Realistically, if you’re a young person in your 20s (for example), you won’t actually “get out of shape” and lose muscle this quickly. Research suggests you’ll start to lose muscle 3–4 weeks after you are “inactive.” It’s also suggested that you can get back to your peak fitness level more quickly after a period of inactivity than when you originally started. 

Your body has the capacity to maintain a high level of fitness. The problem is your brain. You need to train your mind for resilience as well. 

Time off doesn’t have to stress you out

Being realistic with yourself about what you need is going to help you enjoy time off without stress. If you’re coming out of a season where you felt great physically and mentally, you might be motivated to simply keep up with your training and activity levels.

If the season wasn’t your best, you may need a longer period of true rest or time away from dance to recover mentally. This is something to give yourself permission to take, especially now that you know you won’t be instantly losing tons of strength. 

Use your time away from dance productively

Establishing goals for a level of productivity is going to help you feel good about the time off. It can mitigate any guilt you might create in your mind if you accomplish some things you find fulfilling.

Before you jump into action, give yourself time to truly reflect on what went well in your season and what you’d like to improve. This way you’ll be able to set goals and intentions around what you’d like to see shift in your next dancing season.

The truth might be that you want to fully disengage from dance for a period of time. If that’s the case, how will you find movement that’s enjoyable and motivating? 

• Try a new workout class
• Sign up to work with a personal trainer for dancers
• Consider health, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching for direction, support, and accountability: book your coaching consultation here
• Get active with friends or family
• Plan for activities that involve movement that makes you feel good, like amusement park visits, museum trips, hikes, or swimming

As the season gets closer: 5 ways to feel more ready

When it comes closer to your next dancing season, work to feel prepared both mentally and physically.

• Get back into the studio.

If you’re still feeling resistance, find a friend to go with you. Maybe re-enter with a class that’s outside of your genre of focus. Keep it low stakes. No pressure to do 5 pirouettes on day one. Instead, give yourself permission to take baby steps towards your full dancing potential. 

You might begin by just taking barre or putting your pointe shoes on for 10 minutes at the end of class. Really think about what you can handle and how you can find inspiration as you get back into it slowly.

• Stay aware of stress surrounding your food choices.

Stressing out about what is the “right” thing to be eating or what amounts of food are “perfect” is counterproductive. It will only lead you down a path towards guilt and overthinking.

Instead, connect to what feels good about your food choices. Focus on foods and meals that provide your body with energy and easy digestion. The more you connect to mindful eating, the better you’ll get at meeting your body’s needs with ease. 

• Create a schedule that’s flexible but intentional. 

During the season, most dancers have very regimented schedules. Your rehearsal schedule is dictated to you, and you might have outside work hours that are set or consistent. 

Give yourself the flexibility in summer to make space for some spontaneity and extra time with friends or family. If someone invites you to go to the beach, you don’t want your workout plans to get in the way.

• Find support to create goals.

If your goal is to go back into your season feeling stronger and more prepared than when you started last season, the best way to accomplish that is to work backwards from the goal. 

It can’t just be about physical preparation. Keep in mind we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in shorter periods of time (days or weeks) and underestimate what we can accomplish with more time (months or years). 

If you’re struggling to find clarity on your goals or achieve them, coaching could provide the support and accountability you need to make your goals a sustainable reality. 

• Check in with your mindset. 

Your internal narrative and self-awareness have a huge impact on how you feel in your body. When dancers accept that some body change is normal and to be expected during time off, they’re much gentler with themselves. With this approach, you’re able to take the changes (which are usually small) in stride, which facilitates a much healthier approach as you get back into your dancing season. 

By avoiding extremes, the fluctuations come and go with ease. In terms of mental approach, if you let yourself let go of the attachment to always being “in shape,” you’ll have much greater odds of actually staying in shape. 

Remember, your perspective on your body is built in your mind…

As a dancer, you may have heard: your body is your instrument. And it is, but it’s also so much more. Your body is your home. It’s the place you’ll spend your entire life. 

When you find you’re feeling overly concerned about “being in shape,” it can be helpful to come back to the intention of caring for yourself. Above all else, you want to nourish and care for your body so you’ll feel your best from the inside out. 

For dancers, in a world that’s so aesthetically focused, it can be hard to come back to that intention on your own. If you’re struggling to put your well-being first, reach out. Start your coaching journey by scheduling a complimentary coaching consultation call here.

The post Get Back in Dancing Shape appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

For the purposes of this post, I’m going to define The Whole Dancer perspective on dancer success. It’s about reaching your dance goals in a healthy, sustainable, balanced, and intentional way. If your goal is to make it to the paid level of a corps de ballet, true success would mean that you care for yourself as you do the work to achieve that goal.

By taking care of yourself through the process of getting to your goal, you’re going to thrive on the path towards that achievement. Unfortunately, a lot of dancers take an extreme, non-supportive, potentially harmful approach to reaching their goals in dance. This can lead to unhappiness and eventually burnout or complete loss of love for the art.

Make your health and well-being the top priority.

In order to find success in dance and do it in a sustainable way, your health and well-being need to be your top priority. This doesn’t mean you aren’t disciplined or hard working. It means you are connected to your personal needs and listening to your body, mind, and soul.

Prioritizing your health means fueling adequately even if it means your body is not the tiniest version it could be. For health, and injury prevention, you must put your health above aesthetic goals. 

This doesn’t mean you don’t feel strong, capable, and confident in your physical shape. It means that you are doing the work to accept that your best shape and strongest body for dance may be bigger than you think it “should” be.

As much importance as you put into having a healthy body, the same is true for your mind. To be a successful dancer you need immense mental strength. Not so you can endure harm or undue pain but rather so you can advocate for yourself and those around you to make this artform a healthier place. 

Stay connected to your mind, body, and soul.

The most successful dancers have found a true connection to their mind, body, and soul needs and prioritize them with the same or greater priority than their needs simply as a dancer. 

Your mind

The mental aspects of dance and performance are undeniable. Beyond that, a dancer’s self-perception and body image need to be in a solid place in order to not just find confidence but also to feel joyful in the dancing process.

Many dancers tell me: “I figured all dancers feel badly about their bodies.” Or, “Don’t all dancers struggle with body image?”

And while yes, I agree that most dancers have moments of struggle, I also know for certain that you can get to a place of body image resilience — where body image challenges arise and you’re able to move through them with ease.

Your body

Through your years of dance, you were probably at some point encouraged to ignore or push through pain. You may have gotten into the habit of rehearsing or dancing with very little in your stomach. 

As much as dancers can be very aware of how their physical body is working and moving, many are incredibly disconnected from what their body needs.  

The most successful dancers are committed to honoring and caring for their bodies as more than their instrument — as their home. This means again prioritizing your physical well-being over any aesthetic pressure or aim.

Your soul

To truly reach your highest, most successful level as a dancer, you need to connect to yourself on a deeper level. Knowing who you are, who you want to be, and what you value in this world is going to direct your dreams in full alignment. 

Making a soul connection could mean exploring religion or spirituality. It could also mean connecting to nature or the universe. Finding the bigger forces outside of yourself that resonate is going to allow you to view the world outside of dance with awe. Then, you’ll be able to bring big, aligned energy into everything you do.

Nourish yourself holistically.

Food is a key form of physical nourishment. However, to nourish oneself holistically means to address all aspects of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Many dancers don’t pay great attention to their sleep habits, hydration, morning, or nighttime routines. Each of these areas has to be addressed, and the most successful dancers have very clear and supportive practices in place. 

If you’ve not spent much time really addressing your needs, then pick one area and commit to making some significant changes. Sleep is often a great place to start, so we’ll address sleep as an example. First, consider how many hours of sleep you’re getting. Most dancers get somewhere between 6 and 8 hours, but most dancers would benefit greatly from 9+ hours of sleep. 

To start improving sleep, commit to putting your phone away much earlier in the evening. If you use your phone as an alarm clock, invest in a sunrise alarm clock or another traditional wake-up device. Include things like journaling, reading, or meditation in your nighttime routine and you’re going to set yourself up to sleep better and therefore to perform with more precision in dance. 

Set boundaries, seek support.

The dancers who find true success and longevity in this career aren’t afraid to seek support from outside their current circle. Successful dancers know that simply getting by isn’t enough, and to thrive, you might need someone else to help you identify blind spots. 

That’s where coaching can provide a transformative stepping-stone to finding true, sustainable success in this career. I’ve had the honor of working with soloists and principal dancers at top companies. And also with pre-professional students at the start of their professional journey. 

In each of those cases, the dancers knew that they had another level they could reach and support from someone who truly understands the challenges of dancing at a high level would help achieve their biggest goals. 

Are you ready to get to the next level?

Is it time to create a path that’s not just about surviving but thriving?

Do you want to create happy, healthy, sustainable success?

Take the next step and book your free, coaching consultation call here.

The post How to Be a Successful Dancer appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Many people don’t actually talk about this, which leads dancers to search through non-dancer resources, often finding misinformation or incredibly unhealthy advice. In an effort to be “healthy,” dancers get restrictive. Or they’re told their muscles are “bulky,” so they aim for a calorie deficit. 

So, let’s dive into this very loaded topic.

Can dancers set weight loss goals? 

If you’re under 18…

Here’s where there’s a hard stop. If you’re under 18, pre-pubescent, or possibly still growing, you should absolutely not be trying to lose weight. 

Children and adolescents are going through physical changes all the time. Their hormones are adjusting and working towards a new balance. Any weight loss aims can very easily disrupt these changes and upend the delicate balance.

Beyond that, trying to lose weight will damage your relationship with food. This damage can result in eating disorders, restrictive eating, and ongoing food challenges that can last for years (or decades). 

My own food struggles started at age 14 when I decided I needed to lose weight so I started my first diet. For me, this resulted in disordered eating habits, negative self-image, and fluctuating weight that lasted for over a decade. It made my entire dance journey, from student through professional, about my body. I was never able to fully focus on the dancing, technical improvement, or opportunities I was given. 

If you’re struggling to accept your weight or self-image, work on your food relationship and boost your body image to move through those challenges. I work with dancers as young as 15 (14 in rare cases), so if this is you, it might be time to talk with a parent and have them reach out for support. 

Can dancers set weight loss goals as an adult or professional?

You should have bodily autonomy. This means you are in charge of and have agency over your body, what happens to it, and how you want it to look. For dancers, there’s an added layer in that your body is being judged and observed daily. That fact makes this question a bit more complicated. 

If you’re someone who has a history of eating disorders or disordered eating, you’ve likely got to go through many years of healing before you can make any goals around changing your body.

For some, it is possible to desire to look differently and for it to come from a healthy place. For example, if you’ve had some time off, perhaps you’d like to regain your muscle tone. Maybe your body has changed, you have gained weight, and you’d like to make adjustments to get back to where you were. 

Before you go down that road, consider these 5 Questions to Ask Yourself if You Want to Change Your Body for Dance. 

Ultimately, you may decide, “Yes, I want to make some changes to alter my physical appearance.” Here’s how to go about that with a balanced perspective…

It should actually never be about the weight.

If you desire to work towards physical changes, don’t make it about a number. Weight looks different on each of us. The weight that feels good for you and that you feel looks good on you may be very different from some arbitrary number you’ve deemed acceptable or desired. 

For dancers, a scale isn’t a helpful tool. I would argue that this is also true for most people, except perhaps those who lose weight easily and are trying to avoid an unhealthily low body weight.

Nevertheless, any desire to change your body shouldn’t be motivated by what you see on the scale. That number is too changeable. So many things factor into what shows up on the scale, from hormones to water weight to time of day. Furthermore, the scale isn’t a reflection of how you look, how you dance, or your potential to improve and grow as a dancer. 

Need more convincing? Here are 7 Reasons to Ditch Your Scale. 

Instead of basing your body goals on a number on the scale, set goals based on how you want to feel. When you put the focus on how you want to feel in your body, your physical shape can shift without much effort. 

If you’re fixated on the scale or losing weight specifically, take a major pause. What are you tying weight loss to? Do you think losing weight means instant success? Better roles? A promotion or paid job? Odds are, you’re valuing the weight or smaller body over your dance technique or artistry. 

What happens when you set goals based on how you want to feel in your body.

If you’re focused on feeling energized, happy, and strong, you’re going to take action aligned with that end. Rather than getting stuck in restriction, which is what happens 9 times out of 10 when weight loss is the goal, you’ll be able to focus on the foods that actually feel good for you to eat. 

When you go to the gym or practice your cross-training routine, that effort will be coming from a place of self-love and growth instead of a place of punishment. 

Body-feeling goals are about tuning into what feels good, tastes good, and works for your personal needs and preferences. Whereas, weight-focused goals set you up to ignore your body’s cues. You’ll eat the “right” foods and become disconnected from your desires, preferences, and personal needs. 

Setting yourself up to achieve your personal best body.

You cannot maintain a balanced, healthy, supportive approach if lowering the number on the scale is your primary or only goal. 

That’s a bold statement, I realize that. However, it comes from years of experience in my own dieting cycles, years of experience working with dancers, and years of study and research on topics of dieting, nutrition, lifestyle, dancers, and well-being.

If you desire body change but don’t want to get caught up in an unhealthy approach, reach out and schedule your complimentary coaching consultation call. 

Some examples of body-feeling change for 1:1 Elite Best Body Coaching Clients:

I feel like I am in less of a “fog.” I have built good habits for myself surrounding food choices and have also built a lot of confidence in the studio. Now, I listen to my body more now when it is asking for a break and prioritize self care. 

Colleen Underriner, Steps on Broadway Conservatory

Now, I am much more confident about my body and I am more conscious in my everyday life. I understand that every body is different and I don’t have to compare my body to other dancers’ bodies which gives me freedom finally.  

Bettina Jurák, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani

I feel confident in my dancing and am able to also separate myself from negativity that others feel and not let it affect me. I am not stuck in the binge/restrict cycle any longer and I can enjoy a life full of food, love, and dancing!

Maia Blake, Ballet Spartanburg

Since working with Jess, I don’t feel guilty eating anymore, and I have flexibility with what I can eat. I have made much more peace with my body, and I am confident with how I look. 

Nicole Dickson, Freelance Dancer in Boston

Some examples of body-feeling change for clients in The Dancers’ Balanced Body Program: 

Rather than worrying about weight gain, I get to consider what will help me feel fulfilled today. Some days it’s my favorite salad and other days, it’s a homemade baked treat. Though I’ve had some weight loss, I don’t believe it’s the most important change from the program.

Timmorie Freeman, Freelance Dancer in the SF Bay Area

I have discovered an eating plan that works for me and helps me feel energized and confident. I have noticed positive changes in my body and proportions that have not only been noticed by me but by others as well.

Anna Ackerman, New York State Ballet

I have seen changes in my leg muscles and abdominals. I have much less worry about my body and myself as a whole person. My mindset is much more positive.

Emma Stewart, Canada’s National Ballet School

If you prefer to listen to The Whole Dancer viewpoint on dancer weight loss, listen to the podcast below.

The post Can Dancers Safely Set Weight Loss Goals? appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Simply put: the way you’re relating to food is your “food relationship.” It may seem like something weird to think about or talk about, but revising food relationships is a primary focus of the work I do with dancers. You’ll often hear me say that you can’t make adjustments to your food choices or start to consider aesthetic body goals until you’re first and foremost in a healthy, balanced relationship with food.

Consider what has impacted your food relationship.

For dancers, there are often too many influences impacting your experience with food. Your personal perceptions of the dance world, comments from teachers, peers, parents, or mentors can all shift the way you feel about food in both positive and negative ways.

Unfortunately, most of the messages around food in ballet are negative. It’s not celebrated for the fact that it’s what allows you to dance injury-free, with ample energy, and supports your body in recovering from the strenuous work you put it through.

Instead, food is viewed as the enemy by many dancers. Something to fear. It’s considered something to avoid or restrict. You might have convinced yourself that only if you eat little will you achieve the dance body “ideal” that still exists in today’s troubled dance world.

Be honest with yourself about where you’re starting.

If you’re in a place of denial about how you truly feel about food or what has brought you to that place, you’ll struggle to make positive changes. You also won’t be able to make supportive food adjustments that would allow you to perform and feel even better in your body.

Do some writing around what your food relationship is and how it got there. Then, envision a beautiful, balanced, flexible food relationship. Consider how it would feel to make food choices easily and without stress. 

Your food experience is multifaceted.

It seems like common sense, but there was a time that I would have benefitted from the reminder: Food is necessary. It’s necessary to sustain your life, and without it you can’t live. If you get into restrictive or disordered eating behaviors, it can be life threatening. In fact anorexia and eating disorders are the deadliest of all mental illnesses.

Even if you’re not in eating-disorder territory, it’s possible you’re underfueling. When you’re not consuming enough food, you’re likely to develop nutritional deficiencies. It’s estimated that somewhere near 90% of female athletes don’t consume adequate calcium. 

You may have legitimate fear around certain foods. Usually the concern is that a specific food or food group is the thing that will make you fat. I’ve had so many dancers say to me, “When I eat X, I always gain weight,” or “Eating Y will make me fat.” Here’s the good news: When your relationship to all foods is balanced, they can all fit into your eating plan. Even a sports-performance-focused, athletic eating plan.

Your food relationship needs to be intentional and flexible.

Sometimes fueling challenges exist simply because a dancer’s schedule is packed and there aren’t times for meal or snack breaks. It’s a practice to eat when you have the opportunity. That also might mean eating when you have time even if you’re not quite hungry yet.

You will benefit from doing some planning around when and what you might eat. Also consider what you would like your food experiences to feel like. Many of the dancers I work with aim for easy, care-free, no-stress, happy, confident, joyful, and supportive food relationships. However, before you can get there, you have to consider what has gotten you to perhaps an unhelpful place with food.

It’s possible you were surrounded by a subtle food message. For example, I grew up during a time when low-fat dieting was popular. My mom was all about diets, and so all the food in my house was low fat. This led me to experience dietary fat as bad. 

You may have gotten more direct food advice that clouded your thinking and experience. Many dancers are told to avoid too much sugar or to make sure you’re eating enough protein. It’s easy to translate that into no sugar or to maximize protein.

Uncovering and rewriting your food experience and relationship is going to serve you to achieve balance, health, and your best dancing. Like a lot of the work I do at The Whole Dancer, it’s a process, but the outcome can have a massive positive impact on the trajectory of your dance journey and career.
Need support to get clear on what you’d like to feel like around food and how to achieve that? Book a call here to get started.

The post Dancer–Food Relationship Basics appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

The dancers who reach out to me for support are mostly professional dancers or aspiring professional dancers. 

In that space, as much as we wish it were different, there is still aesthetic pressure. It exists whether it’s explicitly communicated or implied, and it’s something we should face since we can’t wish it away. 

If you’re questioning what weight is healthy for you, consider letting go of the scale and allowing your body to be the guide. Your healthy weight should be easily maintained while getting adequate fuel. 

Honor your body.

Your body is your instrument as a dancer, but in your life, it’s so much more than that. It’s your home. It’s something to be grateful for just simply because it exists and carries you through your days.

Honoring your body is about meeting your needs. It’s about caring for yourself and recognizing that without this home of yours, dance wouldn’t be an option.

To be a healthy dancer, ask yourself, Am I truly caring for my body outside the studio?

Respect your individual needs.

It doesn’t matter how anyone else eats. Your food needs are completely individual. Don’t trick yourself into believing that you are the exception to the rules when it comes to calorie needs for highly active individuals. 

Eating around 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day is excessively low and unhealthy for any pre-professional or professional dancer. Your needs are likely going to be well over 2,000 calories per day. 

To be a healthy dancer, you need to ask yourself, Am I meeting my personal needs?

Prioritize high-quality fuel.

Your food choices matter. What matters even more than that is your relationship to food, so make sure that’s in a good place before you think about food quality.

So what is high-quality fuel? Food that is high in micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and supplies your body with the macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fats) it needs to have ample energy to perform at its peak.

It’s important that you don’t over prioritize micronutrient needs and end up under consuming from a calorie or macronutrient standpoint. Many foods high in essential vitamins and minerals (fruits, vegetables, and plant foods) are relatively low in calories. This is why you need varied food choices, and it’s important to include calorically dense foods to meet your needs as a performing athlete.

To be a healthy dancer ask yourself, Am I eating varied, nutrient-dense foods?

Plan strategically.

To prioritize your health and well-being, you need to do some planning. This can be as simple as sitting down and looking at your scheduled commitments, then figuring out where you’ll fit in meals and snacks. A good basic guideline for dancers is to have three meals and two snacks or two bigger meals and three to five snacks. 

Once you see where your opportunities for fueling exist, you should make yourself some lists of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack ideas. (For my snacking guide, click here.) Pay attention to how you feel after eating your various options. You may find that some work better in some time frames than others, and it’s worth making a note of that for yourself.

There are some foods you may want to avoid before dancing like those higher in fiber, which may cause bloating or stomach discomfort. Eating a meal that’s mostly protein won’t give you the same boost of energy that you’ll get from carbs. As always, aim for balance (including small amounts of protein, carbs, and fat) and tune into what works for you personally.

To be a healthy dancer, ask yourself, Am I planning strategic fuel within my schedule?

Support yourself as a whole dancer.

You have to nurture your body, mind, and soul. In addition to the food you eat, consider your non-food food or primary food. Primary food includes career (dance for most of you), physical activity (not just cross-training), relationships, and spirituality.

There are likely some missing pieces and areas of your life that need more attention. Start small and give yourself one new support to get started. Implement a morning routine, reassess your breakfast choices, start a meditation practice, or hire a health coach. The initial steps here can be small, but the huge, positive shifts you can create are immeasurable.

To be a healthy dancer, ask yourself, What supportive activities or people are missing from my life?

Work with people of varying backgrounds.

I’ve lost count of the number of times someone has told me, “I was working with a dietitian, and they just didn’t seem to get it.” This doesn’t mean dietitians are bad; on the contrary, it’s a matter of finding the person who is a true fit for your needs.

The dancers I work with fall into two categories. First, they have big goals but their body and food relationships are distracting them from the dancing. Or second, they have gotten to a place with their dancing and life that feels supremely unbalanced. They need support to create a life that supports their best dancing and their best life.

If you fall into either of those categories, set up your complimentary coaching consultation call here. If you’re a good fit, I’ll share with you the details of 1:1 coaching. More importantly, I’ll share all the possibilities you can look forward to through our work together!

The post What It Means To Be a Healthy Dancer appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

There’s a mentality that comes up around many support services: I don’t need that. You might follow The Whole Dancer and see what I offer but say to yourself, This is great for someone but not for me. There’s a variety of reasons you may have come to that conclusion for yourself.

It might be that you think your challenges aren’t that bad. Surely others have it much worse and they’re the ones who need coaching. It’s possible the vulnerability of coaching is what holds you back. The thought that it’s too embarrassing to admit to someone how you truly feel about yourself, food, or your dance pursuits.

In order to help you see just how much coaching could change the trajectory of your dance pursuits, this post shares about some of the dancers who have been reaching out for support, just in the last couple weeks.

These dancers all fall into a handful of clear categories. Many of these categories involve a transition, but you don’t have to be in transition to seek out coaching.

Going to a pre-professional program.

Many of the dancers under 18 who I hear from are just starting out at a pre-professional program or have plans to pursue that path in the near future. Sometimes a parent reaches out for them, but the coaching relationship is infinitely more abundant and fruitful when the dancers themselves understand and see the value of coaching.

In this transition, dancers benefit from learning to adjust to the unknown. It may be the first time they’re responsible for putting together their own meals or managing schedules. These dancers may be dealing with homesickness or struggling with confidence in their bodies and dancing in a more competitive environment. Coaching supports them through those struggles and gives them strategies and tools to shift their view and approach.

Starting a college dance program.

This transition is one I’m very familiar with as I studied dance and arts administration at Butler University. Many college dance programs offer the opportunity to prioritize both dance and academics. This has some incredible benefits but comes with a lot of commitment on the dancer’s part.

There is social pressure in college that impacts how you relate to food and your body in new ways. For dancers, there is often a question of priorities and how to balance that with a social life. Dancers in the first couple of years in college benefit from coaching to support them in maximizing their time there. In the last couple of years of college, dancers benefit from audition support as they prepare to transition out of their school “bubble.”

Starting your first job.

Whether straight out of high school or after college, it’s a huge transition starting your first job. Many of the dancers I work with have similar feelings I had in this shift. In some ways you feel incredibly prepared by your pre-professional training, and in other ways you feel totally lost, unprepared, and very stressed.

For the college dancer, there’s often a fear of being “too old” — being surrounded by teens and YAGP winners. These dancers all benefit from support to continue to care for their minds and bodies proactively. They also benefit from the simple reassurance that whatever company they’re starting out in has chosen them for a reason, and working hard, striving towards balance, and showing up with a growth mindset is going to allow them to thrive.

Moving to a new company.

When I work with a dancer, there’s a possibility they’ll discover through our work that they’re not at the best company for them. This can be a scary thing to discover, but it can also be completely game changing for their career. Many of these dancers have come to me after getting lots of body feedback. 

Despite working through Elite Best Body Coaching to feel confident and self-assured in your body, you may continue to get body feedback from others if you stay where you’re currently dancing. To me, this indicates that it’s time for a change. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but coming to this realization alone can be hard. That’s where mindset coaching through auditions and transitioning to a new company is invaluable. On the other side of that, you can rediscover your love and joy for dance unencumbered by daily body insecurities.

Retiring from pro dancing.

As a dancer moves away from dancing for hours a day, every day, there is the prospect of weight gain and body change that is very scary for many of us. When I went through this myself, my priority was to build a healthy relationship with my body and a balanced approach to food.

By prioritizing my well-being, I was able to increase self-love and body confidence exponentially. That’s what I support dancers to do through retirement. Even if they’re still in the studio taking class or teaching, they are able to be a support to themselves and their students.

Dance teachers and adult dancers.

There’s definitely some overlap in these groups. Some of the dance teachers who seek coaching support are also former professional dancers. They want to let go of the unhealthy mindsets that dancing in their youth caused and also create a healthy environment for their students.

Adult dancers are often influenced by professional ballet dancers and think that to do their best dancing, they should aspire to look like them. The reality is, if you’re not on a professional dancing schedule, it’s not a fair standard to put on yourself. Every adult dancer I’ve worked with is incredibly dedicated to their dancing and goals, and sees the value of support in the areas of nutrition, lifestyle, and a building confident mindset.

You don’t have to be in transition to benefit from coaching.

Maybe you don’t need a health, nutrition, and lifestyle coach (specifically one who works with dancers). You probably can figure it all out on your own…it might take a long time.

But when you do this, you might find you’re spinning in confusion, doubt, and overwhelm. So, instead of moving forward in your dance journey in big, fearless, extraordinary ways…

You stay small.

And all those big dreams inside of you?

They go unanswered.

But if you want to find your greatest joy in dance and have a dance experience that’s full of possibility, achievement, and fun? The answer might be to work with a coach who understands exactly what you’re up against. 

I’ve seen dancers completely shift their approach to dance, food, their bodies, and life through our work together.

Are you ready for more joy in your dancing? 

Let’s have a chat.

Elite Best Body Coaching

This program focuses on your relationship to your body and food. It follows a 7-step process and allows you to grow and transform the way you relate to yourself. It’s an investment that can transform your career trajectory. If you’re stuck in a negative body image, how well will you audition? How well will you perform in class or on stage? 

In this 6-month program, we meet every single week for 30-minutes so you’re taking consistent, pointed action towards your goals for your body and dance. If you’re interested in exploring this support service, schedule a chat here.

Balanced Life Wellness Coaching

For the dancer who feels mostly OK in their relationship to food and their body but they recognize that their life could use an overhaul. Maybe you’re struggling to prioritize your well-being or you’d like to create a vision for your dance journey so you’ll have more pointed goals and a clear drive for your dance journey.

In this 6-month program we meet every week for 30-minutes to make the necessary adjustments to your approach to dance and life so you’re at your most productive, happiest, and healthiest. If you’re interested in exploring this support service, schedule a chat here.

Would therapy be more beneficial?
The truth is, somewhere around 75–80% of the dancers working with me currently are also working with a therapist. A therapist and a coach play different roles. Here’s more about what a health, nutrition, and lifestyle coach can do for you.

The post Dancers Who Work with a Coach appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

I thought that if I was skinnier, it would make me an instantly better dancer.

In my mind, skinny was the answer to all of my problems. It would help me get my next job, get cast in better roles, and my technique would instantly look better on a skinnier body.

Maybe you can relate to this romanticized view of “skinny.” It’s something I’ve heard over and over again from clients and dancers at varying stages of their careers. You’re brainwashed to believe that it’s a magic bullet of sorts. Just be smaller and you’ll be better. You’ll get the job. You’ll find “success,” and you’ll finally be happy and confident.

It’s time to take skinny off the pedestal. Changing your body at all costs without consideration for your health is a fast path to losing your love for dance, burning out, and potentially causing irreversible damage.

What happens when getting skinnier is your #1 goal in dance?

You might damage your relationship to food.

This possibility comes to dancers from all sides. Your peers might talk about restrictive eating patterns, your teachers might make off-handed comments about eating less, or you might watch TV or consume social media that sends the message you should eat less or a certain way.

Restrictive eating or borderline disordered eating can cause long-term damage to your relationship to food. It can make it harder to recognize hunger and fullness and create an environment of stress around meals or any food-centric gatherings.

You might cause harm to your body.

If you’re chronically underfueling, you’ll increase the likelihood of injury. Stress fractures are more likely if you’re not consuming enough food and are deficient in nutrients essential to bone health. The primary deficiencies we hear about are calcium and vitamin D as they’re closely connected to bone health, but there are other, lesser-known deficiencies to consider as well.

“These lesser known insufficiencies of magnesium, silicon, vitamin K, and boron are rarely explained to physicians although the more common insufficiencies of calcium, vitamin D and exercise are increasingly recognized as contributors to bone health. In addition to these essential nutrients, vitamin C, inositol and L-arginine have beneficial effects on bone health.”¹ 

Restrictive eating can also reduce the amount of “good bacteria” in your gut. This can make it harder for your body to digest food efficiently and can cause gas and bloating.

Your dancing might suffer.

If you don’t nourish your body, your dancing will suffer. It’s very easy to slip into a state of undernourishment when you dance for hours each day. Your body needs adequate fuel to recover from the physical stress and strain of dancing. Without adequate nutrition to support that recovery, you’re more likely to get injured, you’ll be weaker, and your immune system can suffer. 

If you’re forced out of the studio to heal from injury or recover from illness, you might face challenges in achieving the technical improvements you desire. It’s all connected. Even if a thinner body helped you get a job, you’ll struggle to keep it if you’re not supporting your body with adequate nutrition.

It’s essential that you shift your thinking to prioritize what’s really necessary to support your best dancing.

 Here are 7 ways to start the shift:

1. Put your health in position number ONE.

Before anything else, your health comes first. As a healthy dancer, you’ll have more energy, you’ll lower your risk for injury, and you’ll be able to sustain better moods. This will allow you to find more joy in your dancing.

2. Set intentions behind your body goals.

Acknowledge that being thinner is not going to make you an instantly better dancer. How would you like to feel in your body? How will that shifted way of feeling impact your dancing?

3. Work on increasing your confidence NOW.

Not only will this help you think of yourself in a more loving and supportive way, but that confidence will help you see that achieving your strongest and healthiest body is possible. A balanced path will help you get there.

4. Be realistic.

“Skinny” might not be in the cards for you. That’s OK. It doesn’t mean you can’t pursue dance, and it doesn’t count you out of the ballet world. You may not ever be as thin as the dancer standing next to you. We are all built differently, and what’s healthy for one person may be completely unhealthy for you.

5. Frame your goals in healthier ways.

Rather than saying, “I want/need to be thinner” or “I’d like to reach x weight by a certain date” say something like, “I want to attain the strongest, most beautiful version of my body that is going to support my dancing for a long and healthy career.”

6. Trust the process.

Throughout your life, your body shape and composition will be constantly evolving. You’ll discover a new way of eating that works wonders for you or certain mindset shifts will suddenly click.

7. Aim to be an expert on your body.

Restrictive eating is counterproductive. Copying how someone else eats is unlikely to lead to the desired result. What works best for you is unique to you. An easygoing attitude around food is going to allow you to experiment to figure out what works best for you.

A former participant in The Dancers’ Best Body Program put it beautifully when she said, “Having deep knowledge of my body and my dancing abilities will take me way farther than a ‘skinny look’ ever will.” Yup. Exactly this.

She went on to say, “I feel more energized, stronger, and like a better dancer, but I haven’t necessarily seen a massive change in my external appearance — yet I still look at this as a massive transformation and have gotten complimented from my teachers on it.”If you’re looking to get a jump start on shifting your approach to your body in dance, then take a look at The Dancers’ Best Body Program. One-on-one and self-study options are currently open, or you can sign up for the waitlist of the next group coaching round.

The post When Skinny Isn’t Possible appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

1. You’re not feeling confident in your food choices.

You’re faced with lots of food and nutrition information that can bring about mixed messages galore! With attention-grabbing headlines about what food we should avoid on every news show and influencers encouraging you to eat like they eat, it’s completely normal to be confused. This then leads to questioning, uneasiness, and general uncertainty with food and food choices.

The good news is what’s best for you is completely unique. It might require some support to figure out exactly what is best for you. This is where a health, nutrition, and lifestyle coach can help. When you feel confident in your food choices, you’ll be empowered to find true balance and enjoy every bite you eat. No stress. No guilt. Just joy and balanced fueling. 

2. You don’t feel like you’re in a sustainable pattern with food.

If you find yourself undereating some days, overeating others, or landing all over the map depending on the day, then you’re not in a sustainable pattern with food. You don’t have to (and honestly shouldn’t) eat exactly the same foods and amounts each day either.

Finding the middle ground might require taking some more extreme steps (like allowing yourself to eat allll the foods you avoided or have labeled as “bad”). And to take those steps alone can be extremely scary. A coach supporting you to be your own guide and discover what’s best for you may be exactly what you need to drop the swings in eating and find your middle ground.

3. Body confidence is more often low than high.

Rather than saying it’s “negative,” let’s say your body image might be low or unhelpful. Most of us experience those days, and being in front of a mirror as often as you are can definitely make them more extreme. 

When you’re ready to employ strategies to cultivate a helpful and supportive body image, a coach can help! From mantras to journaling to affirmations, there are a variety of mindset shifts you can make that might allow you to make the shift. 

(If you think you’re struggling with body dysmorphia, seek help from a licensed mental health professional like a therapist or counselor.) 

4. You’re trying to build sustainable habits and routines but don’t know where to start.

I say this all the time (and I was there 100%): dancers are busy!!! There was a period of time when I was freelancing where I was working 2 jobs plus dancing and rehearsals. I literally worked 7 days a week leaving my house at 8 a.m. and not getting home until 11 p.m. on a lot of days. Within all that busyness, it may surprise you to know that there was in fact time for supportive habits and routines. At the time, I didn’t employ any of them.

Now, I help dancers like you create a life around their crazy schedule that allows you to feel balanced, even if you’re crazy busy. If you’ve wanted to start meditating or create a morning routine to start the day on a positive note, that’s a big part of what I support dancers in doing. By simply providing accountability and ideas, you can find a much happier approach that allows you to stop and notice what’s going well (every day).

5. You want more info on how to best fuel yourself.

Not sure which macros you need more of? Have a tendency to prioritize protein and cut carbs? Providing clarifying information for the dancers I work with is one of my favorite things. Shifts are usually quite simple, and honestly, you probably have the answer yourself! By asking the right questions and providing complimentary information, you’ll become an expert on how to fuel yourself well.

6. You’re missing out on the joys of life because of food fears.

If you’re afraid to go out to dinner with family or go to a party with friends, it’s time to adjust the way you view all foods. Gradually, you can loosen and release the “rules” you’ve created, and you’ll rediscover the joy of food.

Cake, ice cream, cookies, and pizza are delicious foods, and the truth is, even as an artist and athlete, you can and should enjoy them. All foods can fit and support your best dancing.

7. You feel like low body confidence is making you struggle in class.

When you should be focused on dancing in class or rehearsals, you’re distracted by the size or shape of your body. This is a big sign it’s time to work with a health, nutrition, and lifestyle coach for dancers who knows exactly what that feels like.

If you have auditions coming up, it’s even more important that you address what’s causing the confidence struggles. Having been through many seasons of professional company auditions, I can tell you for sure that feeling confident can make or break the outcome.

8. You’re overthinking food or tracking it in an app.

If you’re obsessing over every bite or tracking it in an app, it’s time for some support. Using mindfulness techniques, you can connect to your body and determine what it needs without a computer telling you what it “should” need.

9. You’re in need of a dance mentor.

Often, because of my experience as a professional dancer, I end up providing mentorship in addition to coaching. If you’re in the early stages of your career and are looking for guidance, that’s just a bonus to the coaching I provide around food, lifestyle, and body image.

10. You’re in a time of transition, and you’re struggling to find a clear path.

You have the answers. They just might be buried or clouded by all the “shoulds” or obligations you feel tied to. Talking through your path and answering strategic questions (provided by me) can allow you to find confidence on the next best steps for your dance training, journey, or career.

11. Your energy feels low, but you’re not sure how to pick it up.

This might be connected to many different things: food for sure, but we often overlook the possible connection to relationships, spirituality, physical activity, and career (which for many dancers is dance, even if you’re not dancing professionally yet). 

While you might recognize that your energy feels low, it’s not always easy to identify for yourself why that is. Through trial and error and complementary strategies, you can have abundant energy for dance and life.

12. You’re in need of a complementary support person.

Often, the dancers I work with are already working with a therapist or counselor. Many have even worked with a sports dietitian or nutritionist. The pieces that are often missing are a strong connection to professional dance and an approach that guides them to become an expert on themselves.

You truly don’t need someone to give you all the answers. The answer for you doesn’t necessarily look like the answer that’s right for anyone else.  Working with a health, nutrition, and lifestyle coach can provide exactly the support in dance that you need. For more information on what working together entails, click here or reach out!

The post Is it time for support on your dance journey? appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

There are certainly teachers and artistic directors taking time and doing the work to move the field forward. However, it’s clear to me quite regularly that many things still need attention. In her new book, Chloe Angyal dives into all the ways ballet is behind and gains insight from those intertwined in the artform to shed light on its biggest areas of opportunities.

This is a must-read for dancers, dance parents, teachers, directors…anyone who hopes to take ballet forward. Take the time to take it in. Be open to the information and insights Angyal uncovers.

Jess Spinner (The Whole Dancer Founder):You have covered a variety of different topics in your journalism — politics, women’s sports, MarieClaire. What made you decide to write this book, and how long had you been toying with the idea before doing so?

Chloe Angyal (Turning Pointe Author): I’ve spent my entire career writing about gender and power and how they shape the lives of women and girls. When I thought about how gender and power have shaped my own life, one of the earliest places where I learned powerful lessons about my body and about femininity was in the ballet studio. I had been writing about ballet for HuffPost for about a year when I started to think there could be a book’s-worth of things to say about it.

JS: Obviously, this book is targeted towards dancers — who else do you think would benefit from reading this (parents, teachers, doctors)?

CA: I wrote this book for people who love ballet, and especially for people who have a complicated loving relationship with ballet. People who felt like there wasn’t a place in ballet for them because of racism or sexism or homophobia or elitism, or who are still trying to understand why this art form they loved wouldn’t love them back. But it’s also true that even people who do have good experiences in ballet — and there are lots of them — have an experience that’s shaped by those prejudices and inequities. I want every current and former ballet dancer to read it and every ballet parent and every ballet teacher and anyone who’s interested in the future of ballet or the health and wellbeing of the people who do ballet.

JS: While it’s true that more and more people are speaking out about mental health and impossible standards in ballet (I’m particularly thinking of the emerging health coaches for dancers and the Kathryn Morgan body image movement at MCB), what will it REALLY take for the ballet world to change?

CA: It’s going to take all of us — whether we’re dancers, teachers, artistic directors, or ballet-goers — looking ballet’s shortcomings in the face and recognizing how they’ve shaped us and how we’ve perpetuated them ourselves. It will take us all recognizing that those shortcomings are slowly killing ballet and deciding that we care more about saving this art form than we do about watching extremely thin dancers or almost entirely white companies.

JS: When hearing people speak out about the not-so-glamorous parts of being a ballet dancer (strict diets, weigh-ins, fat talks, pressure, not being able to use one’s voice, etc.), I can’t help but wonder how the current ballet company model has remained sustainable for so long. What are your thoughts on this? Why is such a broken system still alive and well today?

CA: Because it works for the people at the top. And until that changes, until the people at the top realize that the broken system — even if it serves them — is breaking everyone else, they won’t try to fix it.

JS: What would you say to dancers who are desperate to, and will do anything to, dance professionally but know they are in an unhealthy environment that exercises unhealthy patterns?

CA: That they’re having a rational response to an irrational situation. They didn’t create this system, they’re just trying to survive within it, and there’s no shame in that. I would encourage them to talk to each other about the inequities they’re experiencing, because abuse thrives on — and in fact depends on — silence. And I would tell them that if they decide to walk away, it’s not because they failed at ballet. It’s because ballet failed them.

JS: In your opinion, why do dancers and teachers fail to speak up about the toxicity and unfairness of the ballet world?

One of the most surprising self-discoveries of writing this book was the extent to which I had internalized what I’m going to call “ballet logic.” When you’ve spent your entire childhood and adolescence watching the adults around you enforce and explain away the status quo, it probably doesn’t occur to you that there’s something seriously wrong with the status quo. Sometimes, explaining your insular world to an outsider is what makes you realize how abnormal it is, even if it seems totally normal to you.

As much distance as I have from ballet — I was never a serious ballet student, I was never a professional dancer, and I haven’t been a serious amateur dancer in over a decade — I still sometimes find myself slipping into those explanations about why things have to be this way. In writing this book, I had to explain that status quo to outsiders — to people like my editor, who didn’t grow up in ballet — and in doing so, had to continually face the fact that actually, something is very wrong here. But lots of dancers and teachers don’t have the opportunity to do that.

JS: Classical ballets perpetuate the narrative of racism, sexism, and inequality (depicting women as weak, men in positions of power, not inclusive of race or gender, etc.). Do you think that continuing to perform these ballets as a way of preserving history is justifiable? Or does the entire repertoire need a makeover?

CA: I think if we’re going to hold on to these stories, we need to find new ways of telling them. Maybe that means handing them over to the people they’ve traditionally marginalized or caricatured to remake and redeem. Maybe it means presenting them with proper context about when they were originally made and why. It absolutely means adding new stories and new storytellers to make the ballet repertory more diverse, more representative, and, frankly, more interesting. We’re missing out on so many stories and so many perspectives right now, and if we don’t change that, we’re going to spend the entire 21st century watching the very same ballets we staged in the 19th and 20th centuries.

JS: What are some additional resources you could point us to in addition to your book if we are looking for more information or more ways to advocate for changing the ballet world?

CA: Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet (mobballet.org) is an indispensable resource for people who want to learn about the real history of ballet in America. Final Bow For Yellowface is creating opportunities for Asian American artists to make and dance in ballets that treat them and their cultures with dignity and respect. Minding the Gap is doing essential work on mental health for dancers, and Minnie Lane makes genuinely moving (and sometimes hilarious) TikTok videos about inequity in ballet. A few companies you should check out and support if you can: Queer the Ballet, Ballez, Contretemps Ballet, Black Sheep Ballet, Ballet 22, and Black Iris Project.

JS: Where and when can we find your book?

CA:Turning Pointe is on sale everywhere you buy books. If buying books isn’t in your budget right now, call your local library and ask them to get it for you; that will also mean everyone in your community will have access to it for free too. 
And if you’re a dance teacher or a dance parent and you want to bring me and the book to your dance school for a free virtual event, I’m doing those all over the country this spring, summer, and fall. Click here for more info about how to make that happen.

The post Turning Pointe: Interview with Author Chloe Angyal appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Sleep for dancers.

The beauty of holistic health, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching is that it’s not just about food. It’s not just about body image. Supporting you as a whole person means looking at your life and identifying areas of opportunity. For so many, sleep is a huge factor in your potential to reach your best body for dance.

Beyond reaching body goals, sleep impacts your ability to cope with stress on many levels. In my initial consultations, sleep comes up because most dancers aren’t in fact getting enough. Many times, even those who get enough sleep, are waking up or not feeling rested in the morning. Sleep allows your body and mind to recuperate, and without enough sleep your brain can’t function at its optimal capacity.

Why does sleep matter so much?

The average person needs 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Just as dancer athletes need more calories than the average person, you need more sleep too. In order to balance hormones, sleep is essential. This is true especially in the case of ghrelin and leptin, the hormones that signal hunger and fullness. If you don’t get enough sleep, ghrelin (the hunger hormone) goes up and leptin (the fullness signaling hormone) goes down.

In addition to the impact on hunger and fullness hormones, sleep impacts glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. This means your body may struggle to balance blood sugar, leading to sugar or carb cravings. If you’re struggling to achieve body goals or to find confidence in your body for dance, looking at your sleep hygiene and habits is a great place to start.

The average person needs 7-9 hours of sleep…most athletes need more.

Whenever food or nutrition is touched on here at The Whole Dancer, I’m careful to always mention how individual your needs are. It doesn’t matter how anyone else eats, it matters how different foods and approaches to food work for you. This applies to sleep as well. You might benefit from up to 10 hours of sleep a night.

As with food, experiment to determine how much sleep actually makes you feel best. To do this gradually, add 15 minutes every few nights and notice any changes. Depending on your schedule, determine if it works better to go to bed earlier or to sleep in a bit later. Give it some time to see how you feel with additional rest. 

10 Tips to Improve Your Sleep and Routines

1. Create a nighttime routine.

Include things like epsom salt baths, rolling out your muscles, or journaling to create a calm state of body and mind. As with sleep time adjustments, try different activities to determine what makes you feel most ready to transition to sleep.

2. Set a curfew for your phone.

Decide on a time that your phone will go away for the night. Start where you are and scale back. If you currently use your phone up until the moment you fall asleep, put it away 30-60 minutes earlier and notice any impact on how fast you’re able to get to sleep or the level of restfulness you experience.

3. Read an actual book.

If you like to read on your phone, try to get back into reading books! It’s such a relaxing and enriching activity that can have a positive impact on your body and mind.

4. Consider Magnesium.

Magnesium is a mineral that is essential for the body’s function. It also regulates the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is responsible for guiding your body’s sleep and wake cycles. To bolster magnesium, drink water and consume more green vegetables, tofu, pumpkin seeds, nuts, whole grains, meat, fish, fruit, or dark chocolate. 

5. Have a regular bedtime.

Going to bed and waking at around the same time each day lends itself to better sleep. Some night’s it will have to change but when you’re able to maintain a sleep schedule, do it.

6. Limit caffeine and alcohol.

Both can disrupt sleep cycles. Even if you’re able to sleep after consuming caffeine or alcohol close to bedtime, it’s not likely to be deep, restful sleep. Figure out the best cutoff time for yourself. With caffeine, many people benefit from not having it after around 2pm.

7. Don’t drink all your liquids right before bed.

There’s a very easy way to know if you’re drinking too much before bed. Do you wake up to pee in the middle of the night? If you do, then it’s going to help to just cut yourself off from hydrating at a certain point. Don’t let this be a recipe for dehydration. Instead, intentionally consolidate all your liquids earlier in the day.

8. Create a healthy sleep environment.

Keep this one simple. People sleep best when it’s cool, dark, and quiet. Allow fresh air when you’re able and consider using a white noise machine to drown out noise.

9. Be aware of eating heavy or large meals close to bedtime.

Eating too close to bedtime can lead to indigestion which can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. As with other considerations, this impacts some people more than others. If eating close to bedtime is your only option and you’re also waking rested, it’s working for you. 

10. Wake with the calm of a sunrise alarm clock.

Now, this is about how you wake up but that affects your sleep experience. If you’re waking up with your phone or a jarring, noisy alarm clock, look into a sunrise alarm clock. It simulates the sunrise going from deep orange to a bright light and plays soft music or animal sounds at your preferred wake time.

If sleep is an area of opportunity for you, look at your current sleep routines and decide on a couple of things to try to improve your sleep habits. Your quality of sleep has a huge impact on your body and dancing. Give it the time and attention it deserves!

Sleep for Dancers

Sugar Cravings Worsened by Lack of Sleep

Resetting Your Body Clock

The post Sleep Considerations for Dancers appeared first on The Whole Dancer.