Conditioning & Technique Class – what is SST (Stretch, Strength & Technique) class and why should do we do it?
Dancers seem to defy all the laws of gravity with some of their tricks! Waltz across the floor with elegantly long and graceful arm and leg lines! They seem to jump impossibly high and they always make it look so easy! How do they do it?! They take a dancers conditioning class like SST (Stretch, Strength & Technique)!
Dance not only requires performance and musicality but a high level of coordination, balance alignment and flexibility. A dancer must condition their body to be strong and flexible enough to be able to improve and achieve all those amazing tricks and moves.
What is SST?
The weekly SST (Stretch, Strength & Technique) class at RSD is offered for all dancers aged 8 years and over. It is compulsory for intermediate and senior level ballet, jazz & contemporary dancers, it’s also a great class to add to your schedule for the senior levels of musical theatre, tap or acro.
SST (Stretch, Strength & Technique) class develops a range of skills including choreography (linking steps together), musicality, improving the finer details of dance technique and conditioning of the muscles.
To progress and improve
For the level of fitness required to progress and improve – dancers MUST condition their bodies and that is the aim of our SST classes. It’s the same for all athletes, for example, swimmers don’t always swim in the pool to swim faster, the All Blacks don’t always play rugby to get better at winning, even musicians don’t play full concertos to improve, they’ve got drills and scales to practice. In fact, even professional ballerinas do a barre class everyday, starting with plies & tendus – one of the most basic of steps that they learned as a preschooler – there’s always room for improvement!
Reduces Injuries
Conditioning the body also decreases the risk of injury, both short term and long term as our dancers push their bodies to enable them to achieve their goals. A fitter dancer is able to perform with joy, passion and enthusiasm without focusing on just “getting through” their routine and a stronger dancer is able to achieve more height and control in their jumps, turns and leaps.
Voices from the Dance Floor:
“SST has really improved my dancing, like turn out, flexibility, strength and more! I’ve noticed a big change in my turnout. This class has made my dancing better, stronger and has really helped with my ballet technique” AnnaLiza
“SST has kept me fit and stretched! I am able to dance for longer periods of time. I love to see the improvement of my skills in acro because of my commitment to this class” Jamie
“After I started SST I noticed my flexibility and strength go up a lot! SST has really help me learn new foundations and break bad habits. I love that I can now do all my splits because of the extra practice! Vinshi
While we know that conditioning is nowhere near as fun as your regular dance classes, we promise that it is just as important! Improvement in dance comes from a combination of practice and strengthening your body. Besides, #growth is one of our values!
Next time you’re in the studio, talk to one of our Rockstar Team about your dance goals and discuss whether taking SST would be right for you to achieve it (heads up: they’re probably going to say YES for sure! ?) And bonus: there’s a multiclass discount for adding more classes to your schedule! Win-Win!
Written by Miss Summer
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