Once I was chosen for the hip-hop dance team, I was embraced with open arms by my fellow dancers! The young ladies on the team loved having a male around and would often ask me to assist them with the unfamiliar hip-hop vocabulary they were being taught. As a young male, I felt that I had it made. I was naive and believed that all dance environments would be as accepting of male dancers. Boy was I wrong!
Health, Wellness & The Dancer's Body
Pointe Readiness and What To Expect
Every ballet dancer wants to dance en pointe. But not every ballet dancer should. How will your teacher decide if you are ready? Why might she decide you are not? And what can you expect from a pointe class?
Helping Dancers Deal With Disappointment
Parent your child through this setback and support them in becoming a more resilient and confident human being. When your child is faced with a letdown, you have a great opportunity to encourage your son or daughter to face and rise above the obstacles that come their way. It may not feel like a gift but it is.
Developpé Dilemma: Deb Vogel Addresses a Reader Question
A reader is struggling to developpé her leg above 90 degrees, experiencing tension and pain in the process. Deb Vogel provides exercises to help.
Nutrition for Dancers
Cross-training for strength and endurance is also a good idea for any dancer. In particular, dancers who aren’t training heavily, keeping the heart rate up or working up a sweat for 20-minutes or longer during class or rehearsal multiple times per week, may need to add cross-training activities to their schedule.
Oversplits – Overdoing It?
It is extremely important that someone working toward oversplits spend equal (if not more) time on strengthening and stabilizing the hips and core of the body. If you ignore signals that you are pushing too hard or too far, you may be hindering or halting any current progress you’ve made in your flexibility. You may even be sacrificing joint stability and overall joint health, perhaps ending your career early or causing problems later in life.
