Jennifer Lawrence Recalls Training 'Six Days a Week' to Play a Ballerina in 'Red Sparrow'

Jennifer Lawrence spent months working with a dance instructor to nail the movement and body image

When Jennifer Lawrence took on her role as a former Russian ballerina turned spy in Red Sparrow, she knew she had her work cut out for her.

In an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip from the film, the Oscar winner reveals just what it took to get her into dancing shape.

“Part of preparing for Dominica was the physical training with the ballet,” she says in the featurette, which appears on the Blu-ray release of the thriller (out Tuesday). “It was something that was on my mind constantly throughout the entire script.

The actress, 27, spent months working with a dance instructor to nail the movement and body image.

“I worked with Jen six days a week, three hours a day,” says associate choreographer Kurt Froman in the clip.

Along with mastering the dance moves, Lawrence says it was important that she learned how to embody a ballerina in everyday life.

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“The level of training that ballerinas go through and the level of discipline, so many years of their lives, it comes to play in everything they do,” she says. “The way they carry themselves, the way they handle themselves and the way they work. It was something that was constantly on my mind even after we wrapped all the dancing.”

Looking back, Lawrence adds that the physical effects the training had on her body were obvious.

“It taught me posture,” she says. “It can change your body in other ways.”

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Lawrence previously revealed that filming Red Sparrow was the first time that she had ever dieted for a movie role.

“Red Sparrow was the first time that I was really hungry, and disciplined,” the actress told Vanity Fair for their March cover. “I can’t be in character as an ex-ballerina and not feel like an ex-ballerina.”

Red Sparrow is available now on Digital and Movies Anywhere and arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD May 22.