Alexandra Hoffman

Share a bit about your journey in dance…

Currently, I am in my fourth season with American Midwest Ballet. I grew up dancing in Cleveland, Ohio under the instruction of Ana Lobe of Cleveland San Jose Ballet. I started my professional career with the Louisville Ballet in 2010.

I danced there for four seasons before joining AMB in 2015. Since then, I have had the opportunity to dance some amazing roles such as The Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop Fairy, and Snow Queen in The Nutctacker, the principal girl in Mariana Oliveira’s, Death and the Maiden, Fee in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and a Cygnet in Swan Lake.

What’s a challenge you’ve faced in pursuing dance professionally? How did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge I have faced in my career was a knee injury that occurred during my first season with American Midwest Ballet. I remember the exact moment it happened, and trying to brush it off as something that would fix itself in a few days time.

Unfortunately, my leg was no longer able to bear weight, making my leg give out. I had microfracture surgery as soon as the season ended, and spent all summer rehabilitating my leg. Learning how to bend my knee again, was definitely the most painful and frustrating part of recovery. The surgery was not a guaranteed fix, and I was afraid it was going to cost me my career.

Thankfully, I had a great surgeon and team of physical therapists that kept me motivated throughout the process. I’m thankful to have made a full recovery since then!

What do you think it means to be a “whole” dancer?

For me, being a whole dancer means being healthy, physically and mentally. I spend many hours a week cross training to keep my body strong to avoid injuries as much as possible. Fueling my body with the right kind of food is also super important to me. I cook as much as I can for myself, so I can control the quality of ingredients that go into my meals.

Do you have any special self-care rituals that help you feel balanced?

Wednesday’s are my only nights off from teaching and rehearsing. I use that night to de-stress with an epsom salt bath and a face mask. I also like to use that time to plan out all of my meals for the following week. I love looking at the sale ads for grocery stores, and finding as many coupons as possible! I try to revolve my meals around the sales to help me stay on budget!

What role does cross-training play in your life?

Pilates, physical therapy exercises, and swimming are crucial for keeping my knee tracking properly. I want to dance for as long as I possibly can, so cross training is just as important as refining my dance technique.

How do you keep a positive relationship with food and your body in the face of aesthetic pressure in dance?

Cooking is definitely another passion I have in my life. I love trying to “lighten up” classic dishes in my kitchen, as well as indulging in comfort foods. Sticking to a strict and restricting diet has never been appealing to me. I think keeping a healthy balance of foods in my life is the key to keeping me both healthy and happy.

Food is a dancer’s fuel, so if I’m hungry, I know I need to eat! It can be difficult to eat a bigger meal during a strenuous rehearsal day, so I make sure to eat a really filling breakfast, and have plenty of smaller snacks to get me through the day. Dinner is always my largest meal of the day to help replenish my body with as much nutrients as I can possibly get!

Do you have a favorite recipe?!

This recipe is one of my go-to recipes during tech weeks! Throwing everything on a sheet pan, and letting the oven do all the work is my ideal kind of meal when I have zero time to meal prep. This recipe is filled with lots of good fats, and carbohydrates that I definitely need to  perform my best on stage! I hope you like it as much as I do!

One Pan Lemon Roasted Salmon, Roasted Potatoes and Parmesan Asparagus

Prep Time 10 min

Cook Time 30 min

Total Time 40 min

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 lb baby potatoes, halved if large
• ¼ cup olive oil, divided
• Salt + pepper, to taste
• 1 lb skin on salmon
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• ½ Tbsp each, dried parsley, thyme, and oregano
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp cayenne (omit if sensitive to spicy foods)
• ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
• 3 lemons-zest of 2 lemons + 1 sliced for roasting
• 1-2 bunches of asparagus, ends trimmed
• ½ cup grated Parmesan

Basil Chimichurri

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 cup fresh basil
• ½ cup fresh cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. On a large rimmed baking sheet, combine the potatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt + pepper. Toss well to evenly coat the potatoes. Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, the honey, garlic, parsley, thyme, oregano, paprika, cayenne, basil and lemon zest in a bowl.
4. After 15 minutes, remove the potatoes from the oven. Add the salmon to the center of the pan. Rub the spice mixture onto the salmon, making sure the salmon is well coated.
5. Add the asparagus to the pan and toss with the potatoes. Sprinkle both the asparagus and potatoes with parmesan. Scatter lemon slices all around the pan and on the salmon.
6. Place in the oven and roast for 10-20 minutes or until the salmon has reached your desired doneness.
7. To serve, remove the skin from the salmon (if desired)  and cut into 4 pieces. Serve with potatoes + asparagus and the basil chimichurri.

Basil Chimichurri

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until combined and pesto like. Pour into a bowl or glass jar.

The post Alexandra Hoffman – Healthy Dancer Feature appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

with Louisville Ballet Dancer/Yogi Leigh Anne Albrechta

Yoga is associated with flexibility much more so than strength. Therefore, it’s easy for dancers to write it off as something they could too easily master or something that might not be super beneficial to their dance goals.

When you look at yoga from an insider’s perspective, it’s much more about the components of control and strength to support your flexibility. As a dancer, this could be an essential support for your dancing.

I sat down with Leigh Anne Albrechta in The Whole Dancer Facebook Group to discuss the benefits of this practice for dancers. Leigh Anne dances with the Louisville Ballet and has been teaching and practicing yoga for many years. In our chat, she pinpoints the ways this form of cross – training can support you not just in flexibility but also in the building of your strength in dance. Check out our chat here:

Beyond the physical benefits, it might provide dancers with significant psychological and emotional benefits as well. My personal experience in yoga provided some of the first times I was appreciating my bodies abilities beyond how it looked. I was able to turn inward and feel my strength without worrying about creating a perfect shape. It took lots of trial and error and exploration to find classes and instructors I enjoyed but the journey was well worth it.

For many dancers, the mental calm that yoga might provide could be a missing component in not just your dancing but your life. It might allow you to relax into yourself and find greater physical awareness than you might gain from dance alone. The benefits are many.

Have you tried yoga yourself? What was your experience? Share in the comments!! I’d love to hear from you.

The post Yoga as Cross Training for Dancers appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

I’ve mentioned many times, in one way or another, the importance of a mentor for dancers.

Some dancers are very lucky and work one on one with a coach or teacher. This person often becomes a guide for them throughout their career and life.

For some of us (myself included) those mentors don’t crop up til later.

Make it part of your job to find a mentor.

These are people who can give you advice, listen to your struggles and understand what you’re going through. They’ve been there.

A mentor may be someone who is a friend but usually has a bit more experience than you.

Navigating the landscape of a professional ballet career is not simple. The fear that you might not make it is nagging.

Some days will be full of doubt.

You won’t always find the support you desire in your peers or friends. Dance friends are still your competition and non – dance friends will never fully get it.

One of my most helpful, supportive and wonderful mentors was my friend Sara Sardelli. After dancing in Louisville, Sara moved on to Sarasota Ballet where she moved up quickly through the ranks to Principal Dancer.

We were at Butler University at the same time. She was a year ahead of me and exceptionally talented.

I was in awe.

We became fast friends. She appreciated my dry humor and sarcasm and I was just grateful to have someone older to share the ins and outs with me.

After graduation I ended up at the same ballet company as Sara.

Again, I benefitted from her willingness to share with me the politics she had already uncovered and the connections she had made.

One day after a particularly stressful rehearsal I had a breakdown.

It’s one of those moments in life I’ll never forget because I felt so overwhelmed by inadequacy.

As I cried in Sara’s car I imagined she had no idea how I felt. She was so much more talented than me. I was totally shocked when, at the end of my tearful self – mutilation she told me:

“I know exactly how you feel.”

How this was possible baffled me but I believed her when she told me her first year with the company was equally distressing.

Your mentor will be able to tell you, “I get it” and sometimes that’s all it takes to feel a little bit better and to realize you’re not alone. We’re all in this together.

The post Find a Mentor appeared first on The Whole Dancer.