Katie Boren is always on the move.
While most of us are waiting for our morning coffee to brew, Boren has already completed a yoga flow or core quickie and is out the door with her dog Murphy for a two or three mile walk. After that, she slips out of her sneakers and into her pointe shoes to get ready for her day job as a corps de ballet member at the American Ballet Theatre.
Between the early morning workouts and the all-day rehearsals, being a professional ballerina is no joke. “We start our day with a one-and-a-half-hour technique class,” Boren explains. “Class is usually followed by six hours of rehearsals with a one-hour break in the middle. If I have a light day, I use that break to work in a cardio or strength workout.” When it’s time to go home, Boren is usually spent (can you blame her?), but she always tries to squeeze in a stretch before bed to mitigate some soreness for the next day. On her off days, the work doesn’t stop. “I typically use my free days to work in more intense strength and conditioning workouts,” like cross-training with different types of movements outside of her usual dancer routine. “I believe this is a very important part of keeping my dancing body healthy.”
With a passion for dance and a desire to provide more people with an opportunity to experience the intricacies of ballet training, Boren teamed up with Equinox instructor Chris Vo to create a new take on the classical ballet class for gym-goers alike. “We created this class for everyone to enjoy and be challenged by with both ends of the fitness spectrum in mind,” Vo says. “[It] may serve as a gateway to those who desire to take their barre workout to the next level and/or to satiate those who want to rekindle their love for dance in their past.” The Ballet by Equinox x ABT class features across-the-floor combinations (jeté! Plie! Pirouette!), athletic jumps and Thera-band sequences to help improve posture, flexibility and balance.
