Why Acrobats Need Pilates

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I read a great article today which clearly stresses the importance of Pilates exercise to the continued functional working of Cirque de Soleil's acrobat performers

"While obviously geared toward the highest-level athletes, the Montreal-based company's training practices, emphasizing strength, nutrition and the body-balancing approach of Pilates, hold lessons for many who'll get no closer to a Cirque show than the front row."

The physical therapists and coach for the cast of Cirque's Saltimbanco custom build Pilates workouts for each performer. Since so many people think that Pilates focuses only on flexibility, you might wonder why these obviously strong and flexible people need extra Pilates.

"We're learning how much Pilates is beneficial for someone like an acrobat who tends to overuse certain joints, overuse one side of their body more than the other,'' Ocampo said. "With the Pilates approach we try to almost recenter people, because otherwise acrobats can quickly become unbalanced from side to side, from front to back, because almost everything that we do is one sided or unidirectional.''

Ocampo, in his mid 30s, a Cirque performer in Alegria and Saltimbanco for 10 years before becoming a coach, explained that acrobats nearly always twist one way — to their right or left — when doing things like a salto (a flip) or cartwheel.

"Pilates tries to address the imbalances that are going to start to form in your body because you're only twisting one way,'' he said.

However, Pilates, with its focus on breathing and disciplined movement, can be a challenge for high-energy young athletes. The 50 or so performers in Saltimbanco range from 18 to 47, but most are on the young side.

"When you say to them, 'Okay, let's slow down, let's take it on the mat and do these small, slow exercises,' it's a hard thing for a lot of acrobats to grasp, because they like to move fast,'' Gurie said. "But when they see it work for them, how injuries become less and less when Pilates is incorporated into their training regimen, then it becomes attractive, then everybody wants to do it."

Tags: Pilates, Fitness, Health, cirque de soleil, saltimbanco