Sometimes dancers have a fraught relationship with Pilates. They may experience a sense of conflict or confusion when starting their Pilates practice, especially around the idea of the “right” way to move or position their bodies. If you look at the way dancers are often trained, it makes sense that there might be some incongruities between dance and Pilates.

There are a few key reasons that dance and Pilates go hand-in-hand. Pilates emphasizes the development of a strong core—essential for nearly every movement in dance; it teaches awareness of body alignment, which is vital for dancers to achieve graceful, efficient and injury-free movements and it helps to create more balanced strength throughout the entire body, including often-neglected muscles like the deep stabilizers of the core and back.