Basics of Nutrition - How much and of what?

It can be confusing hearing conflicting advice over what quantity of what nutrients your diet should consist of. How much fuel does your body need, and what is the right fuel for the demands you place on your body? There's no straight answer, everyone's body is different however the bottom line is you need to fuel your body appropriately for the work you need it to do.

Injuries and dancing

Injuries happen, it's a fact of life. Studies have shown that in any given year up to 90% of professional dancers will sustain an injury that makes them lose time from work (it makes for some disheartening reading, but have a look - JDMS study CJSM study SJMSS study and MPPA study). That's a lot of injuries in a lot of dancers. Yes we can do our best to prevent them and we should, because it's possible to reduce the instances of injury and that should be a priority for all of us. However injuries happen in any activity where you are pushing your body to it's limits, and when they do we still need to be able to get on with our lives.

Fanaticism in the Ballet World

I've been reflecting on last week's attack on Sergei Filin. In many ways it's brought the best and the worst of ballet to the world's attention.

There are fanatics in all walks of life; in sport, in business, in medicine, in law... it is not a normal mindset but it exists throughout our society. I would hate it if fanaticism on this extremist level came to be associated with ballet more generally; yes there are fanatics in the ballet world, and yes one of them appears to have attacked Sergei Filin in the most horrific manner. However, the vast majority of those working in ballet, even at the highest most competitive level, find the attack every bit as reprehensible as the rest of the population.

The rules of supplemental training

Supplemental training will make you a better dancer. There's no question about it. Being stronger, faster, more agile, more powerful, more flexible, generally fitter... all of it will improve your dance performance. But it's no good deciding you're going to push yourself and develop outside of the dance studio if you don't do it sensibly. There are some incredibly simple rules you need to follow if you're ever going to make progress in additional areas you're training, otherwise you're just going to waste your time.

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.

Tradition and Authority

The tradition of respect for authority in classical dance is, in many ways, a great thing. It is a respect for wisdom, experience and the years of dedication in others that has built the art form into what it is today. In children it develops respect for elders, for teachers, for knowledge, it encourages self-discipline and self-control.  However I truly believe respect is something that should always be earned. Whether in your personal or professional life, whether it is your boss, your teacher, your coach, your partner, there is no entitlement in respect.

Sleep more

Finally one thing that no one in their right mind can complain about with training. You need sleep. Lots of it. For most people 5 hours a night isn't going to be enough, most of us can do pretty well on 7-8 hours a night, some people need 8+. If you wake up feeling crappy every morning, with your muscles feeling weak and you feeling foggy-headed, you either need to tone down the drinking, or you're not getting enough sleep.

Teaching technique in children

Teaching isn't as easy as running through syllabus and expecting your students to catch on sooner or later, or it certainly shouldn't be. When you're teaching young dancers you are affecting their physical being - their posture, their muscle development, their bone strength, their body composition. They aren't going to know it, but their teacher has a huge responsibility for ensuring that they are taught safely and effectively.