The abdominal muscles are critical for a dancer to maintain good posture and strength throughout class and performance. Many people focus on doing loads and loads of sit-ups in order to strengthen their abdominals. Having strength through the outer 6 pack muscles (Rectus Abdominis) is important in a dance however, the deeper layers of your abdomen are far more important in controlling the stability of the spine and preventing injury.
You actually have 4 layers of abdominals and the 6 pack configuration down the front of the body is just the outer layer. Alongside these you have two layers of Obliques which help you flex and rotate your trunk and under this you have a very important layer called your Transversus Abdominis. The fibers of this layer run almost horizontal and instead of moving the spine in any direction they contract and stabilize your abdominal organs and your lower back. This is very important to get control of and will help in your turns, arabesque and your balance in general. Dancers are required to take their spines through extraordinary ranges of motion. Establishing effective control of each vertebra is essential to avoiding injury.
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