Getting competition ready

From Zumba to meditation, five candidates share their training routine secrets ahead of the competition.

‘I take classes in ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, and lyrical totalling about 15-20 hours of dance a week. When I am not training in the studio I take part in many cross training activities such as running, Zumba, and Pilates.’ – Alyssa Churchill, Canada

‘My routine consists of physical conditioning with stretch bands, then a ballet class and a repertoire class en pointe. I later have private lessons to rehearse my variations for the competition. On some days I also have a contemporary or pas de deux class. Finally, I always practice meditation during the night as it helps me to have good mental health.’ – Denisse Landa, Mexico

‘I train specifically on my Genée variations for 1-2 hours per day. Overall, I train for about 30 hours per week.’ – Gianna Juliet, USA

‘Usually I start with some cardio, then yoga or Pilates to warm up followed by stretching, and then I will do ballet class and some conditioning exercises.’ – Jessica Templeton, UK

‘I train at  Carstens Ireland Ballet School 6 days a week where we are offered high performance ballet training, as well as contemporary and Spanish dance. I also attend the Joburg Ballet Academy twice a week where we are offered ballet and contemporary classes by the members of Joburg Ballet company. Outside of the dance studio, I also enjoy yoga and body conditioning classes.’ – Tayla De Bie, South Africa

 See how Caitlin Garlick prepared for last year’s competition.

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