Their personal experiences seem to confound individual expectations. As
son of Nigel, Benn was born in demure Greenwich into what could be described as
sporting royalty – former footballer and manager Paul Ince is a relative. It
was Underwood the ballet dancer who was born in the ghetto – more specifically
a gun crime-scarred neighbourhood in Maryland on the outskirts of Washington
DC. There was no tradition of dance in Underwood’s household and he was 14
before he had even seen a ballet performance. In contrast, Benn’s father was
middleweight champion of the world before Conor was even born.
But apart from this, on a day-to-day basis the two have a surprising
amount in common. Indeed, ballet and boxing themselves share a lot – if you
don’t include the music and the punching. Think of Muhammad Ali’s claim to
“float like a butterfly” and you can immediately see how footwork and balance
are as important to a boxer as they are to the Bolshoi. Indeed, watch an old
Ali fight and you will see that he is as nimble as Nureyev, and the importance
of footwork is one of the first things a professional boxer will learn when he
starts training. Likewise, a dancer has to learn balance in order to stay on
their feet as he leaps and twirls on stage.
Boxing and ballet are both incredibly strenuous, so you need a lot of
cardiovascular strength. Practitioners of both have to have extensive training
to build it up or they are unlikely to make it through to the fourth act of Swan
Lake or keep going through into the sixth round.
And, of course, there is strength training. One might imagine dancers
to be slim but take a look at Underwood and you will see his extraordinary
musculature – under those tights a world-class dancer's legs are as rock hard
as any champion boxer. All this means that now there is even an American
workout known as “Aerobarre”, developed by a former pro-boxer and a former
dancer with the Dance Theater Of Harlem – the institution Underwood himself
first joined back in 2000.
Another surprising fact about Underwood and Benn is that they both
train in wool. When they want to perform at their best, the exceptional
breathability of their Merino wool kits keeps them cooler and drier than
synthetic alternatives, because Merino fibres absorb up to 35 per cent of their
dry weight in moisture vapour and still feel dry to touch. In this case it’s
the fibres of their Merino wool kits, combined with muscle fibre, that gives
them their edge.
Find out more about what Benn and Underwood have in common at merino.com
Eric wears Merino wool tights by Falke, £69. falke.com
Conor wears Merino wool hoodie by Polo Ralph Lauren, £240. At Mr Porter. mrporter.com
lien vers les site http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/what-boxing-and-ballet-have-in-common
Conor wears Merino wool hoodie by Polo Ralph Lauren, £240. At Mr Porter. mrporter.com
lien vers les site http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/what-boxing-and-ballet-have-in-common
