Why Dancers Should Squat

Why are squats so important? Why do dancers need to do squats?

There are many reasons, but I want to focus on the idea that squats are a fundamental movement pattern that lays the foundation for more complicated movement patterns.  

To understand our fundamental movement patterns, it’s helpful to watch toddlers first learning to navigate their surroundings. Watch a toddler bend down to pick something up from the floor. They squat down! They bend their knees, stick out their butt, press weight into their heels, and keep their knees behind their toes. They don’t do the straight-knee-forward-fold that is so popular among our dancers. Toddlers don’t have these altered motor patterns yet; their bodies are just doing what is most efficient. They learn to squat before they can do harder movements like stepping up a step. The squat is a prerequisite for a single leg step-up.  

Squats are functional (standing up from a chair, getting on/off the toilet) and something we need to be able to do throughout our lives. As ballet dancers layer on more complicated and unnatural movement patterns in their training, the body begins to forget these most basic movements.  

This can be detrimental because we begin to lose that natural foundation of movement and that foundation transitions into something less basic, less efficient, and more harmful (i.e. straight legged forward fold, running with toe-out, not allowing the shoulder to elevate with reaching overhead). This can wear on the body, leading to increased risk of injury and joint damage.

But if we build a strong foundation - LITERALLY build strength in these functional movements like squats - we will be better prepared and conditioned for the intricate and unnatural movements of dance, resulting in less injury and better performance. 

Dancers, if you’re looking to improve your jumps, increase your general strength, or maybe you’re noticing pain in a joint and you’re not sure why, it may be time to take things back to the basics. Channel your inner toddler and pop a squat. 

Elizabeth Tilstra