Dance bag essentials - tennis balls

Every dancer should keep a tennis ball in their dance bag, it doesn't matter what style of dance you do, from ballet to bhangra to ballroom, all of you are going to get tight muscles at some point, if you keep something as basic as a tennis ball in your bag you have a way of working on them wherever you are. When I was dancing full-time I think I forgot what it was like to wake up without some part of me aching or feeling tight and it was often at it's worst after a heavy class or rehearsal. Rolling muscles out with the ball became as much a part of my cool down as stretching did and made considerable difference to how long I could last between physio or massage appointments without totally stiffening up.

Over-pronation of the feet

A degree of pronation is normal, as the foot needs to adapt to contact with the ground, however over-pronation occurs when the arch of the foot excessively flattens or 'collapses', the heel rolls inward and the soft tissues stretch. This is a common problem in dancers of many genres including jazz, modern and theatrical dance, but the problem is most pronounced in ballet dancers.