How to Warm Up Before a Ballet Exam: Best Routines & Tips

Ballet exams are an opportunity to showcase your technique, artistry, and dedication to the discipline. A proper warm-up is essential, to enable you to perform at your best and prevent injury.

In this blog post, we will introduce you to the components of a well-structured warm-up, ensuring you step into the exam room feeling confident and ready to dance.

How to warm up before ballet exams?

1. Elevate Your Heart Rate

Increasing your heart rate is crucial for promoting blood flow to your muscles, reducing stiffness, and preparing your body for movement. However, it's important to strike a balance—warming up should energize you, not exhaust you. Some simple cardio exercises that can elevate your heart rate include:

• Jumping Jacks – A full-body movement to get your blood pumping.

• High Knees – Engages your legs and core while boosting endurance.

• Burpees – A dynamic exercise that strengthens multiple muscle groups.

Tip: Choose exercises that you are comfortable with and that efficiently elevate your heart rate without excessive fatigue.

2. Activate Your Core

Your core plays a fundamental role in maintaining balance, posture, and stability throughout your performance. Engaging your core muscles will support your turns, jumps, and extensions. Here are some exercises to activate your abdomial and oblique muscles:

For abdominal muscles:

• Planks – Strengthens your entire core while improving endurance.

• Crunches – Focuses on engaging your upper abdominals.

• Sit-ups – Helps build core control and strength.

For oblique muscles:

• Russian Twists – Improves rotational strength and stability.

• Plank Hip Dips – Targets the sides of your core for better balance.

• Bicycle Crunches – Engages both the abdominals and obliques simultaneously.

A strong core helps maintain alignment and control, ensuring a polished and precise performance.

3. Focus on Injury Prevention

Many dancers carry minor injuries, and it’s essential to give these areas special attention. Neglecting past injuries can lead to discomfort or even more serious setbacks during your exam. Since every dancer’s injury history is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It is important to do strengthening exercises recommended by your physiotherapist or teacher that specifically target those areas. Whether it's ankle stability drills, knee-strengthening exercises, or back mobility work, ensure you take preventive measures to support your body.

4. Enhance Your Flexibility

Once your body is warm, it’s time to work on flexibility. Stretching helps improve your range of motion and ensures your extensions reach their maximum potential. Focus on static stretches that allow your muscles to relax and lengthen. Some key stretches include:

• Lunges – Stretches the hip flexors and prepares the legs for movement.

• Splits – Enhances leg flexibility and hip openness.

• Over-Splits – A more advanced stretch to deepen flexibility.

To prevent injury, make sure your body is adequately warmed up before holding static stretches. This is also a great opportunity to calm your nerves, focus your mind, and mentally prepare for your exam.

Final Tips for Exam Readiness

• Stick to exercises you’re familiar with — warm up like how you normally do before classes!

• Listen to your body and adjust the intensity of the warm ups as needed.

• Run through any technical steps or sequences that need refining — remember the corrections given in class!

• Stay hydrated and maintain a positive mindset.

By following a well-rounded warm-up routine, you will ensure your body is fully prepared to execute each movement with strength, grace, and confidence.

Wishing all TBA students the best for your ballet exams — dance your heart out and shine on stage! 🩰✨