Roll Out Your Muscles | Pro Tip from Elizabeth Marlin

Our current School of Ballet 5:8 Featured Guest, Elizabeth Marlin, is a Company Artist with Ballet 5:8. We asked her to share some of her favorite pro tips with us. Do you know how to take care of your muscles after a long day of dancing? Today, Elizabeth shares a muscle-care technique you can add to your arsenal.

Elizabeth says:

After a stress reaction in my shin put me in a boot for two weeks during a summer intensive, I learned that part of the problem was that I wasn’t rolling out my calf muscles at all. They were being overworked and consequently tightening and pulling on my shin bones.

As ballet dancers who relevé and jump all day, it is so important that we roll out our calf muscles to keep everything relaxed and moving properly. Luckily, all you need to do this is a tennis ball!

Here is how I like to roll out my calves before and after class:

With the ball under your calf, roll from side to side over the ball at three (or more!) points along your calf. Then move the ball to the base of the calf and roll in a straight line along your calf. For an added bonus, sit criss-cross with one leg over the other and place the ball in the arch of your bottom foot. Place your other leg on top of the ball so you can roll out the outside of the shin and your arch at the same time!