Why Ballet Dancers Make Excellent Knitters

When I first started taking knitting lessons, I found that my classical ballet training helped me immensely. There were so many parallels. In ballet, you work on technique every day. You go back to the barre and do the same exercises, over and over, striving for perfection. Your technique builds over time. It becomes more refined and pure. Your muscles retain the memory of the work. Your body starts to mold and reshape. It's exciting and invigorating.

Knitting gave me the same kind of high. I was different that the other beginning knitters. I liked to practice stitches. When I first started, I just did miles of plain knit, (or garter stitch.) I did the same thing with pearling. I wanted to practice and develop the muscle memory. I knew it would take me hours and hours of knitting to get to the point where I felt like my stitches looked good enough to wear. Once I felt comfortable with knit and purl, I moved on to stockinette. I found that VERY exciting, because it looked like a sweater. Wow! I imagined that one day I, too, would be able to make a sweater. That was an absolutely thrilling concept to me. Ribbing was another milestone. It opened up a whole new world to me.

I learned some of the stitch combinations by knitting cotton dishcloths. They were simple, fun, and quick. I whipped out one for each day of the week. I loved seeing the different designs. Diamonds was my favorite. I liked it so well I decided to make a scarf and to extend the pattern. It came out even better than I had imagined. I think using cashmere yarn had a lot to do with it.

Dancers are incredibly disciplined. They are trained to take correction, to fix their mistakes, and to repeat choreography until it is perfect. This is very helpful in knitting. If you have to rip something out, because it's off, that's just par for the course. Dancers don't get upset about things like that, because we spend all day working on precision, accuracy, and line. Art can always be better.

Dancers also practice every day. They don't skip days, weeks, or months. This really helps in knitting. It keeps your work consistent. Your stitches are the same size, and you remember your place in the pattern. Dancers are very focused, and they work constantly on memorization. The rhythm, concentration, and repetitiveness of ballet transfers right into knitting. You're used to finishing your classes, which correlates with finishing your knitting projects. Dancers wash out their dance clothes every night, and they regularly sew ribbons and elastics on their pointe shoes. For a dancer, blocking their knits so that they look professional is second nature. Although many people today don't like to wash things by hand, we are used to it. We don't mind taking good care of our things so that they last.

Dancers are also talented, dedicated, and sensitive. They enjoy beauty, grace, and creativity. All of these qualities exist in knitting. Even better, ballet dancers look fabulous in designer clothes. They can wear anything. Bring on the cashmere!