Best Stretching And Strengthening Tools For Dancers

What Actually Works! Best Stretching and Strengthening Tools for Dancers

Oh my goodness, can we talk about the endless stream of dance products flooding my social media feeds? As a veteran dance mom who’s probably bought every gadget under the sun (my husband still teases me about that “miracle” stretching device collecting dust in our garage), I’ve learned a thing or two about what’s worth your hard-earned money.

Let me tell you, finding tools that actually help with flexibility and strength can feel like searching for a perfect nude tight match – overwhelming but so satisfying when you get it right! Sure, some of these fancy tools just end up being expensive motivational props (my daughter was obsessed with that light-up turning board for exactly two weeks). But others? They’ve become absolute game-changers in our daily practice routine. Trust me, I’ve wasted enough money on gimmicky products to know what’s worth investing in and what’s just clever marketing.

In this guide, I’m sharing our tried-and-true favorites – the ones that have survived countless practice sessions and actually showed real results. I’ve purchased every single item listed below for my daughter (and sometimes “borrowed” them for myself… those resistance bands are addictive!), and I’ll be updating you on our progress as we continue using them.

Stay tuned for detailed reviews and real results – and feel free to share your own experiences in the comments. We dance moms have to stick together!

Turning Discs/Boards

Turn Discs and Boards help to increase your balance and ability to do multiple pirouettes. My daughter prefers the rectangular ones over the round styles and we love the official TurnBoard PRO. With this board you can use bluetooth to download on to your phone and it counts how many turns you are doing and gives you even more stats.

If you daughter leans more towards ballet then a round disc might be her preference. They are great to turn en releve or demi-pointe so that you are actually developing the appropriate muscles for your dancing. We love the TTolbi ones.

Resistance & Stretch Bands

Let me clear up something that used to confuse the heck out of me at the dance store – stretch bands versus resistance bands. There is a difference.

Therabands are fantastic and the gold standard. They are widely known as one of the most trusted brands of resistance bands in the dance world! We use them all the time. Even I use them to stetch my middle aged body.

Stretch Bands are popular with people who do yoga and are extremely beneficial to dancers to be able to control the stretch and not overstrain the muscles.

Again we love the TTolbi ones and they came in a range of pretty colours.