Body Ballet, Pilates and Stretching is a stretching and strengthening class for adults - of any age and any fitness level - in Szczecin, in the studio at ul. Mariana Rapackiego 3B (Joy Dance). It takes place on Sundays from 10:30 to 12:30, within the open adult group, and is taught by Olga Kuźmina, a dancer at the Opera na Zamku. No dance experience and no flexibility required; enrolment is online on this page.
Stretching is not a sport but a craft - the same one dancers have used for centuries to prepare the body for work. Body Ballet takes the barre exercises and body placement from classical ballet, Pilates adds work on the deep stabilising muscles, and stretching closes the lesson with longer held positions. The result after a few weeks is the one most people come for: a straighter back, looser hips and neck, a wider range of motion and a body you are in control of.
Who stretching is for
For adults who want to stretch, get stronger and improve their posture - without having to dance.
For people who sit at a desk all day, for runners and cyclists with tight legs, for those coming back to exercise after a break, and for dancers who want to work on flexibility. Level does not matter: every exercise has an easier and a harder version, and the teacher corrects individually.
Body Ballet, Pilates or stretching - how they differ
Body Ballet is the exercises of a classical ballet lesson - plié, tendu, battement, port de bras - done at the barre for posture, a longer line and leg strength, with no dance combinations. Pilates is mat work on the deep muscles of the abdomen, back and pelvis that hold the spine. Stretching is static and dynamic flexibility work: splits, hips, back, shoulders. In our class the three come together in one lesson.
What a stretching lesson looks like
Two hours on a Sunday morning: a warm-up, a barre section, mat work and stretching at the end - at a calm pace, with individual correction.
The same group also learns simple pieces of choreography - if you come for ballet and not only for stretching, we describe that side of the class on the ballet for adults page. Barres and mats are in the studio; you come in comfortable, fitted clothes and socks or ballet slippers.
What regular stretching gives you
Less tension in the neck and back, better coordination and balance, conscious posture in everyday life and a wider range of motion in every other activity - from running to dance.
Ballet also teaches something no strength training does: precision and lightness of movement.
Where and when
The studio at ul. Mariana Rapackiego 3B in Szczecin (Joy Dance), Sundays 10:30-12:30, from September to the end of June. The fee is charged per session - the current price and free places are in the enrolment form on this page. If you want to dance and not only stretch, see ballet for adults.