Gymnastics: Jessica Xuan

Name: Jessica Xuan
Current Location: The Netherlands
Company: Durch National Ballett

I started ballet at the age of 11. Now I dance professionally with the Dutch National Ballet. I have always loved to move to music, and as soon as I took my first dance class I knew I wanted to be a ballerina. Till today I absolutely love what I do and what makes me love ballet so much is how it makes me feel. I believe a good dancer can use dance to express the feelings of their soul.

We all have different understandings of success. To me being able to do what I love as a profession, is a success. Of course there are many goals, but those are set to motivate and push me to become better. Not to give a feeling that I wasn’t successful in my profession. Success comes with hard work. There is no way around that. However failing isn’t always bad. It is the teacher of success.

Aside from dancing I also love to cook, and make recipes. I eat a plant-based diet but I have a crazy sweet tooth. So I am always looking forward to inventing my own recipes, and having a day in the kitchen. I also love to work on my blog and youtube videos. It is really different from dancing but it also is really fun to work on something that is in a completely different field. Basically I love to create.

FAVORITE PRODCUTS My number 1 favorite product would be the MINI foam roller from BLACKROLL®. It is insanely useful for me. I use it to roll out all the little nots in my calves, hamstrings, shins, and even feet. I have till now only just found a mini roller that can also be used as a foot roller, and is so easy to travel with. This foam roll is super light it weighs nothing, however it is strong enough to handle my body weight. It is an absolute must-have for me.

My next favorite would have to be the BLACKROLL® STANDARD foam roller. It is so light in weight and yet so firm that it can roll out all my cramped muscles after a long working day. Another product I carry with me every day from studio to stage. I can’t start the day without rolling out my back, legs, and stretching on my roller. Wherever I go my roller comes with me.

There are a lot. Because we use our bodies so vigorously in training, rehearsals, and performing our muscles easily cramp up and become overused. I find it so often that we finish a long day and try to rush home or to go to bed however our muscles are still cramped and tired, so it is very important to stretch and roll out these muscles to allow them to get the rest they need before another intensive day. Often times many of the injures in ballet are caused from either using the wrong muscles, or having over used our muscles. And it’s like a snowball effect from there, where one injury happens and leads us to compensate our bodies which could lead to even further injuries.

1. Stretching

I love to stretch in the splits, or just stretch out my hamstrings with my BLACKROLL®. This is also how I prepare for my long day of dancing. My BLACKROLL® provides a safe amount of distance from the floor where I am not breaking my body by trying to over-split my legs.

2. Rolling out muscles

This is often whenever I have time throughout the day you can always find me on my foam roller and rolling something out.

3. Planks

I personally hate planking but I do them with my roller. I place it just underneath my lower legs whilst I am in a plank position. I usually do about a minute then I lift one leg into passé and hold for another 15 seconds then switch legs.