Your pointe shoe - pointe shoe sizing, ballet stretches, preventing dance injuries, increasing ballet turnout, adult ballet beginners, men in ballet, boys in ballet, and cheer leaders too.
When I think of concussions, I think of football players. Who, to non sports fans, are kind of crazy guys (some of whom earn millions a year) who slam themselves into other crazy guys to forward a ball...a few yards?
I was stopped in my digital tracks when I read the article on The Dance Current about dancers and concussion injury.
Recently I've talked to two people who saw the movie "Concussion:" with Will Smith. One loved it and the other didn't like it. But it is an important issue.
It's football. I get it. And casting Will Smith.
But what about dance? And concussion? I've worked in a chiropractic office, and yes, concussion IS a big deal.
Whether you are a ballet dancer, break dancer, ballet teacher, adult ballet beginner -- or a high school football player, I hope you'll read this article and expand your awareness.
I searched "ballet concussions" and came up with nothing. But please don't let that discourage you from thinking about this.
I am glad to see this fact being investigated -- here's a little more from that article:
"Scientists are turning to dance because it is a multifaceted activity
that can help them—and ultimately educators and even parents– demystify
how the brain coordinates the body to perform complex, precise movements
that express emotion and convey meaning".
I follow Sharp Brains and enjoy all their posts, but I'll admit I don't get a chance to check them everyday.
Here's a snippet with Mark Morris, (who spoke at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience), in an interview "Notes For A Dancer" and with some rehearsal footage.
I get this question from time to time, sometimes from dancers whose experience with ballet I know, and sometimes from those I have not seen dance, or even walk for that matter. So here are my thoughts as of today.
Dancers competing for a professional job will have done 10 years of training already. They will have had the advantage of training over physical limitations, while young enough to overcome them, to some degree, or altogether.
I don't like to be discouraging but must be honest.
But here's something else to think about - what soulful or artistic quality in you loves ballet? Could that aspect of yourself be expressed through another media that does not require:
a) an extraordinary physique by birth
b) the circumstances under which to be trained by an exceptional professional school starting at age 9-10
c) the political savvy to survive all that? (seldom mentioned, but not to be discounted)
That wonderful artistic energy in you could come out some other way without challenging your age, your body, the reality of the profession, et al.
I hope I am not disappointing anyone with this perspective.
But I believe there is something in you, even though you love ballet, that can come alive without ballet.
And you are better off figuring that out, even if you experience a disappointment right now.
"I now have Anatomy Coloring
Pages for the young dancer available in the store. They are in a
pdf format that you do multiple copies of for your younger students.
The muscles that are included in the coloring pages are:
1. rotators (turnout muscles)
2. Quadriceps
3. Hamstrings
4. Iliopsoas
5. Adductor (inner thigh)
6. Abductor (lateral hip)
7. Abdominals
8. Soleus (deeper calf muscle that determines depth of demi plié)
9. Gastrocnemius
10. Deltoid (that lifts the arm)
Each page demonstrates the action of the muscle, has an insert of
what the actual muscle looks like, and at the bottom of each page
is a sentence describing the action in simple terms. Perfect for the
youngest (6 - 8 yrs) to begin learning about their body!
The price is right - only $9.95 so check them out!
Warm regards,
Deborah
“Education is the key to injury prevention”
Deborah has given ballet teachers a tool with which to train students anatomy they need to know....and I believe that those students who feel frustrated with "doomed with my body type", can learn how to get more flexible and improve safely.
If you are a ballet dancer, or thinking of becoming a ballerina or a man in ballet, or any other style of dancer, you have probably not escaped the thought of what makes you fat.
This one thought in and of itself is an occupational hazard in the realm of dance training. So how do you tell what makes you fat?
This quick video gives a good demonstration of what makes you fat.
The idea that eating fats will make you fat is a basic mistake.
For most people, excess insulin makes them fat and not the fat itself.
Where does excess insulin come from?
At what age are you susceptible to be cursed with excess insulin?
Whether you are ten years old or an adult, you need to understand what the glycemic index is. It's not too difficult a thing to learn.
You eat carbohydrates, meaning starches such as bread, crackers, rice, corn and potatoes.
These foods release sugars into your system and keep your bodies going.
Processed carbohydrates, like cereal from boxes, flour products, candy bars, power bars, digest as sugars that get dumped into your bloodstream fairly quickly.
The higher a food resides on the glycemic index, the faster it will release its sugars.
In order to regulate your insulin levels, make sure that you are eating foods from the lower end of the glycemic.
This pretty well eliminates fast foods and junk foods.
Complex carbohydrates such as multi-grain sprouted breads, beans and legumes, as examples, are foods that are not processed.
They are left alone to be eaten as nature made them.
They are full of vitamins and minerals and digest with the sugars releasing more slowly into your system.
This requires less insulin to regulate the sugar levels in your blood.
When you eat processed carbohydrates that transform quickly into sugars, more insulin is needed to regulate your blood sugar.
Eventually your body gets used to the high insulin levels, and ignores the insulin.
This is called insulin resistance. Once you advance into this stage of metabolism, it is much easier to gain weight, and much harder to lose weight.
A couple of decades ago, this was considered a middle-aged condition, or an elderly condition, leading to Adult Onset Diabetes. Not any more!
Notice the word fat has nothing to do with any of this!
You may have heard someone lamenting "I have slow metabolism, so I cannot stay thin!".
This is a result of eating the wrong sugars, not from eating fat.
White sugar used to be the no-no.
Now it is high fructose corn syrup, which overwhelms our bodies and makes us crave more carbs.
Even worse, the calorie-free artificial sweeteners also make us crave carbs!
Is this some kind of trap?
Let's get back to fats, which are present in fresh, unprocessed, real foods made by nature. Meats, fish, vegetables, nuts, seeds, dairy products, eggs, and oils.
FATS!
"Essential fatty acids, in a ratio of two (omega 3) to one (omega 6) and at levels of about twelve to fifteen percent of total caloric intake, increase the rate of metabolic reaction in the body. This increased rate burns more fat into carbon dioxide, water and energy (heat), which results in fat burn-off and a loss of excess weight."
- Udo Erasmus, author of "Fats That Heal Fats That Kill".
You mean you can eat food that "results in fat burn-off and a loss of excess weight"?
That is what Erasmus, and other doctors such as Al Sears, state.
Dr Atkins of the Atkins Diet fame spread the same information.
For ballet and other dancers who need a high energy supply, regeneration of muscle mass on a daily basis, and endurance for performances, it is good to know how to tell what makes you fat, and what makes you strong.
Dancers, ballet and otherwise need a balanced diet rich in complex carbohydrates, found in unrefined foods, proteins, and healthy fats.
What are healthy fats? Saturated fats constitute about 50% of your cell membranes. Cholesterol is needed to rebuild cell walls, even more so when inflammation is present.
Once you have stopped growing, maintaining weight means consuming approximately the amount of calories that you burn. If you gain weight while participating in an athletic career, you could review your caloric intake.
You could also have your endocrine system checked for hormonal imbalances and nutritional deficiencies.
A healthy diet does not exclude fats. Saturated fats are good sources of Vitamin A and D, and also help the body utilize omega 3 fatty acids.
Some saturated fatty acids have anti-microbial properties, helping protect you against harmful organisms in your digestive tract.
Fats that you can consume are the following:
Organic free- range animal meats and fats such as lard, tallow, etc. These fats can be used for high-heat cooking.
Wild caught cold water fish can be consumed 2-3 times a week. This rich source of omega 3 oils is polluted with mercury and other contaminants, therefore for daily intake, use a marine oil supplement.
Whole, organic free-range eggs. Keep the yolk intact and soft while cooking, to prevent ruining the cholesterol in the yolk.
Raw nuts. Some nutritionists recommend pre-soaking in water before eating to release the phyto-nutrients and make all the nutrients in the nuts more bio-available.
Avocados are an excellent source of monounsaturated oleic acid.
Olive oil may be used for cooking at medium temperatures.
Butter has benefits such as fat-soluable vitamins, and equal amounts of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids.
If the butter is from grass-fed cows it will also have conjugated linoleic acid, which has strong anti-cancer properties.
Coconut oil is good for cooking at a high heat.
Pumpkin seed oil - but do not heat it.
Cod liver oil, an excellent source of Vitamin D. (get it purified).
Walnut oil, olive oil, sesame oil, and flax seed oil are all excellent sources of omega 3 oils. You can use them to make your salad dressings with.
Personally I am not a fan of frying foods, but if you do, choose a small amount of the fats that are recommended for high heat cooking.
Athletes and dancers are constantly breaking down and repairing damaged soft tissues. Therefore their bodies will produce inflammation, and therefore more cholesterol. This is natural.
Cholesterol is a pre-cursor to corticosteroids, hormones which help us to deal with stress and protect the body against heart disease and cancer. Estrogen and testosterone are made from cholesterol.
Cholesterol acts as an antioxidant and is required for the proper activity of serotonin in the brain.
Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression and suicidal thoughts. So cholesterol is not such a "bad guy" element as it has been promoted for a couple of decades.
Omega 3 oils reduce inflammation, water retention, platelet stickiness, blood pressure and tumor growth. Some individuals do not assimilate the omega 3 oils from plant sources as well as from meat, egg and fish sources.
Omega 6 oils are not "bad guy" fats, but out of balance with omega 3 oils will produce inflammation, high blood pressure and cell proliferation (as in cancer).
Wild game meats contain a close balance of omega 6 to omega 3 oils, but domestically raised meats are predominantly omega 6 fat containing.
A dancer's diet can be 20-30% fat. Fats are burned for energy during long work sessions, contributing to endurance.
"Fats and Oils" by Paul Chek published in "A Grain of Salt" gave some of the above details on fats.
To stay healthy as a ballet dancer, eat healthy fats, lots of leafy greens, vegetables and good quality proteins.
