Winter is coming. For those of us who balk at the bitter cold, an indoor workout is probably ideal. But if you’re sick of trudging around on a treadmill and you just don't get what's so fun about Zumba, consider something on the other side of the spectrum — ballet, perhaps?

Even if your last exposure to ballet was either watching from the audience at the Four Seasons or a class when you were six, make no mistake — ballet is as accessible as ever. Plenty of Toronto studios offer ballet classes for adults of varying abilities. Canada’s National Ballet School at Jarvis and Maitland offers their Adult Ballet program, which features open classes in ballet (and other genres such as jazz and contemporary) for adults from beginner to professional.

Over on the Danforth, Metro Movement boasts reputable teachers and a personable yet professional experience and offers all genres of dance at four different difficulty levels. There's also City Dance Corps' various programs in ballet, ballet boot camp, and “power barre”, and a few others scattered throughout the city.

Don't let the seemingly slow barre workouts fool you into thinking ballet isn't a physical game-changer. From the strain of squeezing your legs to a turned-out position to the challenge of executing 64 sautés (all while making it look like a breeze from the waist up), there's a reason ballerinas are in such good shape.

In a city that produces some of the world’s best dancers, why not drop in? Even if you're not going to be starring in the Nutcracker anytime soon, you’ll walk out standing a little straighter with a sense of awareness and alignment like never before.