The Instructor's Dance Floor

In the dance industry, career-ending injuries are all too common. As a dance teacher, coach, or instructor, it is important to be aware of some of the most common dance injuries. According to a study by Dr. Raj Deu and Hopkins Medicine, the following are injuries often seen on dancers: Hip Injuries Snapping hip syndrom  Hip impingement  Labral tears Hip flexor tendonitis  Foot and ankle injuries Achilles tendonitis  Trigger toe and ankle impingement  Knee injuries Patellofemoral pain syndrom  Stress fractures Metatarsals  Tibia Lumbar Spine Sesamoids Arthritis  Knee Hip Ankle Foot As a teacher, it is important to listen to your students if they are complaining of pain in these areas. It help them distinguish between pain and an injury, you can ask them the following questions: Does the pain keep you up at night? Is the pain already present before you start dancing? Does the pain increase with activity? Does the pain make you compensate or shift

I personally struggle with a very specific problem... I swear my back leg is straight in my leaps and arabesques when it in fact not straight. If your dancers are experiencing this, there might actually be a medical reason. According to the editor of Dance Teacher Magazine, Deborah Vogel, meniscal tears, swelling, trauma, or arthritis might all be the culprit. There is also the possibility your dancer is not properly working their turnout. If your dancer's kneecap of their leg is dropped towards the ground in arabesque, the leg will appear bent if it is in fact straight. Lastly, your student's body type may be the reason. If the student has a naturally knobby knee that protrudes forward, it could appear bent while they are trying to straighten it.

While we as instructors are so passionate about seeing our dancers improve, it is important to sometimes take our experiences with a grain of salt. From excuses like "I didn't have time", or "my Mom didn't tell me," we have heard them all. This article , is full of dance teacher reactions that we are all-too familiar with. 

Every dance instructor is familiar with the look of sheer terror you receive back from your students when you ask them to improv. The following are a few tricks I have used to get my students more familiar with the concept of improvisation. Use a variety of popular of familiar music. If your students are more familiar with the music, and know chorus, versus, builds and the counts, they will be more comfortable adjusting their movement to suit the music. Of course they will not always know the music, but this is a great trick for improv novices.  Go across the floor. By letting your dancers move from one side of the floor to the other, they will have freedom in how long they take across the floor. However, there will still be a controlled direction.  Be creative. Ask them to focus on one body part, or use floor work the entire time, use a prop, not to implement any technique, use a partner, pretend to be an animal, etc. This will get them more exposed to moves or styles they would h

In this awesome piece of news, renowned director of the Martha Graham Dance Company, Janet Eilber, teaches Harvard Law students an excerpt of "Lamentation". After teaching choreography to the students of law, she continued to inform them about copyright and other legal issues in the dance world. If you would like to see this this awesome article, click on this link.

If typical ballet barre music puts you to sleep, there is a CD with a variety of music that may be a bit more your speed. This article  highlights an album for ballet barre and center music that  is engaging for the listener, with a variety of moods and arrangements from different ballet scores. Also, the selections for barre run two times consecutively so your students can do both right and left side without you having to restart the music. This CD is definitely a huge asset for every ballet teacher who'd like to mix up their music selection!

Recently, I have seen many articles floating around social media sites claiming that competitive youth sports are not worth the steep prices and excessive hours that you must dedicate to them in order to truly succeed. Of course, included in this list was competitive gymnastics, dance, and cheerleading. While I understand that at times families must dedicate a lot of time and resources to these activities, I completely disagree with the statement that it is not worth it. As a dancer growing up, I learned the following invaluable traits and lessons: Discipline Patience Humility Sometimes you don't get everything you feel you deserve You shouldn't give up when things get hard, you should push harder You are your own best advocate True satisfaction from becoming a better athlete and person Treat others, especially your superiors, with genuine respect Use your failures to motivate you, instead of discourage you Envy is your worst enemy  These lessons translated

Although this subject may not be the most glorifying part of dance, eating disorders are a very real aspect of the industry and they are important to talk about. Eating disorders can destroy lives. They are a complex medical and psychiatric illness that can leave a permanent pattern of destructive eating habits. Research has shown that with 20 percent, dancers are at an extremely high risk of developing an eating disorder. As dance instructors, this statistic should be alarming and eating disorders are certainly something that should be on our radar. The article linked here  highlights how complex a dancer's relationship can be with his or her eating disorder.

MuvMethod is a new form of flexibility training emerging from Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a yoga-based system designed to release muscular and fascial tension, while improving strength, balance, alignment, posture, and flexibility. MuvMethod offers an online program, weekly classes, and Flexibility Trainings. The MuvMethod website displays testimonials from a variety of different dance instructors and studio owners who have implemented in the system into their dance curriculum. Ultimately, users seem to agree on one thing, they have seen a huge improvement in flexibility, strength, and body awareness. As a studio owner there are several different options if you wish to implement the MuvMethod program into your institution. You can choose weekly classes, with onsite customized programs designed to fit within your existing curriculum. Or, you can send an instructor or multiple instructors to get MuvMethod certified and bring the practice back to your studio. As an individual instr

As a dance instructor, it is safe to bet that you spend a large portion of your day either gently, or not so gently, reminding your dancers to point their feet. Unfortunately, all feet are not created equal. While some students have incredible natural arches in their feet, some are completely flat. For those dancers who were not blessed with natural Prima Ballerina feet, they are not doomed. Ballet Foot Stretch is a tool that students or studios can purchase to regularly stretch your feet and acquire higher, more defined arches. With many foot stretchers on the market, I prefer Ballet Foot Stretch because it was specifically made for dancers and gymnasts. It stretches the heel slightly forward as if the user is on pointe. It encourages turnout while letting the user determine how much or how little to stretch their foot, so all foot shapes can utilize this tool. There is also a bridge of support underneath the foot to relieve discomfort. It is recommended that dancers use this too

This is an extremely interesting video from Ted Ed, which explains the physics of doing fouetté turns on pointe! I highly recommend showing this video to your dancers. There are extremely important elements in which reinforce their training with actual facts, like why your spot and your relevé are important.

Is there a secret message to make all your dancers turn like Sophia Lucia? Sorry, I don't think so. However, reminders that build muscle memory are the key to having consistently strong turners. Below are bullet points to remind your dancers of every class as to what to think of while turning. One of my favorite tactics is asking my class what they need to think about while they are turning. My dancers will raise their hands and we won't stop until all of the bullet points have been checked off. High relevé Straight supporting knee High passé Shoulders down (out) Strong spot (spot your own eyeballs or a point in the room) Strong arms (like holding oranges under your armpits) Utilizing your closing arm In second turns, turning out both your supporting leg and your working leg Closing into a high, strong croisé and not swinging your leg Leading with your heel and not gripping your turnout muscles Not dropping your heel too hard in second turns or fouettes Pulling

As dancers and dance teachers, it is extremely important to be aware of the difference between good and bad pain. Genuine pain is different than soreness, and if you are able to detect this, you can pinpoint potential injuries before they occur. Dancers are tough, and at a certain level we like to push through pain and soreness. However, if it is a threat to your career, it is important to recognize it is time to sit out. The article below provides some good pointers that gauge whether it is time to rally or not. http://www.dancespirit.com/deciphering-between-good-pains-and-bad-pains-and-how-to-prevent-further-aggravation-2487676033.html

Dance classes can be an extremely rewarding  extra-curricular  recreational activity. However, in many classes it is evident that many dancers do not have the energy or the discipline to focus as much as they need to in order to truly accomplish their goals.  Many parents and students are paying for dance classes with an end goal in mind for their children and themselves. Some intend to make a high school or college team, some intend to simply improve on their skills from last year, some wish to win competitions. Therefore, giving these students an average dance education will not suffice. As influencers and  educators , we should should set ourselves apart with a higher standard. So the question is, how can we motivate the more...  uninterested  of our students.  Research has demonstrated that offering rewards to children can improve their concentration, performance, and behavior in a classroom setting.  Teachers can reward their students with positive reinforcement.