Category: Dance Health
How dance can make us better people
Often times in dance, we can be very goal-oriented. We’re perfectionists, always striving for a better line, one more turn, a little longer of a balance. And sometimes we get frustrated when it feels like we aren’t achieving those things. Studios can get a bit insular when your day is spent studying yourself in the…
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Dance committees: How community commitment can make a difference
With the recent SAG-AFTRA strike, we checked in with our neighbors north of the border, who are voting on a strike of their own. What do unions look like in Canada? Well, Canadian dancers now have a stronger voice in the British Columbia region, thanks to a recently formed Dance Committee under the established Film and TV union there, UBCP-ACTRA. We sat down with Louise Hradsky in…
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Back to school: Pointe shoe tune-up
Does it feel too soon to think about your pointe shoes and back-to-school? It’s understandable that it might be daunting to think about the upcoming ballet season, but it’s never too early to reassess your shoes and get ahead of your fall classes. It might help to think of it as a tune-up for your…
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Navigating layoffs: The physical, mental, emotional and more
Going hard in the studio and performing, and then weeks or months off: that’s the dance sector phenomenon of layoffs, one that seems largely underdiscussed. These periods can bring myriad challenges. Physically, it can benefit dancers to give their body rest, but it also behooves them not to be back to the studio in a…
Read MoreAre dancers getting injured more? Part III: Pushing back against the trend
We’ve all been there — you see something flatly wrong on social media, and you pause for a moment. After a sigh, perhaps a facepalm, you consider a choice: do you engage, or just move on? If you do engage, what’s the best approach for pushing back against false information? As we’ve discussed in this…
Read MoreIs it fair to film dance classes: A case study at Steps on Broadway
An April Fools’ joke played by Steps on Broadway a couple months ago struck a nerve with its dance community – a nerve that the New York dance studio didn’t seem to be aware of. A “No Filming” announcement for all Steps classes, communicated via Instagram post, elicited a tidal wave of responses from dancers…
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Are dancers getting injured more? Part II: It all goes back to technique
We all know that scene in Center Stage: Juliette (Donna Murphy) finds Eva (Zoe Saldana) working alone in the studio late at night. She starts to coach her, and then comes that iconic line; she cups the barre with one hand and says, “It’s here.” She’s reminding her student that it all comes back to the…
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Are dancers getting injured more? Part I
A big leap, a multiple turn, an intricate phrase of choreography – and, pop. There goes an injury. Alternatively, other dancer injuries are quieter, yet no less debilitating — building up over time from misalignments or simply the physical demands of a certain style. Injuries have always been an unfortunate phenomenon in the dance field.…
Read MoreSupporting connection over comparison
Some of my earliest memories from my formal dance education are of watching the “model” student stand in the front of the class and demonstrate how to execute (input said skill). Without realizing it at the time, this behavior, while attempting to support education and skill building, actually created an unhealthy atmosphere for comparison. I…
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Injured and pining to dance: 4 approaches for how to cope
You’re sitting in a grand theater, watching your peers perform beautifully. Or maybe you’re scrolling Instagram and their opening night pictures fill your feed. You’re not with them – because you’re injured. All of you wants to dance, but it’s just not physically possible right now – or if you tried you could make your…
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