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Caroline Simpkins, PhD | Ballet Science

@ballet.science

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🩰 Former Professional Ballerina + PhD
🔬 Evidence-Based Ballet Education
🎥 Weekly YouTube Videos | Podcast | Research
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🩰 Ballet Science Backstage is officially on Patreon!

I’ve been working behind the scenes to create a new home for the Ballet Science library… and it’s finally here!

Backstage members get ad-free access to my podcast episodes, educational videos, workouts, stretching videos, expert interviews, dance research, digital downloads, and more, all organized in one place.

You’ll also be able to vote in polls and help shape some of the videos I create next.

My goal with Ballet Science has always been to bring evidence-based information into the studio and make dance science accessible to dancers, teachers, parents, and anyone who loves movement.

If you’ve found Ballet Science helpful and want to support the podcast while getting access to the growing library, I’d love to have you Backstage.

Comment MORE and I will send you a membership link!

Or check it out with the link in my bio.

#BalletScience #dancescience #Ballet #danceresearch #dancer by @ballet.science

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Hi, I’m Caroline! 👋🏻

I’m a former professional ballerina, ballet teacher, researcher, and the creator of Ballet Science where dance meets data.

Over the years, my path has taken me from performing professionally in both classical and contemporary ballet… to teaching students from ages 3 to 80… to earning a PhD in biomechanics and publishing research focused on dance, balance, movement, and human performance.

Through Ballet Science and the Ballet Science Podcast, my goal is to make the science of ballet more accessible, understandable, and useful for dancers, teachers, parents, adult students, and anyone fascinated by movement.

Here you’ll find:
🩰 Ballet education
🧠 Dance science & biomechanics
🎙 Podcast interviews
💪 Strength, flexibility & injury prevention
📚 Research explained simply
✨ Behind-the-scenes ballet insights

Whether you’re a lifelong dancer, an adult beginner, a teacher, a parent, or simply ballet-curious… I’m so glad you’re here!

Comment below and introduce yourself! I’d love to know how you found Ballet Science. 🩰

Photo credits: Richard Calmes (Slides 1 & 7) and Janusz Mazon (Slide 2) by @ballet.science

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What does it really take to become a professional ballet dancer?

I'm so excited to share my latest Ballet Science Podcast interview with Kathryn Morgan, former New York City Ballet soloist, teacher, and one of the most influential voices in ballet education today.

Comment PODCAST if you'd like me to send you a link to the full interview!

In this clip, Kathryn shares an important perspective on today's ballet world: while ballet competitions like YAGP can open incredible doors, winning medals isn't the same as being prepared for the day-to-day reality of a professional ballet career.

Dancing in a company requires so much more than executing a perfect variation... it takes adaptability, consistency, artistry, teamwork, and the ability to perform the same role night after night.

In our full conversation, we also discuss:
🩰 Kathryn's journey with NYCB
🩺 How thyroid disease changed her career
💙 Body image and self-advocacy in ballet
📱 Social media and the dance world
✨ Healthy, sustainable training for dancers

It was such a privilege to sit down with Kathryn and hear her insights from every stage of her career... as a professional dancer, teacher, content creator, and advocate for dancer health.

🎧 Watch or listen the full episode now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Link in bio!

#BalletScience #KathrynMorgan #Ballet #balletdancers #dance by @ballet.science

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3 months ago

Ballet Term of the Week 🩰
Promenade - from French, meaning “walk” or “stroll.”

In ballet, a promenade is a turning movement in which the dancer gradually rotates around the supporting leg while the working leg remains in a relatively fixed position. It can be performed in positions such as arabesque or attitude.

Unlike a pirouette, where the dancer rotates rapidly around a fixed supporting foot, a promenade involves a slow, controlled rotation of the supporting foot as the body changes orientation.

From a biomechanics perspective, promenade requires the dancer to continuously manage the relationship between the center of mass, supporting foot, pelvis, and trunk while rotating. The supporting leg has to provide both stability and controlled movement.

It may look like you’re simply turning in place… But your supporting foot is constantly adapting to keep you balanced.

Save this for class and follow @ballet.science for more technique + science!

#BalletScience #Ballet #promenade #BalletTechnique #dancescience by @ballet.science

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Pointework is so much more than putting on a pair of pointe shoes. 🩰

Pointe changes the demands placed on the dancer, requiring strength, balance, alignment, control, and precise articulation of the foot.

That’s why pointe preparation matters. The goal isn’t simply to get a dancer up on pointe. It’s to develop the physical skills that allow them to work en pointe with control and efficiency.

And that preparation should be:
🦶 Progressive
💪 Strength-focused
🎯 Individualized
⚖️ Grounded in good technique
🩰 Specific to the demands of pointework

There are no two dancers (or two pairs of feet) that are exactly alike. Readiness and training should reflect that.

Pointework is a skill. And like any skill, it needs to be trained… not simply performed.

What do you think is most important in pointe preparation? 👇

#BalletScience #Ballet #Pointe #ballettechnique #pointeshoes by @ballet.science

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“People think that it ends when you’re done. Woo-hoo, you ring the bell. You’re done with chemotherapy. But that’s when the real work begins.”

Finishing treatment doesn’t necessarily mean you immediately feel like yourself again. For Abigail Simon (@abigailsimonofficial), the physical and emotional recovery continued long after chemotherapy ended… and she found herself asking an important question:

“Yes, we got rid of the cancer, but what quality of life did I have?”

In this episode of the Ballet Science Podcast, Abigail opens up about the parts of cancer recovery that aren’t always talked about: depression, chronic pain, changes to her body, and finding her way back to dance and to herself.

This is such an honest conversation about what happens after treatment, and why recovery needs to include both the body and the mind. 🩰💗

💬 Comment ABIGAIL and I’ll send you a link to the full interview!

🎙️ Watch or listen now to the Ballet Science Podcast on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify!

#BalletScience #breastcancer #cancerrecovery #BreastCancerSurvivor #balletdancer by @ballet.science

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3 days ago

What happens when the body you’ve spent your entire life training suddenly changes?

Comment ABIGAIL and I will send you a link to the full interview!

In my latest episode of the Ballet Science Podcast, I’m joined by former professional ballet dancer Abigail Simon (@abigailsimonofficial) to talk about her experience with breast cancer.

Abigail opens up about diagnosis and treatment, the physical and emotional challenges of recovery, body image, losing her sense of purpose, and learning to move differently after surgery.

We also talk about something I think is especially important for dancers: the need for medical care that considers not only survival, but quality of life and the goal of returning to dance.

And Abigail shares how she ultimately found her way back to the stage… including dancing en pointe again soon with @oncoballet!🩰

This is such an honest conversation about cancer, identity, resilience, and what it means to find your way back to your body.

🎙️Watch or listen now to the Ballet Science Podcast on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify!

#BalletScience #BalletDancer #BreastCancer #BreastCancerSurvivor #DanceScience by @ballet.science

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🩰 What does it actually mean to be ready for pointe?

Comment STUDY if you want a link to the full research article!

Pointe readiness is one of the most debated topics in ballet… and there’s no single test that can tell us whether a dancer is ready to go en pointe.

But research can help us understand what physical characteristics may distinguish dancers who have recently started pointe from those who have not.

In this 2018 study, researchers compared 49 young female ballet dancers:
• 28 pre-pointe dancers
• 21 dancers who had recently started pointe
• All had at least 1 year of formal ballet training

The researchers assessed:
🔹 Ankle range of motion
🔹 Relevé endurance
🔹 Plantarflexion strength
🔹 Balance
🔹 Functional movement

Interestingly, the pointe group performed significantly better on muscular capacity and balance, but not on the range-of-motion measures.

Two tests stood out:
🩰 Single-leg relevé endurance: 15 continuous repetitions
🩰 Airplane test: 2 repetitions

The authors suggested these may be useful cutoff values when incorporating these tests into a pre-pointe screening protocol.

But here’s the important part… Pointe readiness is more than checking boxes on a test.

Age, technique, strength, balance, motor control, training history, growth and development, and the individual dancer all matter. A screening test can provide useful information, but it shouldn’t be treated as a universal pass/fail test.

The goal isn’t to rush a dancer onto pointe. It’s to help determine whether her body has the physical capacity to safely handle the demands of pointe work. 🩰

📚 Research:
DeWolf A, McPherson A, Besong K, Hiller C, Docherty C. Quantitative Measures Utilized in Determining Pointe Readiness in Young Ballet Dancers. Journal of Dance Medicine & Science. 2018;22(4):209-217.

#balletscience #ballet #pointe #dancescience #dancemedicine by @ballet.science

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Ballet Term of the Week 🩰
Pirouette - from French, meaning “whirling” or “spinning.”

In ballet, a pirouette is a turn performed on one supporting leg while the body rotates around its vertical axis. But what actually makes a pirouette turn?

From a biomechanics perspective, the dancer generates angular momentum through the coordination of the arms, legs, and torso. Once the rotation begins, changing the body’s configuration (such as bringing the arms and working leg closer to the body’s center) can affect how quickly the dancer rotates.

That’s why a pirouette isn’t simply about “spinning harder.” It’s about generating, controlling, and maintaining rotational momentum while keeping the body’s center of mass positioned over the supporting foot.

And then there’s the really hard part… stopping! A beautiful pirouette isn’t just a fast turn. It’s a controlled one.

Save this for class and follow @ballet.science for more technique + science!

#BalletScience #Ballet #Pirouette #BalletTechnique #balleteducation by @ballet.science

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What if pointe’s bad reputation is partly a training problem? 🩰

For many dancers, pointe is associated with pain, injuries, pressure, and fear. And those experiences can shape how people outside of ballet perceive pointework.

But what if pointe training looked different?

What if dancers were given the preparation, strength, articulation, alignment, and control they need before they’re expected to perform difficult choreography en pointe?

In my recent conversation with Lynne Charles, founder of 4Pointe (@4pointe) and Director of English National Ballet School, we talked about why she believes pointe training needs to evolve… and how better preparation could change the way dancers experience pointe.

Maybe it’s time to rethink pointe. What do you think?

🎙️ Full interview with Lynne Charles on the Ballet Science Podcast. Available now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Link in bio!

#BalletScience #Ballet #Pointe #pointeshoes #balletdancer by @ballet.science

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9 days ago

What should a pointe class actually look like? 🩰

Comment MORE and I will send you a link to the full interview!

In this clip from my conversation with Lynne Charles (@charlynballet), founder of 4Pointe (@4pointe) and Director of English National Ballet School, we talk about something that deserves more attention: the difference between simply dancing en pointe and actually training for pointework.

Putting on pointe shoes, doing a few relevés at the barre, and then going into the center to practice turns, fouettés, or competition variations isn’t necessarily the same thing as developing the strength, articulation, alignment, and control needed for pointework.

So what should pointe training look like? And are we giving young dancers enough preparation before asking them to perform difficult choreography en pointe?

Lynne and I explore these questions (and much more!) in the full episode.

🎙️ Listen/watch the full interview with Lynne Charles on the Ballet Science Podcast. Available now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.

#BalletScience #Ballet #Pointe #pointeshoes by @ballet.science

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When should a dancer start pointe? And are we pushing young dancers too quickly? 🩰

Comment MORE and I will send you a link to the full interview!

In my conversation with Lynne Charles (@charlynballet), founder of 4Pointe (@4pointe) and Director of English National Ballet School, we had an important conversation about pointe training, pre-pointe preparation, competitions, and the pressure placed on young dancers.

Lynne believes dancers should be properly assessed and prepared before going en pointe… and that we need to give young dancers time to simply be kids.

We also talk about:
🩰 Why pointe training needs to evolve
🦶 The importance of foot strength and articulation
💪 Pre-pointe preparation and assessment
🏆 The impact of competitions on young dancers
🩻 Injury prevention and returning from injury
🎓 Training teachers to teach pointe effectively
✨ Lynne’s 4Pointe method

This was such an insightful conversation, and I’m excited for you to hear the full episode!

🎙️ Listen/watch the full interview with Lynne Charles on the Ballet Science Podcast. Available now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube!

📸: Amber Hunt

#BalletScience #Ballet #pointe #dancescience #dancemedicine by @ballet.science

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