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.

Part of the solution is how you think about bloating, which can  improve your relationship to your body and bloating. There are also practical shifts you can make like how you approach food, meal timing, and habits that can actually reduce bloating and help you find more comfort in your body.

What is bloating?

Bloating is when your stomach feels full and tight, often due to gas. Many dancers experience bloating. When you’re at a lower body weight, which is also relatively common in ballet, the experience or appearance of bloating can be exacerbated. 

What causes bloating?

The most common assumption is that bloating is always caused by certain foods or food intolerances. While this certainly can be the case, it isn’t always. 

Some of the more commonly known causes of bloating include:

1. Food intolerances or allergies 
2. Not getting enough whole grains and fiber
3. Poor hydration: drinking more water helps remedy bloating
4. Consuming lots of gum or carbonated beverages: swallowing more air leads to bloating

Less commonly acknowledged causes of bloating

Not eating enough or not eating consistently.

Dancer schedules are busy and irregular, which can make it challenging to eat regularly. It’s beneficial to eat every 2–4 hours and not let more than 5 hours pass between eating. Eating too quickly or too close to intense movement can cause bloating. 

Eating slowly, chewing food thoroughly, and finding more presence when you are eating can help reduce bloating. Making sure you’re eating enough is also essential. 

Chronic restriction can cause the muscles of your stomach and intestines to weaken from underuse. This leads to sluggish digestion and bloating. A dancer who stops eating consistently, gets into the habit of restrictive eating and then overeating, or who experiences an eating disorder can experience more bloating. 

Constipation can also be a culprit in bloating, and one of the causes of constipation is simply not eating enough. 

Stress in your life and/or dance environment.

When you’re stressed, it puts your body into fight-or-flight mode, which inhibits digestion. The opposite of this is rest-and-digest, which aids in digestion. In times of stress, blood is redirected away from your stomach and digestive system and instead flows to your muscles. 

Your mental state and digestion are deeply connected. There’s two-way communication between your brain and digestive system—often called the gut-brain axis—which involves your nervous system, hormones, gut microbiome, and immune function. Feeling nervous before class, rehearsals, or auditions can impact this communication system, leaving you feeling bloated with sluggish digestion. 

Hormonal changes.

Some hormonal fluctuations are normal and to be expected as you see cyclical hormonal changes associated with your menstrual cycle. Bloating in the days or week leading up to and during your period is quite normal. Food choices and overall approach to nutrition and food timing can impact the severity of bloating during this time.

There are also hormonal changes associated with stress. When you’re stressed, your body produces more cortisol and adrenaline, which increase gastric acid production and leads to heartburn, indigestion, and bloating.

Dairy consumption. 

The older you get, the less lactase you produce. This is the digestive enzyme that breaks down lactose (the sugar in milk). Without being able to properly digest dairy, you’re likely to experience gas and bloating.

What you can do about bloating in ballet

Movement and bloating.

While you are already incredibly active with your dancing, calm movement around eating can help you digest your food more efficiently. Gentle movement like yoga, walking, or stretching can aid in digestion and reduce bloating. Even light walking after meals can help support digestion and reduce the chance of bloating.

Supplements for support.

You might explore digestive enzymes or soothing options like peppermint or ginger tea to aid your body’s digestive processes. While these should never be relied on as quick-fix options, they may provide temporary relief in times of need. 

Your mindset around bloating in ballet.

As you can see, some bloating is unavoidable. My hope is that by understanding all of these less common causes of bloating, you can be less self-critical when it happens. Do what you can to find clarity with what might be causing your bloating. It might be worth seeing a gastroenterologist who is equipped to diagnose more serious causes of bloating like celiac disease or gastritis. 

For normal levels of bloating, it’s important to come to a point where you accept it as a part of life. Wear the leotards that make you most comfortable on those days. If you’re allowed to wear some sort of warm-ups that increase your comfort level, do it. 

When you see yourself in the mirror, check in with yourself mentally. If you’re fixating on the bloating and your stomach, shift your focus to your dancing. Remind yourself what’s going well in your dancing. Try literally bringing your focus upward—shift your attention to your port de bras, your artistry, your intention.

You’re not alone.

So many dancers bring up bloating as a concern. When we discuss it in coaching sessions, finding possible culprits and identifying ways to cope or mitigate some of the bloating causes is incredibly productive because bloating is something the majority of dancers experience at some point. 

If you’re looking for support to find an easy, effective, and personalized approach to food, book a coaching consultation to see if health, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching is the right fit for your needs. 

Bloating doesn’t define you or your dancing. With awareness, self-compassion, and some strategic shifts, you can build a healthier and more relaxed relationship with your body—even on the bloated days.

The post Bloating in Ballet: What Dancers Should Know appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

When I’m working with dancers in the early years of their careers, their mindset can make or break their potential to succeed. If you get the promotion from trainee to 2nd company or main company and your first thought is “I don’t deserve this,” o, “They’ve made a mistake,” then you need to put some strategic focus on your mental approach to dancing. 

Let’s talk about mindset.

It’s one of the most important things dancers should work on and something most struggle with in one way or another. During the hard times, you can come back to these strategies to support a resilient mindset:

1. Remember how far you’ve come. 

There was likely a time when you were pretty terrible at ballet. You were 8 or 9 and you thought you were great, but you had a long way to go. Appreciate all the time, hard work, and dedication you have put into this art form over the years.

Do some writing and recall all your training, time, dedication, and supportive experiences over the years. Remember the people who supported you and the times you overcame setbacks and challenges. 

2. Replace negative thoughts with neutral thoughts and then positive ones. 

If you’re constructively criticizing  yourself, that’s OK. We are all working to improve our technique and dancing abilities. However, if you have negative thoughts like “my thighs are huge” (been there, thought that), replace the sentiment with “my legs are strong and allow me to dance.”

Before you can get to positive, find neutral statements that you believe that can be a bridge to a truly grateful and supportive place. If you’re struggling to even move through negative thoughts, try thought labelling. This is a mindfulness practice where you simply label unhelpful thoughts as unhelpful. This practice can allow you to move on rather than fixate.

3. Find gratitude. 

When you’re struggling in class, rehearsals, or life in general, remembering all that you have can make a huge difference in mindset. Each day write down 2-3 things you’re grateful for. If you’re struggling with your body or abilities or casting, find something to be grateful for in each area instead  (e.g., I am thankful for every opportunity I have to be on stage).

Finding gratitude consistently is truly a practice. The more you do it, the easier it gets and the more it can transform your thinking. As dancers, we have a lot to be grateful for when we consider all that our bodies allow us to do each day. If you’re stuck in a negative body image loop, gratitude can help shift your perspective.

4. Set goals. 

Setting goals can shift your focus away from gloomy thoughts that may be coming up. When you set a goal, it can help you get excited about what’s to come. It’s important to break each goal down into its smallest components. Then, as you go through the goal-achieving process, you’re able to celebrate each small victory.

While goals can be future oriented, the action you take to achieve them will help you find motivation and connection to the present even if the day-to-day of your dance experience isn’t feeling amazing.

5. Identify the stories or comments that have led you to a difficult or doubtful place.

The things that happen to us and the stories we create around small incidents can define our lives. The first thing you want to do to change a deeply ingrained story is to identify it. Once you’ve identified these stories or comments, take them apart.

Ask yourself: What exactly happened and what emotion or layers did I add to it?

Here’s an example…a teacher tells you you need to work on your port de bras. Rather than simply saying to yourself, “OK, I need to work on port de bras; how can I do that?” you create a story that your arms are terrible, you’re uncoordinated, and they’re not toned enough either. As humans, we love to add meaning to everything that’s said to us and everything we experience. 

Go back to the facts: your teacher said you need to work on port de bras. 

Find ways to make that simple feedback constructive and create an action plan to improve your port de bras. Release the story and emotions you’ve added, and just let it be constructive. 

Shifting your mindset is a long process.

Find your positives and work on your confidence. A confident dancer is spectacular to watch — and you can get there. Cultivating an optimistic mindset and self-love will allow you to approach your dancing with a growth mindset. 

If you’ve been stuck in a negative thought loop for a while or you’re just struggling to find a confident approach, Balanced Life-Wellness Coaching could be the answer. Book your free coaching consultation here! This 6-month coaching journey can support you to shift your approach to life and dancing so you can prioritize a supportive mindset for the long haul. Career progress and consistency in your dancing is possible. Coaching can help you get there.

Resources for Dance Teachers:

Addressing Weight

Supporting Your Students

The post Dancer Success: The Importance of Mindset appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

This system has been created for a number of reasons. The positive: It gives dancers more time to grow and develop into artists. It can create space to support dancers in learning to cope with the stresses of professional dance. These post-grad years can also give dancers time to find a good fit. Rather than jumping into a high-stakes contract right out of school, trainees can observe how companies operate. They can then determine which environment suits them best.

The negatives: These programs are (at times) cash cows for companies where they collect high tuition without any intention to hire their trainees into the main company. Some provide little company experience or dancing. Finally, some offer little support in helping dancers take their next career steps.

There is a way to win at the trainee program game. You can break free from what can feel like an endless cycle of unpaid positions or roles where you’re actually paying to participate.

Avoid the hamster wheel: picking a trainee program that fits your goals

Consider your future goals and gather enough information before you choose a trainee program, or you may trap yourself in this cycle. Before we get to the decision making, a quick note on auditions: you need to plan ahead and cast as wide a net as possible.

The best outcome of audition season is one where you end up with at least a handful of options to choose from. Then you can align your traineeship decision with your goals. Do you hope to eventually dance with a bigger company? Is your main goal to get into a paid job as quickly as possible? What do you hope to gain, as a dancer and person, from these next couple of years?

With clarity on your goals, reach out to the trainee program directors and ask a lot of questions. Find out how often the company lets trainees dance, how frequently it promotes trainees into the 2nd company or main company, and what kind of career advancement resources or support it provides through the program.

Program size matters

Some trainee programs have grown to be 50 to 60 dancers. As far as career advancement goes, these are not usually great options. A program with 20 to 30 dancers max is a much-preferred scenario.

You have to consider that if the trainee numbers are huge, you have that much more competition, that much less opportunity to dance with the company, and that much lower a possibility that they’ll be able to really get to know you and support you in your next career steps. 

If you’re in this situation, all is not lost. Finding support in career strategy and mindset can be key in finding your path in this challenging and competitive field. For audition support, click here. 

4 ways to utilize your ballet company trainee program to the fullest benefit to you

1. Request feedback

Hopefully your trainee program will provide you with annual or semiannual progress meetings. If not, it’s important to ask for a sit-down so you can get a more in-depth perspective on feedback and progress. Go into these meetings prepared with questions. 

Ask if they think you’re at a professional level. If not, ask what can you do or improve in order to get there? 

2. Notice how you’re doing

There are signs. Beyond what they tell you in the day-to-day or in a sit-down meeting, you can gauge how you’re doing based on what’s happening. While casting isn’t the be-all, end-all, it can impact your potential to get to the next step within a given company. If you’re not being cast in main company productions while other dancers are, you need to consider that. This may not be the best fit or level of company for you.

Now, at the same time, I don’t want you to sell yourself short. Dance is so subjective that you might be loved at one company and not favored at all in the next. One of the biggest challenges in the early career years is finding your best fit.

3. Asking for career development support

Get opinions from everyone around you about what companies or level of company they think you should aim for. They don’t have a crystal ball, and they can’t say for certain, but based on other dancers they’ve known or past experiences with certain companies, they may have suggestions. 

Beyond their thoughts and suggestions, request references and letters of recommendation early. Don’t wait until they’re inundated with 30 requests. Ask early and ask when they can have a recommendation letter written by. Without a deadline, it’s easy for people to keep putting off your request. 

4. Truly leverage your new relationships

If your current trainee or 2nd company director has connections in the dance world (which they usually do), ask them to reach out to people for you. Consider your top companies and ask if they know anyone at each. Then, ask if they’d be okay with you CC’ing them on your submission emails or reaching out to someone directly.

A lot of times, these connections exist, but dancers are afraid to ask others to leverage them. Don’t let fear stop you from making a connection or having a respected person in the dance world give you a positive recommendation.

Taking the next step

Each year’s audition strategy should be influenced by the previous year’s outcomes or experiences. While video submissions are a helpful way to make company auditions more accessible, not everyone comes across strongly on video. If you’re a dancer whose energy is more palpable in person, make a commitment to save up to invest in your future with audition travel and in-person auditions.

You should also be improving your mental game each year. If you were super nervous in auditions and could barely move, work on your mindset and confidence now. If you felt insecure or judged your body, start working on your body image and self-perceptions now.

Every year that you go through the audition process, which might be 2 to 3 years in a row or more, you should feel better than you did last year. If you’re struggling to facilitate career advancing changes on your own, schedule a complimentary coaching consultation. It’s not easy to change your mindset, confidence, and career strategy in one fell swoop, but with support it is possible.

The post Don’t Get Stuck on the Trainee Program Hamster Wheel appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Prefer to listen to a podcast episode on this topic? Click below.

There’s a lot of aesthetic pressure in dance. It’s important to talk about it realistically without sugar coating or ignoring the fact that it exists. Even amid the aesthetic pressure, dancers need to move forward through their teens and early 20s with the expectation that their body will change.

Instead, the aesthetic pressure can set up the false goal or expectation that a dancer should try to maintain their pre-pubescent body. Not only is this aim harmful physically and, in the extreme can lead to stunted growth, there’s also great mental harm and anguish caused by this goal.

The facts: your body should change

Especially during the teenage years, people’s bodies naturally change. This isn’t any different for dancers. Being highly active does not mean you should see no physical evolution. Dancers will often add additional weight as muscle, but in order to actually have a first period, body fat is necessary. Some studies even indicate a required 17% body fat threshold to achieve this. 

Puberty in dance

For some reason, a lot of ballet educators seem to have forgotten that puberty is a reality of life. It’s a reality that can’t be avoided by ballet dancers, and therefore, educators have to stop praising the long “ballerina bodies” of pre-pubescent 11-year-olds.

Many clients of mine have expressed that their body issues started as they went through puberty. They often recall: Before then I felt that my body was the ideal for ballet. Sometimes these dancers receive feedback from teachers as their bodies change, and that makes them feel like something is wrong. If a teacher criticizes a dancer’s body as they’re gaining necessary weight, this can have a lasting mental impact.

Unfortunately, even if someone supports a dancer through their physical changes, the dancer may still conclude on their own that these changes are bad and that they should do something to halt or stop them.

Take a moment to recall for yourself if your body image or self-concept shifted through puberty. It’s powerful to realize when something has impacted your mindset. Rather than viewing weight gain or body change as negative, what positives can you see about it? Perhaps your “larger” thighs are also stronger and better adept at jumping. Maybe your increased muscle size and tone is actually improving your lines.

My own experience with weight and puberty in ballet

Before I had my final growth spurt, I went away to a summer intensive and gained weight. Going into the summer I was 5’2” and over the course of the next year I would grow to be almost 5’5”. It’s very normal to gain weight before you gain height. Girls often gain weight in thighs, breasts, and hips through puberty — and especially ahead of a growth spurt.

When I returned to my home studio after the summer away, my teacher tapped my thigh and remarked: That wasn’t there before. I had gained weight, and my thighs and butt were the main places it settled. It was muscle, but she clearly wasn’t happy with their larger size. This gave me an instant feeling of shame. I felt as if I had done something wrong. I went from being very thin to having some fat. 

No one should have made me feel that anything was wrong with this physical change. It’s normal. It’s healthy. It should happen. My body was supposed to change.

Your body is also supposed to change. 

Body changes through layoffs and changing dance schedules

In a dance career there is often a lot of inconsistency in training and schedules. You might have a 28-week contract with occasional 1-or-2-week layoffs. Then, of course you’ll have a longer period of time off over the summer.

Through all of that time away from the studio, the possibility of body change can be anxiety inducing. A longer summer layoff can also, realistically, lead to some body change. When you’re in a balanced place with your food relationship and body image, the layoff changes may be slight. If you feel less secure in those areas, you may experience more extreme physical shifts. 

Aiming towards a balanced approach to food and your body is going to support you to feel empowered through time off. It will allow you to accept the normal physical fluctuations and to understand that it makes sense that you’d be at your fittest when you’re in your busiest dancing seasons. 

What happens to your body when you retire

A dancer’s schedule is more active than an average person. It’s significantly more active than someone working a 9-5 and still more rigorous than someone working a job where they’re on their feet the whole time.

A lot of dancers go from dancing essentially from 9-5 to barely dancing at all in retirement. Sometimes you really need that time away from dance and have no desire to step into a studio for a while. You may really need it, but accepting the physical changes and the possibility of significant weight gain that come with it can still be hard.

Retirement is a massive shift in one’s life and identity. It’s the kind of change that would benefit from support, whether that comes from a licensed therapist or other support person. 

Embracing change and cultivating self-love

You don’t have to view your body’s changes through a negative lens. Ask yourself consistently: what’s good about these physical changes? How are you actually being served by having some additional fat on your body? What is there to love about yourself, internally and externally, through these changes?

One of the biggest factors that will help you accept and even celebrate your body’s changes is cultivating a strong sense of self-love. Functioning from a self-loving place allows you to show up more fully and freely in your life and dancing. Developing self-love is a process that’s connected to caring for yourself and accepting your faults, mistakes, and perceived imperfections.  

Support accepting body change

Whether you’re going through puberty or well beyond it, it’s possible you’d benefit from support to accept the physical changes you’re experiencing. Maybe you need help balancing your food relationship and body image in order to feel more at ease in your approach to your body. Perhaps, it’s a self-concept challenge and you need to see that you’re allowed to and supposed to change physically. 

Health, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching could be exactly what you need to feel your best in your body. If you’re feeling distracted by what you see in the mirror or your confidence has eroded as your body has developed, set up a complimentary coaching consultation here. Connecting with someone who has been in your shoes and who fully understands the pressures of the ballet world could make all the difference.

The post Dear Dancer: Your Body Is Supposed to Change appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Intro: Alex Gonzaga

Alex Gonzaga is the founder/owner of Proteus Fitness, a cross-training platform for dancers. Several certified personal trainers (many of which are professional dancers or have professional dance experience) comprise Proteus Fitness, which aims to make the dance world healthier and more positive by providing affordable and accessible cross-training and injury prevention. We interviewed Alex Gonzaga to get the inside scoop on his cross-training philosophy.

1. What sets your cross-training platform apart from other cross-training platforms for dancers?

At Proteus, we pride ourselves on doing our best every day to support our dancers. Throughout their entire season, we are by their side, helping them navigate their bodies and their training. What sets us apart is our care and individual connection with each Protean.

2. What do you believe is the most beneficial method of cross-training for professional and pre-professional dancers?

I believe resistance training with components from stability, strength, and power exercises to be the best for cross-training, along with swimming, rowing, and hiking. This should not be confused with ballet conditioning.

3. Dancer schedules are often incredibly busy. How much time do you recommend they aim to set aside for cross-training?

It depends on their workload. Each role, performance, and dancer is unique. A common range is 2 to 5 days a week.

4. What is the most common strength deficiency you see among dancers?

The most common deficiencies are in the glutes, glute medius, turnout, and dorsiflexion. By improving these three areas, most dancers will avoid injuries and enhance their dancing.

5. How long does it typically take for dancers to start seeing results from training?

As early as one week.

6. What impact does cross-training have on injury prevention?

• Improves overall fitness
• Corrects muscle imbalances
• Reduces overuse injuries
• Enhances active recovery
• Increases proprioception

7. If you were to recommend one piece of exercise equipment for dancers to have at home, what would it be?

Resistance bands.

You can learn more about Proteus Fitness on Proteusfitness.net or @proteusfitness on Instagram.

Intro: Jake Vincent

Jake Vincent is a member of Paul Taylor Dance Company and a personal trainer. Jake received a BFA in Dance and Dance Education in 2014 from Montclair State University. He joined Taylor 2 in summer 2017. He joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company in winter 2020. We interviewed Jake about his top cross-training recommendations. 

1. What sets your cross-training platform apart from other cross-training platforms for dancers?

The major difference in cross-training is that it counters the movements that are in your everyday repertoire. I like to think of it as a personal program that is always ebbing and flowing. Almost responding to the requirements that you are asking your body to achieve within the repertoire.

2. What do you believe is the most beneficial method of cross-training for professional and pre-professional dancers?

Resistance training with a healthy progressive overload. Dancers have quite a lot of cardiovascular endurance; therefore, strength training with weights really helps balance out the scales.

3. Dancer schedules are often incredibly busy. How much time do you recommend they aim to set aside for cross-training?

Sticking to the theme of balance…it’s all about balance and listening to your body. I try to do at least 4 strength-based cross-training exercises a week. Sometimes if it’s a harder week at work, I will offset that with more active recovery like yoga and Pilates.

4. What is the most common strength deficiency you see among dancers?

Posterior chain! As dancers we are consistently moving in a forward motion. It makes sense since we perform to an audience in front of us. However this tends to over-develop the muscles on the anterior side (front).

For example, I would say most dancers tend to be stronger in their quads and very flexible in their hamstrings. A cross-training model would be to incorporate more strength-based exercises to strengthen the hamstrings (posterior) to balance out the quads (anterior).

5. How long does it typically take for dancers to start seeing results from training?

A lot of factors come into play with results. Age, diet, accessibility, schedule to name a few. But I would say if a dancer sticks with 3 to 5 cross-training workouts a week then they would feel a difference in 2 to 4 weeks, and then see a difference in 4 to 6 weeks. 

6. What impact does cross-training have on injury prevention?

Cross-training has been essential to injury prevention and recovery. Personally my journey to training was sparked during my recovery from a major injury. I became fascinated with how intelligently the body works. If you train underdeveloped muscles, then you will achieve a higher level of synergistic balance, which will allow for a healthier dance career.

7. If you were to recommend one piece of exercise equipment for dancers to have at home, what would it be?

I have a personal bias for kettlebell work. So a set of kettlebells would be my choice. One light-to-medium and one medium-to-heavy so that eventually you can incorporate an increased load as you increase your muscular endurance.

You can find Jake at @sliceofjake on Instagram. 

Intro: Francesca Dugarte

Francesca Dugarte is a ballerina with Ballet Met, an NASM certified personal trainer, an indoor cycling instructor, and a mom. Prior to joining Ballet Met, Francesca danced as a principal dancer with The Washington Ballet. We talked to Francesca about the cross-training services she provides, as well as her top tips for effective cross-training.

1. What sets your cross-training platform apart from other cross-training platforms for dancers?

My online platform definitely has a variety of training. Strength training, stability, mobility, and agility. All of the above are greatly beneficial for dancers but also a general audience. I love that social media allows trainers to share their work. 

That being said I also have in-person and one-on-one dance clients (pre-professionals and professionals) who I am very passionate about. The biggest perk for me is that I get to see their progress closely in dance, and part of my assessment is based upon what I see in their dancing. This way I get to tailor their training based on their weaknesses. It really makes me so happy to see them improve. 

2. What do you believe is the most beneficial method of cross-training for professional and pre-professional dancers?

Definitely a combination of strength training and stability. Challenging proprioception — I have found this to be very rich in bringing awareness to weak muscles that are difficult to engage just with ballet class (most of the time it’s not the usual big muscle group). Adding to this, resistance with weight or bands will trigger a response and a strengthening process will begin. I have seen improvements in dancers with this method. 

3. Dancer schedules are often incredibly busy. How much time do you recommend they aim to set aside for cross-training?

At least twice a week and completing sessions with 5 to 6 exercises with enough repetition and sets. (It always depends on the muscle groups highlighted for the day.) I would say this will take around 30 to 45 minutes. 

4. What is the most common strength deficiency you see among dancers?

Weak hips, weak pelvic floor, weak core. This will translate to an unstable adagio, trouble maintaining fifth throughout, heavy petite allegro, lack of explosiveness in grand allegro. 

5. How long does it typically take for dancers to start seeing results from training?

Dancers, being high-level competitive athletes, will feel results even going through sets of the first training session. They are so in touch with their bodies. They will have awareness of what that weakness is, and guaranteed after 4 to 6 sessions, they will feel a difference in their dancing. 

6. What impact does cross-training have on injury prevention?

The most important reason for cross-training is this. Strong body will prevent muscle imbalances from overworking. Muscle imbalance leads to an injury. Dancers should cross-train on a weekly basis. Ballet is such a competitive and demanding field where we expose our bodies to high intensity daily. Strength and muscle awareness will lead movement to go through the right path in an organized manner. 

7. If you were to recommend one piece of exercise equipment for dancers to have at home, what would it be?

Hard question. There are so many I believe are fundamental. Assuming that every dancer will have therabands in their dance bag that they can use for resistance, I would say a Swiss ball. There are so many incredible exercises that will challenge the body greatly. My favorite exercise that you can do only with a Swiss ball is standing single-leg RDL. Start with the ball behind you reaching one of your legs over the Swiss ball bringing two knees together so the back leg has a 90-degree angle. Bring your hips back and bend the standing leg (not like a plié but hinging back from your hips), extend the leg into a turned-in arabesque, find the maximum extension of the hip flexor. Make sure your standing knee is not going over your toes when it’s bent. Bring it back to the starting pose and repeat 6 to 8 times with each leg. Take a little rest and complete 3 sets. Great exercise to challenge stability and achieve a great burn! 

You can find Francesca on Instagram at @francescadjordan 

Cross-training is an essential part of injury prevention and a healthy dance career. If you are ready to discover how cross-training can serve you and your dance career, I highly recommend you check out these resources. Big thanks to Alex, Jake, and Francesca for their knowledge and insight!

The post For Your Dance Cross-Training Needs appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Dealing with casting in dance can be a challenge…

We’ve all been there. The cast sheet goes up and you walk over feeling hopeful. Then, you read the list and are totally disappointed with your roles.

At just about every level, dancers experience the doubt and insecurity that comes with casting decisions by artistic staff. Dealing with this can be difficult.

As you move along as a dancer from pre-professional training to (sometimes) college to company life, casting sheets can be a big source of anxiety.

All too often, we begin to quantify our value based on what roles are bestowed upon us.

Managing casting, friendships, and comparison.

In college, my best friend Alice was consistently cast in better roles than me. Beyond being close friends, we were the same height with similar body shapes. It got to a point where I expected that outcome and reinforced the story in my head: “She’s just better than me, there’s really nothing I can do about it.”

When we started auditioning for companies, I began to realize that I was basing my thoughts about myself on the opinions of one group of people: my college professors. What I failed to notice is that the artistic staff at every company Alice and I auditioned for assessed our abilities in totally different ways.

When they made cuts throughout auditions, we were rarely kept for the same length of time. Sometimes she made it to the end, and sometimes I did. We each got different offers. I finally realized that while we were the same height with similar body types, we were different people and had different strengths.

Feel empowered even when you’re unhappy with your roles.

Even if you work to cultivate a healthy perspective shift when it comes to your strengths, you may still face casting disappointment. That’s when it’s important to take your power back and boost your confidence. 

Boost confidence before the cast list goes up.

Dancers tend to see what’s wrong. For many years, or even decades, you’ve been training your brain to use the mirror as a tool to tell you what you need to fix. Rarely does a dancer look in the mirror with joy and admiration for what they’re capable of.

That’s a great place to start…

The next time you’re in class or rehearsal, rather than constantly nitpicking, make it your goal to pick out the things you’re doing well. Where’s the beauty in your movement? What is unique about you?

Recently, a client was telling me that she just didn’t have anything that might draw someone’s eye. When we discussed it further, she was able to connect with the fact that she is a unique person and has a unique joy for dance that she can communicate through her movement. 

Connecting with your joy for dance is what gives you that intangible quality that is enjoyable to watch. 

Remember that every role, no matter how small, is an opportunity to grow.

It sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Are you playing the maid in the Nutcracker? Even that small part can have a story. How will you convey that story to the audience? How can you make this character role your own? Is there a way to hone some acting skills?

Use this as an opportunity to start a discussion.

If you’re disappointed with the casting decisions, you can use this as an opportunity to start a discussion on your growth. Set up a meeting with someone on the artistic staff who you trust and know has your best interest at heart.

Ask them if there’s something more you could or should be doing to improve. Is there a way they’d like to see you develop technically or artistically that would lead to bigger roles or more responsibility? 

Having these talks can be scary, but they can also bring to light things you would have otherwise stayed in the dark about. It also might lead to more opportunities. Consider asking to understudy something you weren’t originally cast to understudy.

Reassess the energy you bring to the studio.

Are you too comfortable in your current environment? Are you relying too heavily on your talent or facility and not taking things to the next level on your own? Would you benefit from setting more goals around your dancing?

Remember that you can’t control the roles and opportunities you’re given, but you can control the energy you bring with you. Casting may be out of your hands, but the work you put in is very much up to you. Start approaching your corrections with more fervor and focus, and see if things shift.

Create supportive routines to facilitate your best dancing.

Making adjustments to your approach to food or cross-training could have a huge positive impact. These adjustments are not about changing how you look, but rather, they’re about increasing your confidence so you dance more freely.

Some food swaps and cross-training switch-ups can make a big impact on how you perform. Have you started relying on too much sugar or caffeine for energy? Instead, put some attention on increasing the length and quality of your sleep. Incorporate lots of simple and complex carbs for consistent energy throughout the day.

If you’ve been doing the same cross-training for years, you might benefit from trying something new. Experiment with weight training or employ a trainer who works with dancers to see if there’s a weakness you haven’t addressed.

Taking better care of yourself will give you a better experience in your dancing regardless of casting. 

You might not be dancing at the best company for you.

If you’ve been plugging away at the same company for a few years and haven’t been getting the response you had hoped for or the roles you were promised, it might be time to move on. I’d encourage you to open up a conversation first, but then be willing to accept that maybe you haven’t found the right fit yet.

Be honest with yourself about the company environment you’re in. If they reward weight loss or constantly give you feedback on your body shape or size, it might be time to look elsewhere. Even if you are getting desired roles, it’s worth considering what sort of environment you’re in and how that impacts you. Roles should be determined based on your skill and hard work. 

Unhealthy extremes to fit the mold of a particular company is not a sustainable approach to a dance career. If you’re struggling to find a healthy approach to your career, or you’re unsure if you’ve found it, it may be time to seek help. Many dancers benefit from support in nutrition, body image, and even career mentorship to confidently determine when they’re at their healthiest. 

Check in with your mental well-being.

Has dance left you feeling drained? Have you been in the trainee or apprentice spot for a while and started wondering if you’ll ever move beyond it? Check your mental well-being.

If you’re constantly telling yourself you’re not good enough or that all the other dancers are so much better, it will feel nearly impossible to progress. Once your thoughts start to improve, I guarantee you’ll feel changes within yourself and your dancing. 

As I was able to connect with the fact that my friend Alice and I had different things to offer, it afforded me some freedom in my approach. I started my first company job believing I was meant to be there. 

Ultimately, you need to retrain your mind for confidence and expect success! Those shifts in mindset aren’t an overnight endeavor or a quick fix. It takes time, dedication, and support from someone who understands the industry specific challenges you’re faced with. 

Don’t forget, it all takes time.

Pursuing dance at the professional level is a process — and an arduous one at that. Every dancer develops at a different rate. Your friend might skyrocket to principal while you’re working away in the corps. It’s helpful to trust the timing of your life.

Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. You’ll learn so many lessons along the way as long as you’re open to them. If your love for dance is strong and you stay committed, you can reach your goals. And don’t forget: success is a concept you get to define. So, maybe define success as doing what you love. Perhaps you’ve already achieved that.

Looking for support?

If you’re feeling particularly challenged by your experiences with the cast sheet, and you know you’d benefit from support from someone who has been there, schedule a complimentary coaching consultation. CLICK HERE to book your free introductory consultation. This is the first step and the best way to determine if health, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching is a good fit for your needs.

The post Dealing with Casting in Dance appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Tell us about some trials and triumphs of being a dance parent. 

Brett: There are big and small trials and triumphs every single day. The whole ballet training path is a trial. These kids are under so much pressure at such a young age. And they are expected to behave like adults in the studio, yet once they’re out of the studio, they’re treated like the children they are. This can really mess with a dancer’s head. 

For us, the biggest trial was when Sam got injured going into his last year at San Francisco. Because he/we downplayed what was likely an injury he had had for a while before going into summer, it only got worse during the two (very rigorous) summer programs he attended. 

By the time he returned for the school year, the injury was so bad that it sidelined him for all of the first semester. This led to a lot of mental health issues and ultimately caused him to rethink whether or not he wanted to continue in ballet. It was so bad that we had to look at potentially switching training programs, which he ultimately did in 2022, when he joined the second company at Houston Ballet Academy (HBII).

In terms of triumphs, most parents would probably assume that the ultimate triumph was Sam having the luxury of deciding between two attractive company offers and ultimately signing a contract with a large ballet company. 

But the real triumph is that Sam’s mental health is back where it needs to be. Along with Sam, who did the hard work, the two people I credit for that are Elizabeth Sullivan, a performance coach, who has been mentoring him since he was 15, as well as Jen Sommers, the director of the Houston Ballet Academy, who gave him unwavering support while he was there. Sam would describe HBII as a two-year boot camp with all the attendant BS that goes along with it. But he also says that he wouldn’t be the dancer he is today without those two years. 

It was in Houston where he also rediscovered his joy of dance. Sam loved to perform, but for many years, that spark had disappeared. In December of his first year, he was asked to perform a piece by Trey McIntyre called Leatherwing Bat as part of his mid-year evaluation. 

We decided not to attend because we didn’t want to put pressure on him. Later, when we watched the recording of the performance, there was a moment, midway through his performance, when a huge smile came across his face and it was clear the joy of being on stage had returned. My husband and I both cried. Not because of how well he performed the piece, but because we saw that our son was truly happy again just dancing. 

I asked Sam about that, and he told me that he started to smile because, all of a sudden, it came back to him on why he danced. For the first time in years he loved it again.

It’s easy to get sucked into the ballet training vortex and only focus on potential career success. Until your kid starts to struggle. Watching Sam go through this, and come out in a better place emotionally, put everything in perspective.

In terms of my own triumphs, the biggest benefit of being a ballet parent is the friendships you develop. At every school Sam has attended, I’ve been fortunate enough to develop deep friendships with parents who understand what we’re all going through. We’ve celebrated our kids’ triumphs together and cried on each other’s shoulders when things were looking bleak. Having that built-in support network was instrumental in helping me survive this wild ride!

Jenny: Trial: Abbey never met a hobby she didn’t like. She loved them all and excelled at most things she tried. Eventually, she became the typical overscheduled, stressed-out kid. It happened so gradually that we didn’t realize how much she was struggling until it was too late. Abbey was in 7th grade for her first year at SFBS, but she was also the first chair in the school band, commuting 100 miles a day for ballet 5 days a week, competing with her original dance studio, and still in full-time school taking honors classes. 

Saying it out loud makes me seem like a crazy tiger mom. I still shake my head at the absurdity of it. We tried to get her to quit a thing or two, but she was not ready to give any of these things up because they were important to her. So we supported her. She began to show signs of emotional distress in the spring, and by May she was having panic attacks. 

Luckily, her school year was almost over and we were able to help her move on from some of her commitments on top of getting her into therapy. I am proud of the work she is continuing to do on herself to prioritize her mental health by setting better boundaries around overcommitting herself, attending regular therapy sessions, and having hobbies that are just for fun with no commitments attached to them. 

Triumphs: In January of 2023 Abbey had bilateral surgery on her ankles, and her recovery back to dance was well over 5 months long. She had accepted PBT’s company experience SI offer back in January, and the date was coming up fast. Abbey was feeling nervous that she would not show her best self and some of her friends who went to the program the previous year said the program was “fun but no one but the PBT kids get any solo parts.” Well, we had a dilemma. 

She had been cleared by the doctor to dance and I had a feeling about the PBT program, so I told her she had to go. Well, she went with reservations. She had a blast, made some terrific friends, danced several solo parts including Odette, and the cherry on top was they offered her a contract for the upcoming season. Feel free to listen to the episode of Ballet Help Desk where I interviewed her about the experience. 

What are some things about the dance world that you would like to see shift in the future? 

Brett: There are a few things: First, I’d like to see ballet schools and companies standardize their postgraduate levels in terms of naming and numbers. Right now, these levels are all over the place, which makes it difficult to compare two programs. For example, one trainee program (San Francisco Ballet School) has around 12–14 dancers each year, and it’s the only level before going into the main company. It’s usually a one-year program. 

Houston Ballet Academy also only has one level before the main company but it’s called HBII and is a two-year program. Their numbers range from 14–18 depending on the year. Then, you have places that have 60 trainees and then also a second company, which means there are two levels before the main company. I’d really like to see leveling become more consistent across companies. 

This lack of consistency is one of the primary reasons we created a directory of postgraduate programs. This directory allows dancers to compare programs based on a number of factors including tuition costs, availability of housing, whether or not there is a stipend, whether dancers are paid for main company roles, etc.

I’d also like to have some protections put in place for students in the postgraduate levels. Often these students are used to augment the corps of the main company. Yet, not all companies pay their postgraduate students when they perform in company roles. If they were in the main company, they would absolutely be paid for these.

Finally, I’d like to see ballet schools be much more transparent about not only where their dancers go but what the placement rate is. Many schools will post glowing things on social media listing where their graduating students are going. This is a great step beyond what they were doing before. But it doesn’t provide the whole picture. If the graduating class is 12 and all 12 get contracts, that’s amazing. But if the graduating class is 60 and 12 get contracts, that’s also something I’d want to know. 

In addition, some dancers go off to college and then do great things both within and outside of dance. I’d like to see more schools celebrate this and publish that along with the contracts their dancers got. Show us the whole picture of what the graduating class is doing rather than cherry-picking certain things that they think will present them in the best light.

Jenny: I want to share something Sarah Wroth (the head of the dance program at Indiana University) said that resonated with me: “The absence of communication becomes the narrative.” I believe there should be a shift in ballet training and company life where dancers are included in the conversation. If I could make a wish list, I would also include parents in these conversations. 

Dancers are often left out of important communication about their training and even their careers. As a result, they sometimes assume the worst, thinking things like, “That teacher/ AD/ballet master hates me.” This happens because they feel picked on, ignored, or passed over. This lack of communication can have a big impact on a dancer’s confidence in class and performance. I believe involving the dancers and their parents can empower dancers to feel like they have a bit more control over the trajectory of their careers. 

I would like to see some sort of standard credentialing for ballet teachers as well as mandatory continuing education. As of right now, the only qualification you need to have to teach at a US ballet school is a ballet career, and sometimes not even that is required. 

I would also love to see some sort of governing body that sets basic standards for the number of classes for certain ages, guidelines on how to treat students with health issues including eating disorders, and protections for students with injuries (physical or mental) where their spot in the school is secure and they can go home and get the treatment they need and they won’t be cut or passed over. Ballet education needs oversight; it is unable to effectively police itself.

The Ballet Help Desk is a very comprehensive site for useful resources, where do you see your company headed in the future?

Brett: Good question! We have our hands full right now with what we’ve taken on and we want to make sure that what we’re doing is best serving dance families. One area of focus, going forward, is to really build out our year-round training reviews. People are so reluctant to fill them out, for fear of retribution from schools. And that is a real fear. But unless we can get a critical mass of them, it isn’t helpful for younger students who may be considering full-time training in the future. 

We also just finished a survey of where we can better serve the dance community. So we’re sifting through the feedback and using it to make some decisions on next steps.

Jenny: Thank you for saying that. I think what we have achieved in a year and a half is noteworthy, but there is always room to make Ballet Help Desk better and more comprehensive.  I think I am the dreamer in this partnership. Brett is really good at reeling me in and making me focus on what we can realistically attain, but since you asked I will share a few. I would love to do more collaborations with other resources for ballet parents to create new pathways to access information and bring more transparency to the ballet training path.

As we build more trust with our audience, I am hopeful that we can help parents and dancers make more informed decisions about where to go for their next stage of training. There are so many hidden gems that are overshadowed by big-name schools. People are too afraid to fill out our year-round reviews even though they are completely anonymous. I think most ballet schools currently receive little honest feedback.  

The only way to bring real comprehensive, unbiased feedback is through our reviews. The more people who fill out the survey, the more we will get a comprehensive view of the ballet landscape. My ultimate goal is that more and more schools will proactively send out our reviews and we can work together to help improve the environments that develop the next generation of ballet dancers and also support them in becoming happy, healthy adults.

I would love for more people to reach out and contribute to the ongoing series called Dancer’s Story where a parent/friend talks a dancer through and asks questions about a pivotal time in their ballet path. Good, bad, sad, or funny. I think there is so much to gain from hearing from the dancers and being interviewed by someone who went through the experience with them. I did it with my daughter when she got her contract from PBT, and we had several parents reach out and share how helpful it was to hear some of the decisions she made in the moment. 

We have some really exciting things in the pipeline, so stay tuned!

The post Ballet Help Desk Part II: Looking Forward appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Beyond their reviews, Ballet Help Desk has a podcast and blog that connects you with industry experts. Brett and Jenny had so much to share that we’re posting this article in 2 parts. Here’s part 1, keep your eyes out for part 2!!

What is the Ballet Help Desk?  Can you tell us a little bit about your mission/what you do?

Brett: Ballet Help Desk’s mission is to serve as the definitive guide online for parents of dancers about to embark on the path of serious ballet training. Jenny and I launched Ballet Help Desk in April of 2023 in response to all the questions we had been getting from parents of younger dancers. 

Since both of our kids are now dancing professionally, parents kept asking us the same thing: “How did you do it?” Jenny and I kind of looked at each other one day and realized that we had amassed a ton of knowledge about ballet training. 

We also realized that there was almost no transparency around ballet education. Unless you had grown up in that world, you were kind of locked out. So, we decided to start documenting all of the steps dancers typically go through on the path to becoming a serious dancer. That was really the beginning of Ballet Help Desk. 

We offer all the resources parents of dancers need to guide them down the serious training path. Jenny has really been the creative and strategic force behind what we do and how we’ve grown. It was her idea to launch the three things we’re most proud of — our podcast, our summer intensive reviews, and our year round training reviews. 

In the spirit of bringing more transparency to the ballet training world, we thought the lack of reviews was a big missing piece, and we’re thrilled to now have over 1,200 reviews that cover almost 200 programs worldwide. We also offer rich content in the form of articles and podcast interviews with leading experts in the ballet training world.

We try to group our content offerings around key milestones in ballet training, and the information is available in written form as well as through our podcast. We have deep content on subjects like ballet competitions (which is always a hot topic!), injuries and cross-training, college and university dance programs, full-time training programs as well as post-graduate ballet programs. 

In addition, You can also find a comprehensive guide to summer intensives, called our Summer Intensive Boot Camp. It’s been a wild ride so far, and we’re excited to see where things go in the next year.

Jenny: BHD was borne out of frustration with the lack of transparency and feeling woefully lost on how to help my kid navigate the path to X.  Being ballet parents with zero performing arts exposure is like trying to navigate a maze in the dark without a flashlight. Everything in ballet is an oral tradition: the training, the path, the secrets to success, how to do it, when to go away for summer, how to take the next step, the casualness of how offers are made. And above all, there’s no network to tap into. 

It all was foreign to us. While our kids were in ballet class, Brett and I would hike several times a week and have the same conversation over and over about how this path is shrouded in so much secrecy and vague innuendo.  

We started to formulate an idea that there has to be a better way to do this, and finally, Brett gave me the push and said, “Well, let’s just try and see what we come up with.” A few months later we launched Ballet Help Desk. Think of us as your ballet best friend. 

You are both dance parents… Did you ever struggle knowing how to support your dancer? 

Brett: All the time, and I still do today. Because I had a male ballet dancer, support was limited. There just weren’t very many boys in our area who were dancing, much less doing ballet. It was always a delicate dance between getting really involved and then stepping bac

Every day was a balancing act. Looking back, I think I underestimated how much support these kids needed. I always said that I just drove and wrote checks. But, whether we like it or not, ballet demands parental involvement. 

That may mean volunteering at your dancer’s local studio, driving props to the theater, working backstage, or fundraising. And then there’s the mental load! Is he good enough? Is he getting bullied? Does he have any friends at ballet? Is he happy? I always asked myself if I was too involved or not involved enough. Hopefully, I was able to strike a balance, but you’d have to ask Sam if I was successful at that!

Jenny: Not having a resource to look at or rely on. My husband, Frank, and I were always really worried that we were making too many mistakes and that her trajectory would suffer due to our ignorance. I would have devoured a resource like the Ballet Help Desk if this was available while Abbey was going through training. 

Over COVID, Abbey developed a bilateral impingement in her heels that was misdiagnosed by her original team of doctors.  It wound up being a 2.5-year nagging injury that, in her final year at San Francisco Ballet School, she and the school decided that she should have surgery right after Nutcracker and the doc thought she would be back dancing in 6–8 weeks give or take. Well, the surgery wound up being much more involved, thus her recovery was much slower than anticipated, so 6 weeks turned into 5 months. 

The school said they wanted to handle her PT and created a reintegration plan for her. Frank and I were not included in the discussions or planning of this rehab plan.  Abbey had to advocate for herself to receive the treatment that the school promised her. She begged me not to get involved and said I would only make it worse. It was very difficult to sit on my hands and do and say nothing because she wanted to handle her recovery plan with the school. We supported her and talked her through how to have a productive conversation and who she should follow up with. In the long run, it has given her some great life skills, but it was really difficult at the moment. 

I think Frank and I were not prepared for the extreme cutthroat nature of very high-level ballet training. Every year so many of her friends were cut from her program that it seemed like she had to make a new batch of friends in the studio. We struggled to figure out what kind of support she needed from us to help her navigate this type of learning environment. The pressure in ballet training can be astronomical. 

We struggled to help Abbey navigate her new friendships where many of whom come from a very different world than we do. We are not wealthy people. We made and continue to make financial sacrifices to support our children.  We cannot afford a closet full of Yumiko leos, Lululemon/Alo/Aviator Nation cover-ups, or buying condos in San Francisco for our 16-year-old to live in.  We did what we could to help her feel like she fit in, but we had to have several hard conversations about what we as a family could afford and where we put our financial priorities. 

What is some advice you have for other dance parents? Things you wish you knew or would have done differently?

Brett: There are so many things I would have done differently. First, I would have said no to more things. In ballet, everyone feels like it’s a huge sprint to the finish line. So, you sign your kid up for every master class, winter intensive, summer intensive, you name it. 

There is this belief that everyone is running full speed and if you don’t do the same, your dancer will fall behind. In fact, doing this led to a fairly serious injury with my son, along with some pretty intense burnout. By the time he was in his last year at San Francisco Ballet School, it was 50/50 that he was going to stick with ballet. So, my advice is to slow your roll. You don’t need to have your kid in ballet every minute of every day.

In addition, I would never have allowed him to move into an apartment with no supervision at age 15. We were just coming out of COVID in the fall of 2020, and he simply wasn’t ready to handle living on his own while managing full-time ballet training as well as online school.

Ironically, Sam and I have talked about all of this in detail and he tells us that, despite everything that he went through, he wouldn’t have changed anything. I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree on those issues!

Some other advice I would give all parents is this: This is your child’s journey, not yours. It’s fine to be involved and it’s great to be supportive. But, too often, I hear parents talking in the “we.” What I mean by this is, “We are auditioning for these summer programs,” or “We are going to this school.” 

This is your dancer’s story to write, not yours. I know it sounds harsh, but when parents are overly involved, it can put undue pressure on kids. Let them walk this path on their own. Cheer for them, console them, drive them, and even pack a lunch or two. But let them fly on their own — they’ll thank you for it when they’re older.

Jenny: I prefer to say I have some hard-won information I’d like to share. First, enjoy every stage of their dance journey. Everything builds on itself, so celebrate when they are a mouse, a rock, a clown, or a lamb, not just when they are Clara or the Sugar Plum Fairy.  

I was beaming with pride when Abbey was 10 and an angel in Cinderella (she was on stage for 30 seconds at the end of the wedding). She was so excited! We went out to dinner, and so many friends came to watch. It was an incredible experience. We did not downplay it or dismiss the excitement because it was a tiny part. She did not feel like she had to earn our approval because she was cast in a part worthy of our attention. 

This past year she tried to dissuade us from coming to one of the programs in her season because she only had corps roles and “Isn’t doing anything special.” We continue to show up and cheer her on when we are able because she has value and is worth cheering on. The sentence I say to her before every performance is “I love to watch you dance,” and in the end that is what it is all about. Supporting your kid doing the thing that they love. 

My friend who was on Broadway and taught at ACT in San Francisco for years gave Abbey some fantastic advice when she was just starting ballet. She said, “Be easy to work with. There are lots of talented people. If we decide between two artists, the director’s question to us is: which one is easier to work with? Also, know your part and everyone else’s part so you are useful and if something happens last minute you can step in.” These are pieces of information that she follows to this day. 

Your dancer is never too good for a role. Your dancer is never too good for a class or a level. There are always things to work on and nuggets of information to mine from every class level or experience.

Say YES! You never know where yes will lead to. Abbey had so many opportunities because we said “Sure, why not?” including her audition at SFBS.

Come back for part II next week and in the meantime, check out Ballet Help Desk here!

The post Ballet Help Desk: Part I appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Can Dancers Have Their Cake and Eat It?

Every time I present something on food or eating plans, there are questions around sweets and foods you might categorize as “treats.” Most of us enjoy sugar and even that burst of energy it provides, so it’s understandable.

When you’re consuming processed or packaged food, it’s not a bad idea to consider the sugar. Don’t obsess, just build awareness. It’s essential to stay curious about your eating plan and habits so you’re able to pay attention to what’s making you feel energized, what’s draining you, food choices that make you feel great and those that don’t.

Can dancers go overboard with sugar?

Sure. 

Sugar can, at times, be a slippery slope. You might find that as you eat more sugar, you want more sugar. When we eat sweet foods, the brain’s reward system — called the mesolimbic dopamine system — gets activated. The pleasure centers of your brain get “lit up” by sugar, and that response is dampened over time, meaning you need more of it to get the same effect. 

As far as the research and questions of whether sugar is linked to adverse health consequences, it’s not easy to come to a firm conclusion. A lot of research surrounding sugar is “industry funded,” meaning food producers who sell products high in sugar are involved. This is part of why I recommend considering how sugar works for you.

Don’t get stuck on the concept of limiting sugar because studies show the limitations can in fact be a reason why you find you want more and more. Your goal should be to feel OK having some in order to discover what feels balanced. 

You don’t want to fall into a perfectionist mindset around sugar, which can lead to orthorexic tendencies. “Orthorexia nervosa is a disordered eating pattern that is characterized by the need to eat ‘clean’ and ‘pure’ foods to the point that the individual becomes obsessed with this way of life.” 

True balance with sugar is all about you.

You might find that a little something sweet each night is all you really need to be satisfied. Maybe that means enjoying something homemade so you can be part of the process. Or you might feel better and balanced by having one luscious piece of cake or some ice cream each week. Consider all the dairy-alternative ice cream options as a way to add variety to your eating plan.

The number one thing is to find a balance that is sustainable. It should not impact your energy throughout the day — if you’re eating gummy bears or peanut butter cups every hour, that is likely affecting your performance. Try to steer clear of using sugar as a pick-up for lagging energy. The goal should be consistent, not erratic, energy.

How to make the shift away from sugar reliance.

Your body runs on sugar as your body breaks down most carbohydrates into the sugar glucose. So you will definitely be including it in your eating plan. If you find you’re turning to more processed sugars, think about incorporating more fruit or sweet vegetables (e.g., sweet potatoes or carrots). This way, you’re “crowding out” those less-nutritive foods with whole food sources of sugar and still addressing your desire for sweet flavors. In a lot of cases, natural sugars are more satisfying, especially when compared to highly processed or artificial sweeteners.

As with any changes to the way you’re eating, it’s important that you make them gradually. So no sugar “detox.” Just consider where you are, make small adjustments, and notice any impact on your energy, dancing, and overall enjoyment of food. You might find you start to taste natural sugars more intensely.

Dancers and sugar: hidden sources…

While sugar is obvious in some foods like candy, cookies, cake, brownies, or ice cream, it’s less obvious in many other foods. Sugar is abundant in energy bars, packaged foods like breads and crackers, and even stereotypically savory snacks like chips.

A good rule of thumb is to read the ingredients list. Easy-to-grab convenience food is often the biggest source of excess sugars. When food companies create snacks, they try to put together the ideal combination of sugar, salt, and fat to make a food addictive and yet not very satisfying — that way, you keep coming back for more.

Other foods to stay mindful of…

Caffeine, dairy, and refined carbohydrates can have addictive qualities. If you find that you’re becoming dependent on any of those foods to pick up your energy, wake you up midday, or get you through a performance, it’s possible they’re not actually fueling your best dancing. 

Slowly cut back or find a replacement and see how you feel. Keep in mind, if you cut something out altogether, it can result in you wanting it more. Finding personal balance with food isn’t always easy, but it is key to your dancing success. For support, sign up for a free coaching consultation call.

This post on dancers and sugar was revamped in October 2024.

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