The opening ceremony of the Czech National Ballet’s Physical Therapy Center took place on Friday 3 February 2023 in the St. Anna Studios at St. Anna Square in Prague.

The need for rehabilitation and physical therapy – the inseparable part of dancers’ education – is increasing as well as the performing demands in ballet in association with dancers’ challenging year, when the training and rehearsals take place every day, six days a week, with performances during the working week and at the weekend.

The new rehabilitation and physical therapy center will provide basic diagnostics (in association with external entities) and the treatment of the musculoskeletal system with a specialization in prophylaxis, injury prevention, and treatment of acute pain. It integrates all necessary activities in one functional unit with the appropriate links.

The center has a part with physical therapy devices (electrotherapy, therapeutic ultrasound, lymphatic drainage machines). Another part features a fitness center and a gym with the equipment for training with added external weight (tools for proprioception that help perceive the body better and improve stability, equipment for plyometric training, which is beneficial for the dancers as far as the jumping technique is concerned). One of the most significant improvements is the new workout construction, which allows the dancers to perform their physical preparations even better than before, and the improvement of the general resilience. Apart from the exercises, physical therapy also includes manual therapy (focused on joints and soft tissues – mobilization and manipulation techniques, massages). The sauna is also available.

Source: www.narodni-divadlo.cz

Photo: Czech National Ballet performing Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”; photo: Serghei Gherciu