Principle Ballet Dancer Starts New Career as a Yoga Sports Coach

Written by Ambra Vallo

I joined the Institute of Yoga Sports Science® so that, in the future, I could help athletes, dancers and other performers across different disciplines improve their performance.

I'm a former gymnast and have spent the last 24 years performing as a principal ballet dancer with one of the UK's leading professional ballet companies.

After a full and rewarding career as a ballerina, I'm preparing for the next chapter of my professional life.

Thanks to Dancers' Career Development (DCD), an organisation established to support dancers transitioning into careers beyond professional dance, I'll be able to build on my existing qualifications as a yoga teacher in Ashtanga Vinyasa and Rocket Yoga, alongside my postgraduate qualification in sport psychology (MPhil).

As a gymnast, I injured my back while training for competition. As a ballerina, I've spent many years overcoming significant injuries, including stress fractures in both feet, surgery on my knee and ankle, and torn ligaments in one foot.

I now realise that complementing my traditional ballet training with practices such as yoga may have helped me manage some of the physical demands I was experiencing.

I often think, 'If only I knew then what I know now.'

After 24 years, I've developed a thorough understanding of the pressures that performance and training can place on an athlete's or dancer's body.

Drawing on my experiences as a dancer, I feel I can offer valuable support to other athletes.

I see Yoga Sports Science® as providing an invaluable scientific foundation for understanding how yoga may contribute to performance, support recovery and potentially help manage injury risk.

For me, it's an important resource to draw upon as I move into the next stage of my career.

Once I Qualify as a Yoga Sports Coach™

Once qualified, I hope to establish a business working with elite athletes, dancers and other performers, whether in sport or the arts, helping them achieve their potential through psychological support and complementary physical training.

At the heart of this approach, I see yoga as bringing physical and mental benefits together.

Alongside developing my business, I also enjoy teaching yoga classes.

I see the YSS qualification as giving me a deeper understanding of how to deliver yoga training appropriately and why it may offer benefits to those practising.

Overall, I believe the course will make me a better teacher, coach, trainer and practitioner.