Meet Rebekah… founder of TheBalletDoctor.com and budding ballerina turned classical ballet coach and physiotherapy student. After taking her first ballet class at the age of 2, Rebekah went on to train vocationally for several years, receiving tuition from some of the leading names in the industry before her career was stunted by the development of snapping hip syndrome. Four years later, Rebekah created TheBalletDoctor.com – an online platform focusing on the science behind dance, aimed at helping students to improve their technique and prevent injury through the medium of cross training…
Have you ever been told to ‘get your legs up higher’ or to ‘turn-out more’? So have I. But did anybody ever tell you how to do those things? If the answer is NO, you’re not alone! For years I’d stand in the kitchen every night, performing développé after développé so that I too could achieve Instagram-worthy leg extensions in class the next day. Did it work…Nope. Instead, it contributed to an injury that would end my professional dance career forever.
Now I can’t speak for everyone, but looking back on my own training, I’ve noticed that a lot of teachers in the dance world seem to have an inadequate knowledge of anatomy. Without understanding which muscles need to be strengthened and engaged to perform a movement with the correct technique, how can we ever improve?… We can’t, and what’s worse, this lack of knowledge can actually leave students at risk of injury, especially if they’re not taught how to strengthen the ‘right’ muscles, and end up using the ‘wrong’ ones instead!
Ever since I first developed snapping hip syndrome, I’ve spent years researching the benefits of cross-training for dancers, determined to find a way to help other students avoid the type of career-destroying injuries experienced by so many budding ballerinas (myself included). Aside from injury prevention, cross-training is essential for improving our ballet technique, through the creation of strong, athletic dancers who are capable of achieving that extra pirouette or 180⁰ penché.
TheBalletDoctor.com was born out of my belief that dancers need to be educated to understand their bodies. Using this platform, I’ll help you to improve your technique and avoid injury by providing the in-depth, scientific explanations and exercises ballerinas need to really get-to-grips with their anatomy; explanations which are often hard to find online and can’t possibly be squashed into the contents of short, snappy Instagram reels!
Are you ready to let me help YOU take your ballet progression and development into your own hands?…
Rebekah (A.K.A The Ballet Doctor)