3 Ways Hip Hop Can Make You a Better Ballet Dancer

Being a great ballet dancer requires a lot of training, dedication and passion. But it isn't all about going to ballet class and only ballet class. Many things contribute to a ballet dancer's education and ability to be truly unique amongst the classical traditions. At Pegasus, we believe that having a well rounded dance education is one of the key things to being a great dancer! Hip Hop is just one aspect of this and one that can give a dancer a lot of amazing skills to apply to their ballet training.
​

---

Here are 3 ways Hip Hop can make you a better ballet dancer: 
​

1. It helps you stay grounded to the floor - Because the style has a more rooted movement vocabulary than ballet, it can really help dancers connect with the floor and find grounding in their dancing. This is great for ballet dancers! Although we often think of ballet as floating gracefully and barely touching the floor, that quality can only be accomplished if a dancer can really connect with the floor and use a grounded base to take off from. 
2. The rhythm and use of music in Hip Hop gives dancers a versatile quality - Ballet training focuses a lot on musicality and so does Hip Hop. What Hip Hop can add to ballet training are different rhythms and styles of music that will make dancers more versatile in their approach to musical interpretation.
3.  Style and attitude - One thing we see a lot at Pegasus are ballet dancers who master the technique but, in their concentration forget about performance dynamics and style. It is great to have perfect technique, but without a little attitude and style, ballet can look really flat and boring. In Hip Hop training, not only are you working on a highly stylized dance form but you have to show up with a strong attitude and presence, that is just part of the process. We've noticed, students that train in Hip Hop alongside Ballet ​have an easier time accessing bold performance dynamics and conveying emotion in their dancing. 

Happy dancing!