Where Science meets Dance Hi, I’m Monica! I’m a personal trainer for dancers, dance teacher, and dance science specialist based in London, UK.
I’m passionate about sharing my expertise, insights, exercises, and strategies to support dancers in reaching their full potential.
09/06/2026
Nobody has an hour. But everyone has 20/30 minutes to spend on improving flexibility!
That’s 7 targeted exercises × 3 sets, and if you do that consistently, your front split will improve.
Small sessions add up faster than you think it and that’s exactly what my flexibility program is about!
Comment ‘SPLIT’ to get the link to my flexibility program and unlock splits ⬇️
04/06/2026
New York will always do something to me. The energy, the pace, the feeling that anything is possible ✨🩰
What’s your favourite city? ⬇️
02/06/2026
A strong core is so much more than “abs”, it’s the foundation for balance, control, and efficient movement.
For dancers, your core connects your upper and lower body, stabilizes turnout, supports extensions, and keeps your technique clean even when you’re tired.
These Pilates-inspired exercises target the deep stabilizing muscles (not just the superficial six-pack). By focusing on precision, breath, and control, you’ll build strength that actually translates into better performance on the floor and on stage.
Save this post to add these to your next core session 🔥
30/05/2026
Most dancers think a higher retiré is a flexibility problem.
It’s not.
It’s a strength problem, specifically, your external rotators aren’t strong enough to hold the turnout of your standing leg and control the placement of your working leg at the same time.
When those muscles fatigue or can’t generate enough force, your hip drops, your knee drifts forward, and your retiré loses its shape before you’ve even hit the top.
Strengthening your external rotators doesn’t just improve your turnout, it gives your retiré the stability and precision it needs to actually look perfect.
Comment the word ‘TURNOUT’ to get the link to my 6-week turnout program straight to your DMs ⬇️✨
24/05/2026
If I wanted to improve my pancake stretch, I would definitely include these 4 exercises. They build the hip mobility and adductor length your pancake actually needs:
1. Cossack squat - loaded hip mobility through full range
2. Adductor rockback - teaches your inner thighs to lengthen under control
3. Frog pose - opens the groin and hip external rotation
4. Forward fold - decompresses the posterior chain, unlocks hamstrings, and lets gravity do the work
P.s. No boyfriend was harmed in the making of this post 🤭
Comment ‘PANCAKE’ and I’ll send you the link to my full flexibility program straight to your DMs ⬇️
21/05/2026
Stiff ankles aren’t a structural problem, they’re an untrained one.
Most dancers spend years drilling plantarflexion (the pointe) and almost zero time developing mobility and strength through dorsiflexion, inversion, eversion, and rotation.
Then they wonder why their ankles feel restricted, unstable, or injury-prone.
Your ankle has a full range of directions it’s designed to move in and if you’ve never trained those directions, you haven’t hit a ceiling, you’ve just found a gap in your training.
That’s exactly what the Foot & Ankle Foundations program is about! Comment POINTE to get the link straight to your DMs ⬇️
If you’re leaving rehearsal with a stiff, heavy upper back, this is for you.
All you need is two thick blocks. Lie on your tummy and rest the heads of your shoulders on the blocks. Let gravity do the work for 2 minutes.
Most dancers spend so much time on active training that passive release never makes it into the routine. But your thoracic spine is working hard in every class and it rarely gets a chance to just let go.
This isn’t a stretch. You’re not forcing anything. You’re just giving your body the time it needs to unload.
Try it after your next rehearsal (or just a long and intense day) and tell me how your upper back feels ✨