Barre for athletes
During her studies at Rambert School, Íris wrote her third year dissertation on how ballet technique could prove beneficial as a cross training method for athletes, specifically focusing on professional football players.
Íris has long been interested in ways and methods that can optimise her own physical practice, therefore the idea of being able to utilise her own embodied knowledge to do the same for other
athletes was of great fascination to her.
Football became the sport of choice after Íris read an article in 2020 published by the National Football Association of Iceland (KSÍ), discussing how there is a need for more specialised cross training methods for Icelandic football players. Knowing ballet had been used previously as a training tool for other sports, she believed this topic could be worth exploring.
'[The] dissertation discusses how professional football players could use classical ballet training as a cross training method in order to optimise their performance, and the benefits it could bring. The information presented is drawn from multiple pre-existing studies around classical ballet training, football training, and various biomechanical aspects of both practices. Football players’ agility, postural control and balance, and coordination are looked at and explored in relation to how classical ballet could enhance agile requirements on the field, mechanical efficiency, performance of technical elements, and positively impact lung capacity. Moreover, it is explored how the natural inclusion of dynamic and active stretching aspects of the classical ballet technique could work as an injury prevention tool. The preventative elements relate especially to groin injuries that have a direct relation to reduced range of motion.'
The dissertation focuses on four main elements; agility, coordination, posture and postural control, and injury prevention. Iris, having also just received her barre instructor certification, made a link between the subjects discussed in the dissertation and the possible benefits of regular barre training. Therefore, with barre being an accessible way to the ballet technique's principles, Iris has developed her own way of offering it as a training method for athletes, based on her prior research, knowledge, and training in both classical ballet and barre.
Íris has offered classes to athletes from various different sports, like football, basketball, olympic lifting, and running, as well as both classical and contemporary dancers.