A FREE Download for Parents of Dancers

It often starts innocently with that first preschool dance class. A year or two later, one class becomes two, or three, or four. Before you know it, your entire household’s schedule begins to revolve around classes and rehearsals or competitions. Work, phone calls, and sometimes even meals take place in a studio lobby. Your purse contains bobby pins, hair nets, and bandages. Your taxi (er… car) is littered with stray dance shoes, water bottles, and sequins. Your wallet, on the other hand, is empty! If this sounds familiar, you’re probably a Dance Parent!

If you are a family that has welcomed dance into your household and your hearts, you may have had no idea when you began this adventure that it could become so all-consuming! You receive direction, advice, and even… ahem… orders (nicely stated orders) from other parents, teachers, and even your own child. Yet, despite all of this input, there may still remain the questions and concerns of a parent whose focus is the welfare, health, and happiness of their own child.

Objective Answers

It can be difficult to know where to turn for objective answers to these questions. Fortunately, I’m happy to announce a resource that contains some excellent information and solutions to the frequent concerns of dance parents everywhere. The offer is a free, download-able manual, written by Lisa Howell of The Ballet Blog specifically for parents of dancers. I recently highlighted some of Lisa’s work with Deborah Vogel of The Body Series. Lisa is a physiotherapist in Australia that works specifically with dancers. However, her mission and message reach a worldwide audience through her work online. She is the author of several manuals and resources that are aimed at helping students stay healthy and injury free and arming teachers with a strong base of information with which to guide their dancers toward this aim.

Her Parent’s Manual is certainly geared to those parents who have daughters embarking on a serious and intense study of dance, and particularly ballet. However, much of the information is quite useful for recreational students that take multiple classes, male students, or students taking classes in other disciplines. This is due to the wide variety of topics covered in this 100+ page e-book, which begins with lots of nutrition guidelines and concerns, goes on to speak about the physical development of a dancer, discusses injuries and their prevention, psychological issues in dance and dance training, choosing a school or teacher, and frequently asked questions about beginning pointe work.

A Knowledgeable Parent

Parents play a huge and important role in the education of dance students. A knowledgeable parent is one prepared to make decisions, offer mindful support, and ask informed questions. Ms. Howell’s manual is a quality resource that offers knowledge on important topics. I have read the material and appreciate Ms. Howell’s other work. She offers informative and professional guidance to the dance community.

The Parent’s Manual is not only great for parents but can be a useful tool for teachers in communicating with the parents of dancers. In fact, I have referenced Ms. Howell’s materials in my teaching and when working with parents. That is why I feel comfortable in sharing this resource with you.

To be clear, there are other materials available for purchase at Lisa Howell’s website. I am not receiving any compensation for sales on these items. The Parent’s Manual has been made available for free to dance parents (and teachers) and I  simply hope you will take advantage of the information offered. I also want to be clear that Lisa is asking that you submit your name and email address in order to reach the link for downloading this e-book. You will be subscribed to newsletter updates which will often contain articles and answers to readers’ questions. I have enjoyed the information contained in these articles, however, you can unsubscribe from these additional emails easily via a clearly marked link at the bottom of the newsletter.

Okay, here’s the link:

Click Here to Download

Lisa Howell’s Perfect Pointe Parent’s Manual

Two Heads Are Better Than One

In the art and practice of dance, one’s instrument and medium is the body. A painter, sculptor, or musician must know intimately the tools of his craft, and so it is with dancers as well. However, the human body is an intricate organism and science is continually learning new things about the way in which it functions. Therefore, it is important for the dance community to have members that have one foot in the dance world and the other in the world of physiological and kinesiological science and medicine. Two members fitting this description have a foot (well…) hand in yet another world – the internet. For quite some time these two women have been offering their knowledge and expertise to a wide range of the dance community via the world wide web. If you don’t already know their names, you should!

Meeting of the Minds

They are Deborah Vogel and Lisa Howell, two women from opposite sides of the world who have a similar vision and purpose- that is to educate dancers and teachers, arming them with information to improve the quality of health and understanding of the body in dance education and practice. In each other it seems they have recently found a kindred spirit and have decided to join forces on some projects that will further their mission.

I’m sure these two have several exiting things in store for us, but it seems their first collaboration will be monthly podcasts that seek to answer questions from dancers and teachers like yourselves. In the video below Lisa Howell describes a bit about the project and lets you know where you can go to submit your question:

Who Are These Partners in Crime?

Just in case you are not familiar with these two women, I thought I’d share some information about who they are and what they do.

Deborah Vogel

Deborah is Neuromuscular Educator and author of several books who studied under Irene Dowd (author of Taking Root to Fly). She was a co-founder of the now defunct Center for Dance Medicine in New York City. Deb currently resides on the faculty at Oberlin College and Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. Her website The Body Series offers articles, products, and a blog (a transmutation of her Dancing Smart Newsletter), the purpose of which is to answer readers’ questions regarding body health and training issues in dance.

Lisa Howell

Lisa is a physiotherapist specializing in educating and treating dancers and founder of Perfect Form Physiotherapy, a clinic in North Sydney, Australia that, according to Lisa’s website, “focuses on educating dancers and providing one-on-one rehabilitation and technique correction in a caring and holistic environment.” She has also generated a series of resources, including the Perfect Pointe System, designed to help dancers safely and conscientiously improve their dancing and prepare for pointe work. Lisa’s website, The Ballet Blog, offers articles, products, newsletter updates, workshop information, and answers to your questions, and her video podcasts can be seen on the site or at her YouTube channel.

All Things to All People

While, of course, here at Dance Advantage, I strive to provide a comprehensive resource of articles and information for those involved in dance education, I realize that it is impossible for one place to be all things to all people. I am one person and there are limitations to what I, personally, can provide. It is for this reason, that I feel compelled to share other great resources on the web. If I’ve saved you time by linking you to another site that provides truly useful news, guidance, products, or services, I feel I am closer to meeting all of your needs as you participate in dance.

In addition to my college coursework in teaching and kinesiology, I have often drawn upon the work of Deborah and Lisa as I sought to provide quality information and advice to my dance students. I believe in their mission and these ladies know what they’re talking about!

If you have personal experience with Deborah Vogel, Lisa Howell, or their products. Or, if you’ve participated in any of their workshops, please share your observations with us.

If you want to know more, please visit their respective web sites.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Turnout – How to Nurture Your Turnout

This is a continuing series. Certainly, it would be impossible to write about everything you ever wanted to know about turnout in one, two, or maybe even twenty posts. But, welcome to Part II!.

Part I explored the history of turnout in dance and the anatomical definition of outward rotation at the hip joint.  Here, I will discuss the three ways in which a dancer can nurture their ability to turnout and to actively maintain that turnout during movement.

Awareness

Awareness comes from both developing an understanding of how the body, or the hip joint in this case, works (which we’ve already talked about in Part I) and adjusting or bringing attention to the way you think as a result of this understanding. The number one problem for students struggling with turnout is that often they are thinking about what they see happening to the pelvis rather than what is occurring in the joint. Teachers can help their students develop x-ray vision by discussing the actions of the joint in anatomical terms.  Many students do not even have a clear picture of how their bones and muscles look so keep in mind that diagrams can be very helpful.  Of course, accuracy with terminology is great also, but what students really need to understand are the concepts behind what the bones and muscles are doing. This is far more helpful than talking about visual imperfections like “lifting hips” which occur when students are not properly using their turnout. Consider using mental imagery to aid in this kinesthetic understanding. For instance, in her article Turnout is a Verb, Linda Kjesbu suggests imagining the quadriceps “as you would a barber shop pole that continually rotates up and out, around the leg.” This image hints at the idea of upward lengthening and outward rotation of the whole leg – a different picture and feeling all together than opening the feet like a book or in the shape of a slice of pizza, which is only what we see happening on the outside.

In Conditioning for Dance, Eric Franklin uses the image of the pelvic floor opening like a fan in turnout.  With this tool one can visualize that the sitz bones come together as the femurs open away from each other. Attention is drawn to a very important portion of the body – the base of the centre – which will help students begin to harness the power of the pelvis in jumping, leaping, and other movements.

In addition to imagery, tactile information (sense of touch) can also be extremely helpful for a dancer. Encourage students to find bony landmarks on themselves and one another. Find ways to isolate certain muscles through manipulation and touch while encouraging the use of mental pictures. Again, I will highly recommend Conditioning for Dance as a wonderful reference for this type of sensory learning.  You will also find a variety exercises with bands and balls targeting specific areas of the body. For an in-depth understanding and analysis of joint and muscle actions, I constantly refer to Sally Fitt’s Dance Kinesiology. These make excellent additions to a teacher’s dance library.

Release

Too much tension in the musculature around the hip joint is often responsible for limiting the degree of turnout. Therefore, releasing that tension is key if you’d like to improve outward (and inward) rotation. Tight inward rotators inhibit outward rotation and visa versa. Dancers have varying methods which they use to accomplish release in the hips. Some use passive and lengthening stretches and others utilize props like balls to facilitate an opening within the joint.

A common stretch for the inward rotators is the prone (face-down) frog. In this stretch it important to avoid

forcing or pushing the turnout of the hips because doing so can damage the tissues and ligaments surrounding and leading from the hip. A more gentle and effective version of the frog can be done either sitting or lying supine (face-up). While sitting, place the feet together and hands just below and outside the bent knees. Push the knees outward against the force of hands which are pushing inward. Hold this for about 20-30 seconds, then release, opening the knees wide and stretching the inward rotators. While lying, point both knees to the ceiling. Open one knee toward the floor and press down with this leg, lifting the thigh, hips and lower spine off the floor. Maintain this press and lift the opposite leg off the floor so that only the rotated leg and the shoulders are supporting the body. Hold this for 20-30 seconds (breathe!) and then release and lie with both knees open wide, then repeat with the other leg. Both of these stretches utilize reciprocal inhibition, a method of increasing flexibility favored by dance medicine specialists.

Strengthen Without Tension

Many dancers have more turnout capability than they are able to use because they lack the strength in their outward rotators and supporting muscles to fully open and maintain turnout in the hips. Strengthening these muscles is a gradual process and can be done primarily during technique class, focusing particularly on rotation during plié, fondu, and passé/retiré exercises. Performing prone leg lifts and the Pilates side kick series also target the appropriate muscle groups. Make sure you have a trainer, guide, or teacher when learning these, however, so that you are not repeatedly strengthening or targeting the wrong muscles. Turnboards, discs, and other devices are also becoming popular for strengthening the outward rotators.

No matter what method of strengthening you practice, it is essential to focus on doing so without tension in the muscles. “Squeezing” the buttocks is never a good idea when trying to achieve turnout. This language is often tossed around in dance classes, perhaps because the gluteus maximus is partially responsible for achieving turnout, and it is a muscle we can see working. However, squeezing implies that the contraction is a forceful one which will only lead to over-development of the muscle and possibly injury. Dancers should always strive to create less effort in movement as opposed to more, therefore it helps to pay more attention to the opening and lengthening involved in turnout rather than constantly contracting or holding tension in the muscles, which leads to muscular imbalance.

Avoiding Injury

Almost all injuries in dance are caused by imbalance. Imbalance in muscle strength is created when one muscle group is overused or underused in relation to the opposite muscle group. For instance, the excessive use of the outward rotators in dance can cause sciatic syndrome, a condition in which the sciatic nerve, which runs through the deep rotators, becomes pinched when this muscle group is constantly working without release. For this reason alone it is important for dancers that work in turnout to make time for stretching the external rotators. We’ve all done the sitting yoga twist (pictured right), which is a great stretch for this muscle group. Reciprocal stretches, like the ones for the inward rotators above, can be effective for the outward rotators as well. Lie supine with your knees up and press the insides of your knees together, holding this for 20-30 seconds. Then, open the feet and drop one knee (in inward rotation) toward the floor. Press again and then drop the other leg.

Another serious consideration is that when dancers chase the almost impossible ideal of true 180º turnout, and outward rotation is forced beyond the range of one’s bone structure, an abnormal erosion of the hip socket occurs. This is probably the reason for the high numbers of aging dancers with arthritic hips. Avoid forcing turnout now and you will lessen the chances of needing a hip replacement later in life. Creating false turnout (as mentioned in Part I) can also lead to problems. Excessive pronation can cause shinsplints, strained arches, bunions, misaligned knees, and strained ligaments. Issues such as these have a way of working their way upward through the body, and will in turn cause strain in the hips or cause pelvic tilt, which often leads to back problems and iliopsoas shortening/pain. As you can see, rolling in to get that little bit of “extra” turnout is clearly not worth it.

At the beginning of this two-part article, I asked two questions:  How important is turnout, really? And is having extreme turnout really ideal? What I hope you take away from this article is that it is not the degree to which one is capable of turning out, but the healthful and educated approach to achieving the individual’s own potential for turnout that is important.  As for the importance of turnout itself, I believe it is only as important as we allow it to be.  Even most ballet professionals, I think, would agree that having extreme turnout is trumped by mastering the ability to properly execute and maintain the degree of whatever outward rotation that exists.  This attitude, when applied to training or teaching, can transform a student’s technique. Coupled with the knowledge of how turnout works, it allows the dancer to dance longer and stronger. It is never too early for a dancer to begin to make kinesthetic connections to the movements they are producing in dance class.  Turnout can be properly enforced with imagery and knowlege by teachers who have their pupil’s wellness in mind.

If the turnout is mastered early and properly, the student, and later the dancer, does not have to waste energy on the placement but instead can concentrate on the muscle energy needed to  jump higher to turn better, and to control the weight of the leg.

- Istvan Ament, A Systematic Approach to Classical Ballet: A Four-Year Program

Tell me about your successes or frustration with turnout.

Do you think too much emphasis is placed on the degree of turnout? If so, what are some ways that teachers or educators can correct this?

Do you think the ballet aesthetic is changing?

What are some images, stretches, or exercises relating to turnout that have worked for you?

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Turnout – What Is Turnout?

This will be a continuing series. Certainly, it would be impossible to write about everything you ever wanted to know about turnout in one, two, or maybe even twenty posts. But, welcome to Part I!

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. What is Turnout?
3. Recognizing Proper/Improper Turnout
4. Nature vs. Nurture

Want to learn some techniques for improving your turnout? Read Part II

If you study classical ballet, you are well aware that the outward rotation of the hips (or turnout) is essential to the training and traditions of this form.  Even if you are not a trained in ballet, as a dancer you probably use turnout at least some of the time.  Concert or theatrical dance forms (like modern or jazz dance) in particular utilize turnout within their movement vocabulary. Ask most dancers, and you’ll discover that turnout is high on their list of things to improve and increase.  But how important is turnout, really? And is having extreme turnout really ideal?

The human body is designed primarily for forward motion.  We walk, run, sit, and stand in the sagittal plane.  In dance, the use of turned out legs is primarily utilized for ease of motion on the proscenium stage, a venue in which the performers present movement to an audience which sits entirely on one side of the stage (as opposed to all around or on three sides).  When dance (ballet) moved to this forum from the royal courts, dancers spent more time moving side to side, necessitating a degree of turnout.  Since then, this rotation of the legs has been exaggerated, accepted as the ideal, and adopted as the aesthetic in ballet.

With developments in dance medicine, most dance educators would now agree that 180-degree turnout is not truly a necessity in ballet or otherwise (although this has yet to really change ballet tradition).  Sideways locomotion certainly does not require rotation to such a degree.  Turnout does allow the greater trochanter to avoid the ilium as the leg is lifted above the waist,  however 180 degrees of turnout is not required for this clearance.  In fact, some research (discussed here) suggests that “most dancers have a maximum rotation of 55 degrees in their hips.”  This means that many who appear to have 180º turnout are probably making up the difference in the lower leg.  I suspect that dancers who have danced for years without injury probably discovered early that it is not how much turnout you have that is important, it is how you use what you have. Therefore, it is imperative that one have an understanding of how the hip functions, what is improvable and what is not, how to increase turnout safely and without injury, and how to make the most of what one has.

What Is Turnout?

In anatomical terms, turnout is the outward (sometimes called lateral, or external) rotation of the hip joint.

The hip joint is the joining of the head/top of the femur (thigh bone) to the acetabulum, or hip socket

(seen in the diagram below).

This joint is a ball and socket joint, which allows for a wide range of motion on all three planes (sagittal, lateral, and transverse).  The hip joint can produce flexion (forward of the body), extension (as in standing, not the unfortunately labeled lifting of the leg which is actually flexion in anatomical terms), abduction (away from the midline of the body), adduction (toward the midine of the body), inward rotation (turning-in), and outward rotation (turning-out).  Most dance movements are a combination of these actions.

The hip joint is very complex and most of the muscles surrounding the socket are responsible for more than one action of the hip joint.  These muscles both initiate and restrict movements of the hip. The outward rotators are pictured in the diagram on the right.  The muscles that pass posterior (behind) the hip joint contract to initiate turnout while the anterior muscles lengthen, and those anterior (in front of) the joint contract to initiate inward rotation while the posterior muscles lengthen. If this is confusing, picture the spine of a book – when the book is opened the outside edge of the binding contracts while the other edge lengthens and visa versa.  This inverse relationship is true for all muscle actions and is the key to analyzing movement.

Turnout, although often used in dance as a noun or a position, would more appropriately be considered an action, a verb.  Outwardly rotating the hips requires continual action within the body even when the rotation is held or maintained.  The work does not stop once the position has been attained because maintaining turnout is not what the body is designed for.

Turnout does not occur from anywhere other than the hip.  A false turnout can be achieved by pronating the tarsus (rolling in) to create the illusion of a wider turnout than is being achieved by the hips alone.  This causes a twisting in the knee, a joint which is only designed to extend and flex in the sagittal plane, and this usually leads to misalignment of the pelvis, which actually reduces outward rotation.  False turnout also creates the potential for a myriad of injuries, as we’ll discuss in Part II.

How To Recognize Proper/Improper Turnout

There are some simple visual cues that teachers and students can look for that indicate if turnout is being executed properly and without force.  First of all, if someone is bending their knees (no matter how slightly), turning out, and then lengthening the legs, they are very clearly forcing their turnout. If you try this, you’ll see (and feel) that the feet are rolling toward the big toe (pronating) to maintain this position. When you hear teachers say “knees over toes,” they are asking you to properly align the turnout of your legs and avoid pronation both in standing and in plié. When the legs are opened without force and turnout is supported with the deep rotators, iliopsoas, and abdominals, one should be able to trace a line directly from the hip, through the center of the knee, and to a point between the second and third toe of the foot.  A neutral or properly aligned pelvis (with the sitz bones pointing downward) is a good indicator as well because when the turnout is forced, generally the pelvis will tilt, creating a swayed back.

Dance instructors looking for indication of false turnout will expect to see the feet roll in, the pelvis tilt, and the knees and toes pointing a different direction than the center of the hip joint indicates.  When a dancer is forcing turnout beyond their physical capabilities, tension will appear in the buttocks and probably other areas of the body such as the shoulders or neck.  A dancer who consistently performs with false or forced rotation in the hips will eventually complain of sciatic, knee, foot, and/or back pain.  Therefore, if a dancer is having any of these problems it is always a good idea to pay special attention to their turnout and alignment while dancing.

Nature vs. Nurture

Almost everyone “afflicted” with what he/she considers a limited degree of turnout has at one time found solace in the idea that, for some, the degree of turnout is limited by the unchangeable structure of the body and not for lack of trying.  It is true that some have a narrow sacrum which allows for more efficient locomotion overall.  Men have a narrower sacrum than women, giving them the potential for more impressive jumping skills.  Of course the width of this area varies among women as well.  But, before you begin to think that having a narrow pelvis is ideal, some have observed that this narrow pelvis often is paired with a forward facing acetabulum.  This facing results in, you guessed it, a lesser degree in outward rotation than those with a side-facing hip socket.  The depth of the acetabulum can also affect turnout.  A shallow hip socket allows for higher degrees of both outward and inward rotation in the hip than does a deeper hip socket.

Aside from these natural limitations, turnout is only hindered by problems in how we have nurtured (or not nurtured) the muscles and tissues surrounding the hip. There are three ways in which a dancer can nurture their ability to turnout and to actively maintain that turnout during movement:  Awareness, Release, and Strengthen Without Tension.  And we will learn more about these in Part II!

Sickling and Rolling In

The terms sickling and rolling in are often used in dance classes to define issues with ankle alignment. However, I have found that many students do not have a clear understanding of the actions of the ankle and foot and, therefore, do not know how to correct these issues when asked. I hope this post will help clear up any confusion and assist students in working to correct poor ankle alignment.

“Sickling,” also called supination, is an action of the tarsus (a group of bones in the foot that allow a person to “roll” their ankle in circles). Without getting technical, when one is sickling, they are standing on the outsides of their feet, their pointed foot is “flagging,” or in relevé their outer ankle bone is pulled into misalignment away from the mid-line of the body. “Rolling in” refers to an action called pronation which is essentially the opposite of supination. When standing, someone that is pronating is allowing their arch to drop toward the floor. When the foot is pointed and pronating, the inner heel is pushed forward (sometimes referred to as “winging” the foot). In relevé the anles tilt toward the mid-line of the body. Although these actions are often stated to occur at the ankle, the ankle joint only points and flexes. It is the tarsus that creates any additional motion.

Mostly, dance teachers see pronation (or rolling in) of the tarsus when students are standing. Because the bones on the inside of the foot are larger/heavier than those on the outside, gravity has a tendency to pull the foot into pronation if the muscles used to lift the arch are not trained to do so. Supination is more common when dancers are pointing their feet or standing in relevé (en pointe or demi-pointe) because there is more flexibility in the muscles and tendons on the outside of the foot. When attempting to rise to demi-pointe, some dancers who have a limited range of motion will push beyond their limit, causing the foot to sickle (see picture at right). Supination or sickling when the leg is lifted is very common in young or beginning dancers because they do not possess the strength or muscle memory to maintain proper alignment.

Correcting Alignment Issues

Dancers slowly correct ankle alignment when it is addressed in class. As early as age 7 or 8, you may see improvement in this area if the students are, 1) taught how to feel the difference between a sickled/pronated foot and the correct, neutral alignment and, 2) consistently reminded.  Older students need this same encouragement and reminding until maintaining neutral alignment becomes habit. This takes time, diligence, and mindful dancing. Some dancers point their foot so hard that it forces their foot into a sickled position. The teacher can have the student relax the leg muscles and gently reposition their foot in the proper placement. Keep in mind that dancers going through puberty can sometimes seem to backslide in their strength or flexibility because of growth spurts and rapid changes in their bodies), exercise bands may help strengthen the muscles involved in pronation and supination. If a student is showing weakness in rélevé, a good cure is more rélevé! Perform them in a slow and steady manner, with focus on rising straight up with weight over the second and third toe.

For young dancers that need a reminder not to pronate while standing, I will offer an image frequently used in my dance classes growing up: Imagine a little mouse family all snug in their beds under your arch. Allow the foot to roll in and the little mice will be awfully squished and have to wriggle out! At any age or level, the practice of using and maintaining proper alignment in class will be enough to build the strength and muscle memory needed to correct most problems with pronation and supination. Occasionally a student may have a muscular or skeletal issue that is affecting the tarsus area, the best thing to do is have a doctor or physical therapist check it out if you think this may be the case.

Excessive Turnout and Ankle Alignment

It is important to point out that sickling and rolling in have nothing to do with turnout. Although, some dancers and teachers seem to focus on the angle which the feet make in turnout, please note that turnout occurs from the hips only. Occasionally when dancers “force” their turnout they are straining the tendons in their knees for a little extra rotation at a joint that is only supposed to bend and straighten, which in turn usually results in pronation (rolling in) as well. This only gives the appearance of a wider “V,” but a trained eye knows that this is not turnout. Forcing turnout can lead to injury and possibly surgery down the road.

Maintaining proper alignment in the foot while dancing is very important. Problems in the lower body have a way of working their way up, causing issues and even injury in the knees, hips, back, etc. Dancers must move with awareness of what their body is doing, and a big part of that is understanding the function and terminology of certain bones and muscles. Hopefully I’ve helped you to understand supination and pronation a bit better. Here are some great resources for gaining understanding of how the body works as it relates to dance.

The Body Series
Dance Kinesiology
Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery

Has sickling or rolling in been a problem for you? Have you ever heard the terms supination or pronation used in a dance class before?

Finding Quality Dance Instruction – Middle Ground

I come from a small town and have taught in some small cities where dance studios struggle to maintain integrity and keep their business (or non-profit) afloat. Access to educated and experienced dance teachers is sometimes minimal. Below, I’ve listed some circumstances that occur in dance studios across the country. They are not absolute deal-breakers, but potential students should proceed with caution and armed with knowledge and awareness when such situations are present.

• Combo classes. Many say to avoid them altogether. However, they can be useful for exposing younger children to complimentary styles of dance, or providing an introduction to ballet for children who may not choose ballet as their one dance class per week. However, if combo classes are offered for anyone over 8 years old, this shows signs of an à la carte philosophy on dance training. Dabbling in dance this way often results in an unsuccessful and incomplete education. If a student wants to pursue many dance styles and still become proficient, they need to put in the time, something combo classes don’t provide.
• To many, following a ballet syllabus is extremely important so as not to confuse students (not all ballet is the same). However, basic technical principles should serve the recreational student as long as there is consistency within the class, or students are made aware of how the codified techniques differ should they encounter a need for this information.
• A proper dance floor is extremely important to the well-being of the dancers. Dancing on anything directly over concrete subflooring is unacceptable as a long-term situation and instructors must demonstrate precaution for the sake of their student’s bodies in the interim. For the sake of their student’s bodies studio owners should recognize if their current flooring is sub-standard and have a plan in place (fundraising or otherwise) to improve their situation. If they don’t see it as an issue (and they may not if it’s not hurting their business), move on. The same goes for studios that are too small for full-grown students to fully extend their arms and legs, setting up patterns and habits that will be hard to break later. In a perfect world no studio would open with sub-standard flooring. However, if the school is otherwise providing quality education, I consider this area middle ground. Ask questions and make it known that this is important to you. There is a flooring solution out there to fit every space and budget.
• Student teachers are a deal-breaker for some. As a teen, I assisted experienced teachers at my studio for three years before taking over my own classes, and the students were once-a-week students between 6 and 9 years old. Was I really prepared to have my own class? Maybe not, but I worked hard, took care in what I was doing, and learned an awful lot that prepared me for things to come. Therefore, I think a student assistant/teaching program certainly has value. Some guidelines to consider: Preschool classes are best taught by someone with experience in the classroom management of dancers this young. Also, teachers too close in age to their students can cause disciplinary problems. Again, students as teachers are not ideal but a school that is closely monitoring and evaluating their student assistants and teachers on a regular basis may be fostering tomorrow’s educators.
• Age alone is not a reason to move dancers to the next level of dance. In a setting in which students are taking only one or two classes per week and not attempting to learn advanced skills like pointe work, difficult turns, or leaps, advancing by age is not a deal-breaker. Otherwise, I would avoid any school that blindly moves up or holds back dancers because of age, or concedes to class-placement simply because someone requests to take class with a friend. If the school has clear ideas about what their curriculum includes and methods to assess if a student is ready to move on, subjectivity can be reduced and complaining minimized. If a school cannot point to reasons why they have advanced a student, they leave themselves open to question and speculation.

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  Image via Wikipedia

  There are those in the dance world that consider competitive dance studios a red flag in quality training. However, it is my opinion that competitive schools can, and some do, offer quality dance education. Be wary when, like performance, competition becomes more important than the training itself. I’ve witnessed, too often, superficial rivalry, tricks, costumes, and medals replace the reward of cooperation, hard work, self-improvement, long-term goals, and mastering a craft or art form. It is a fine line to walk, and a studio that chooses to compete must take extra care to ensure that students’ appreciation of dance does not depend on the thrill of winning alone. When their winning days are over, the 99% of students who do not become professional dancers still play a major part in the advancement or decline of the art through their support. And if winning and sport was all it meant to them, their dedication to dance may falter when the incentive is gone.

Please remember that when looking for the studio or teacher that will suit your needs, it is important to shop around, armed with questions and knowledge. I’m always surprised that students and parents spend so little time choosing a dance school (many dancers spend more years at a dance studio than they will a college). Dance instruction is an investment of time and money, and you don’t want to waste either. The guidelines you’ve read here about quality instruction are no more than my educated opinion, offered so that you may thoughtfully consider the topic for yourself.

What are some of your experiences? Do you disagree or agree with some of my opinions, or with my assessment of deal-makers/breakers? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Finding Quality Dance Instruction – Deal-Breakers

When researching dance schools or studios, there are certain things I consider, instruction deal-makers. Here I will investigate the possibly more controversial deal-breakers:

• An instructor is consistently condescending and sarcastic, frequently uses put-downs or yelling to get results, or is insensitive to safety and health/weight issues.
• Classes appear out of control – little ones have no order, rules or expectations and older ones chatter, lean on the barre, etc.
• Classes are too long for small children (more than 45 minutes is too long for preschoolers) and too short for older dancers. (An ideal class length for ballet in particular is an hour-and-a-half. For dancers over 12 or who are preparing for pointe work, classes should be no less than an hour-and-a quarter.)
• Pointe work is offered to students who take less than 3 hours of ballet per week and dancers are not assessed for pointe readiness. Three hours is the absolute minimum, and should include those in pointe prep classes who are not yet wearing pointe shoes. Hours, days, weeks, and years spent doing ballet have no true bearing on if someone should or should not be doing pointe, however. The quality of the training itself is essential and great care must be taken to assess each individual’s core, turnout, and foot strength to determine if they can begin pointe work. (Lisa Howell offers some wonderful resources for students, teachers, and parents for determining pointe readiness.)  Ask to observe a pointe class. If the dancers look unstable and precarious when away from the barre, it is not simply because pointe work is hard – more likely, their training thus far in ballet has not been sufficient for working at this level. A truly quality establishment will not place dancers en pointe before they are ready, or at all if they cannot provide an appropriate course of instruction to safely prepare their ballet students. Dance studios in the U.S. (I can’t vouch for other countries) feel pressure to make pointe available to those who want it, even if it is not in their students’ best interest. Sometimes otherwise good schools succumb to this pressure. I encourage you to evaluate or re-evaluate if a pointe program is really right for you or your school. Only those considering a professional career truly need extend their work in ballet to pointe and, if you are considering a professional career, then you need instruction that will get you there.
• A class consists of nothing but drilling or repeating “tricks” (turns, jumps, leaps, etc.). This is only conceivable outside and in addition to a normal, thoughtfully planned technique class.
• The teacher uses improper terminology for movements with children older than 7 or 8. Even in preschool or creative dance classes, children can be taught the correct term. Imagery can, and absolutely should be applied for these young dancers, however I see no need to completely replace the vocabulary used by older dancers.
• Classes spend more than half the class on choreography and/or spend more than half the year preparing for recital dances. If this amount of time is required, the dances are too hard for the students. And it is probably too hard because the dancers have not been given a consistent opportunity to improve their skills and technique. Rehearsal for competition choreography should take place outside of regular technique classes. Some would argue that even recital choreography should be done outside of class. I personally feel, however, that if the choreography is representative of what the class has been doing (the purpose of a recital), composition of the dance need not be overly invasive and can take place during the last 15 or 20 minutes of class which would normally be spent learning combinations or variations.
• Owners of the school are not upfront about additional costs. Many schools charge extraneous fees for costume purchasing (on top of what you pay for the costume), recital fees, competition fees, required purchase of dancewear from their own store, etc. Make sure that it is clearly presented what you are expected to pay, tuition included, and don’t be afraid to ask exactly what the money goes toward. Some studios use such fees (or a portion of them) to keep the school afloat during summer months and to keep tuition low. Know what will be expected of you so that you have the opportunity to decide if these are fees you’re willing to pay. Although this trend is increasing, not all schools require such fees. Look into this before a sense of obligation to yourself or your child forces you to pay more than you had intended.
• Students display a myriad of injuries. Some injuries do occur when dancers are pushing themselves as athletes. However, it is a red flag when a large number of students are dealing with injury, especially at a recreational studio. Usually, these students are either not being trained properly in technique or are consistently attempting skills that are beyond their technical ability. I have seen this often at competitive schools that are recreational in nature. In order to keep up and win medals they work and drill “tricks” that only advanced dancers should attempt. Sadly, these students may be awarded despite poor technique at a competition and encouraged in this behavior (remember the nature of many competitions is that judges must choose the best from those competing). No matter the type of school, the occurrence of multiple students with chronic or serious injuries is a clear sign that something is missing or not as it should be within the training.

There are some things that deserve mention that I have not yet listed. These are what I consider middle ground – not ideal, but in certain circumstances not deal-breakers either. I will list these in my next post.

What are some deal-breakers for you? Have you or do you attend a school where these things take place? Tell me about your experiences.

Finding the Right Dance Studio/Teacher – Setting Goals To Determine What’s Right For You

Are you new to dance? Looking to take your dancing to the next level?

It’s important to find the studio, school, or teacher that’s right for you. As the photo title (right) suggests, behind our goals are our dreams. A dream is an idea and a goal is a destination. What comes between these two are actions, steps taken to reach each goal. In dance, training is a crucial step in the journey from dream to destination. However, one has to be clear about his destination in order to know which steps to take. In other words, your goals will determine which type of training is best for you.

Step 1: Research

In order to figure out your goals it is necessary to look at the all the possibilities. Typically when people think of a career in dance, they are only thinking of a career in performance. And, while many with dance careers do start out there, there are still many other options to consider. I looked hard for a good list – this was one of the more all-encompassing and specific. Because the source is a university, you’ll notice it leaves out large-budget ballet companies (we’ll talk about that later).

Goals Can Change

Now that we recognize that there are possibilities beyond performance, it may be important to point out that there are many paths to any given destination, and that sometimes life takes us down unexpected ones. Goals can change over time either because we change or something forces us to change our direction. No matter where we end up, many dancers begin their journey the same – with lessons in movement at a dance school.

Step 2: Choosing a Training Path

For dancers that begin at a young age, there are generally two types of training offered at most studios/schools in the U.S.,* recreational and pre-professional. A majority of dance studios are recreational in nature. Here, the students can choose from a variety of classes and styles of dance, often with limited focus or time on any one in particular. Pre-professional schools typically have a very strong focus on ballet training and may require 20 or more hours per week of classes (at least half of which are ballet). Some schools manage two tracks at the same time. In this case dancers may begin as young children at the same level but eventually diverge based on interest and aptitude. If you are over the age of 12 or 13, and taking less than 3 hours of ballet per week, you are probably not at a pre-professional school. If that’s disappointing to you, I’ve got good news. Being a student at a recreational school does not mean you cannot eventually perform as a professional dancer. It certainly helps, and if you’d like to be at one of those large -budget ballet companies I mentioned earlier it’s a necessity.

Professional vs. College

In large cities it is sometimes easier than in smaller towns to locate pre-professional instruction. If what you desire most is to dance for a professional ballet company, you may need to make major sacrifices (financial, social, locational convenience) to obtain the needed training and skills. Smaller, regional ballet companies; contemporary or modern dance companies; musical theatre; and commercial dance are typically more open to dancers of varied training backgrounds. Make no mistake, though, one still needs to be very strong in technique and performance to make a living in such a competitive field.

College study is an option for a wide range of dance-related careers if you have a passion for dance. Although outsiders may consider dance a “fluff” major, those that have been through it (myself included) know better. Dance majors at a university not only take hours of technique classes in the studio, but study history, anatomy/kinesiology, teaching/pedagogy, composition, and more on top of spending weeknights and weekends working on choreography, assignments, or rehearsing. I’ve seen many young dancers change their mind about majoring in dance after one year or less in a university program. Most college programs have a strong focus on contemporary or modern dance, although ballet and other forms are still an important part of the curriculum. For many dance jobs, advanced degrees (translation: more years in school) are required (and not a bad idea if you’d like more financial security), and occasionally a dual major is necessary. At any rate, college is a great place to improve, grow, and be exposed to a wide range of dance experiences through intense focus, dedication, and academic study. Many dancers who became professional performers at a young age return to receive a college degree later in order to begin the second phase of their careers.

Recreational Dance and Quality Instruction

Now, I know there is a group of you thinking “I don’t want to be a professional, I just want to have fun dancing!” Many adult beginners fall into this category, too. That’s great! We need more dance enthusiasts out there (it is you that attend shows and support programs)! A recreational studio may be just the place for you. However, don’t forget that it’s still important that you make good choices in finding a studio or teacher. Why? Because not all dance schools offer quality instruction or facilities, which can lead to injury for a dancing novice. Dancing on an improper floor, working on advanced movements without the strength or coordination to back it up, or spending years either overtraining or neglecting certain muscles can lead to chronic (that means long-term) pain or problems in areas like the back, knees, ankles and more. It’s not worth the cute costumes, 12-hour recitals, plastic trophies, or whatever else may entice you. Seek out quality instruction.

I hope that this post has helped you to clarify your aspirations. Setting your goals early is an important step in seeing your dreams realized. For more information on specific dance careers, see the links in this post.

What are your goals in dance? How have they changed as you’ve journeyed on your path? If you are working in dance or otherwise, how does your dance education play a part in your life now?

*I’m writing what I know, there are other sites available that speak to dance education in other countries, here’s one for the UK that has some great info.