Is Your Pole Ballerina Stuck? Here Are 6 Things To Check
Ah, the pole ballerina. It’s that elegant, twisty, leggy pose that looks oh-so-effortless on Instagram – but we all know it’s anything but easy! Behind the beauty is a unique cocktail of mobility, flexibility, and strength that your body has to harmonize to even get close to locking in this shape.
In this guide, I’m breaking it all down: what needs to move, what needs to be strong, and how to tell if your body is ready to take on this gorgeous position. Plus, I’ll share some practical mobility tests that’ll help you check your body safely and effectively.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
🩰 Quick Anatomy Snapshot: What’s Working in the Pole Ballerina?
When you hit the ballerina shape on the pole, your body’s asking for:
Thoracic Spine Rotation
Shoulder Flexion & External Rotation
Hip External Rotation and Extension
Unilateral Glute and Core Strength
Active Shoulder Stability (especially in twisted grips)
If any of these areas are stiff, weak, or not playing nicely together, your ballerina is going to feel awkward, unsafe, or just out of reach.
🌀 Mobility: Can You Move Where You Need to Move?
1. Thoracic Spine Rotation
The pole ballerina demands serious upper back (thoracic) rotation. We need around 60 degrees of thoracic rotation to own our Ballerina pose. If your spine is stuck, your shoulders and hips will try to compensate – and that’s a one-way ticket to wonky grips and possible injury.
✅ Self-Check: Thoracic Rotation Test
Check out the demo video here to show you exactly how to test your thoracic rotation at home.
If you can’t rotate comfortably to each side (without forcing it), this is an area you’ll want to unlock.
🌟 Why Thoracic Mobility is the Unsung Hero
So many dancers hyper-focus on shoulders and hips (which, yes, are super important!) – but thoracic mobility is the quiet MVP. Without it, you’ll likely struggle to rotate safely and may overload your shoulders or low back.
If you only have time to work on one thing this week – start with your thoracic mobility.
Your shoulders and hips will thank you!
🏹 2. Shoulder Flexion
We often think of the ballerina as all about twisting and pulling, but that overhead arm? It needs solid shoulder flexion to get there safely without arching through your lower back like a banana.
If you’re missing this overhead mobility, you might start compensating elsewhere (hello, cranky lower back and shrugged shoulders), which is a fast track to discomfort or even injury.
✅ Self-Check: Shoulder Flexion Test
I’ve got you covered with a demo video on how to quickly assess your shoulder flexion. Ideally, you want to be able to bring your arms overhead, close to your ears, without arching your back or flaring your ribs.
If your arms drift forward or your ribs pop out like they’re trying to escape – ding, ding, ding – time to work on that shoulder flexion!
3. Shoulder External Rotation: Unlocking Safe Twisted Grips
Shoulder mobility is your golden ticket to safely hitting the ballerina, especially in twisted grip variations.
Shoulder external rotation happens when your upper arm bone rotates away from your body. In the context of the ballerina, this allows your shoulder and arm to move into a safe, functional position behind you – instead of cranking your elbow or twisting your wrist into a compromised angle.
If your shoulder doesn’t externally rotate well, you’re way more likely to compensate somewhere else – usually by arching your back too much, shrugging your shoulders up to your ears, or relying on your wrist and elbow joints to make up for what your shoulder can't do. (Cue discomfort and instability.)
✅ Self-Check: Shoulder External Rotation Test
You can get a quick sense of your external rotation range by doing this simple test at home – check out my demo video for the full walk-through.
What you’re looking for:
At least 90 degrees of external rotation is ideal for safe, functional twisted grip positions.
If your elbow starts to lift, or you feel tension in your neck, you may be missing this range and compensating elsewhere.
🧩 4. Shoulder Extension
Okay, so you’ve got your thoracic rotation, shoulder external rotation, and overhead mobility in check — but you’re still struggling to progress that beautiful foot-to-hand connection in your ballerina. What gives?
👀 Enter: Shoulder Extension.
This isn’t always the first thing we think about, but shoulder extension is essential if you’re working toward a full ballerina, especially progressing from baby ballerina variations.
If you can’t comfortably get about 45-60 degrees of shoulder extension, you’ll probably feel like you’re constantly chasing your foot or folding awkwardly to reach it.
It’s not as vital as thoracic rotation or overhead mobility, but if the reach feels impossible – this could be your missing puzzle piece.
✅ Self-Check: Shoulder Extension Range
Here’s the demo video to test your shoulder extension.
You should be able to bring your arm behind you (elbow straight!) to about 45-60 degrees without your chest collapsing forward or your shoulder hiking up toward your ear. If it feels super tight or blocked, it’s time to show this area some love.
🦵 Hip Mobility: External Rotation and Extension – Your Two Power Players
When it comes to locking in the ballerina shape, the hips are doing a lot behind the scenes. We need them to not only open but also stay strong and active in some pretty demanding positions.
Let’s break it down into two key pieces: Hip External Rotation and Hip Extension.
5. Hip External Rotation: The Front Leg Opener
The front leg in ballerina isn’t just hanging there – it needs to comfortably rotate outward (aka hip external rotation) to get that iconic open line.
You’ll want about 45 degrees of hip external rotation to make this happen without forcing it or twisting through your knee or ankle.
✅ Self-Check: Hip External Rotation Test
Check out the video to see how to test your external rotation safely at home.
If your hip locks up before 45 degrees, or you feel the movement dumping into your foot or low back – you’ve probably got some mobility work to do here.
6. Hip Extension: The Power Behind the Back Leg
That gorgeous back leg in the ballerina pose? It’s not just floating – it’s actively extending from the hip.
The amount of active hip extension a dancer needs to reach their back leg in a pole Ballerina can vary depending on anatomy. For example, a dancer with longer arms (and decent passive hip flexibility) might be able to reach their back leg more easily than a person with shorter arms.
I personally recommend aiming for about 30-40 degrees of active hip extension to reach your back leg in a ballerina. Since pole dancers often need to access greater ranges of active motion compared to other athletes, progressing your hip extension over time will also help with other splitty shapes.
✅ Self-Check: Hip Extension Test
I’ll include a video here to help you test your active hip extension.
If you find you can’t lift your leg without tilting your pelvis forward or cranking into your low back – this is a clear sign your hip extension needs some TLC.
💥 Quick Checklist: Are You Ready for the Pole Ballerina?
Here’s your mini self-assessment:
✅ Can you rotate your thoracic spine at least 60 degrees each side without strain?
✅ Do you have 180 degrees of shoulder flexion and 90 degrees of external rotation to comfortably get into twisted grips?
✅ Can you extend and hold your leg at 30 degrees with good form?
✅ Does your back leg comfortably extend to 30 degrees?
✅ Can you externally rotate your hip to 45 degrees without your opposite hip lifting?
If you’re checking most of these boxes – you’re well on your way! If not, no worries – I have something for you at the end. 😉
🙌 Wanna Take It to the Next Level?
The ballerina isn’t just about looking pretty on the pole – it’s about owning your mobility, building your strength, and moving with confidence. With the right prep and consistency, this shape can absolutely become part of your pole toolkit.
The truth? The ballerina takes time, and the best way to keep making real, measurable progress is to follow a plan that actually makes sense for your body.
✨ That’s exactly what the P3 Ballerina Cross-Training Program is designed to give you – a clear, step-by-step road map to help you unlock this shape, build strength, and feel solid in your ballerina from start to finish.
If you found this guide helpful, sign up for my email list to be the first to grab the program when it drops in a couple weeks – it's packed with:
✅ Full video tutorials
✅ Progressive drills
✅ On-the-pole conditioning
✅ Everything you need to consistently move forward in your ballerina journey
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