bobby Pin Holder to Keep Your Hair in Place

Source: wisebread.com

Being a ballerina means becoming specialised in wrapping your hair up in a beautiful bun. And as much as it’s easy to “lose” your favourite hairband inside your dance duffle bag, imagine what happens to the tiny bobby pins. Even if you’re the most meticulous person in the world and you store your bobby pins in a separate case, I’m sure you’re familiar with the annoying moment when your bobby pins fall down to the ground while you’re clumsily trying to wrap your bun.

Regardless of the situation, every ballerina uses and loses a lot of bobby pins every day, so to store these tiny pins and never lose them again, consider getting a magnetic bobby pin holder. This way, you won’t have to panic if a single hair strand suddenly splits down from your bun a minute before going on the stage, and you’ll know that you’ve gathered all your bobby pins in place once you release your bun after classes.

Foot Stretcher to Warm Up Your Feet

Source: trendydancer.com

When it comes to training equipment, ballet turn boards are undoubtedly essential. But before you start practising balancing on your toes and performing pirouettes, the biggest mistake you can do is to skip stretching your body, especially your feet. Tight muscles in the feet and joints that haven’t been warmed up prior to practice can lead to cramps and injuries. Unfortunately, even stretching can lead to injury unless it’s properly performed. That said, it’s recommended to get a foot stretcher to warm up your feet in a safe way.

Not only is stretching properly extremely important, but ballerinas also use different stretchers to increase the flexibility and stability of their feet gradually. A foot stretcher’s main focus is on pressing, pushing and pulling the tiptoes, legs and feet, while stretching the muscles and ligaments for all the steps you’re going to perform. So, don’t wait to get yourself a foot stretcher, and “toss” it into your dance duffle when you’re getting ready for your next ballet class.

Heat Pads to Reduce Any Strains

Source: safeandsoundhealth.co.uk

After finishing with your ballet session, it’s not uncommon to deal with a few pains and strains, especially if you stretched some part of your body more than you should have or landed more heavily after performing your first-ever tour jeté.

The best thing you can do for yourself in these situations is to use heat pads to relieve the pain. Their purpose is to provide heat to the muscles which helps them loosen up, thus relieving the pain and giving you the freedom to move around again. Each one of these pads is specialised to adjust to the most vulnerable areas you can accidentally hurt while performing ballet, such as the ankles, wrists, knees, lower back and neck.

Aftercare Products to Calm the Soreness

Source: betteryou.com

For the situations when you’re still feeling your muscles sore and tire even after applying heat pads, it’s recommended to use aftercare products that contain magnesium such as sprays and oils. Magnesium has a lot of calming properties essential for everyone, and when applied topically, it has the ability to absorb into the skin and soothe the muscular pain almost immediately.

Not only can regular use of magnesium sprays help you forget about any muscular pain, but its soothing properties can also be helpful for reducing anxiety and fatigue, improving rest and soothing restless legs, headaches and PMS.

If you’re an aspiring ballerina slowly diving into the world of graceful dancing, don’t wait to get these essential items that will help you on your way to becoming a pro.