Transitioning from the Virtual Class Back to the Studio Safely

"Slow and steady wins the race." - Welsh proverb

As the country gradually begins to reopen, schools will be beginning a new academic year, and dancers will be flooding back in to studios.

It will be a welcome relief for all of us who have been limited to dancing in bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, family rooms and backyards. So…how do we do it in a healthy way that limits the risk of injury?

It is important to remember that even those who have been taking virtual classes will likely not be dancing at the same level they were when everything closed…have they been able to turn at home? Jump on healthy surfaces? Perform traveling phrases or grand allegro?

In order to lessen the risk of injury, precautions should be taken and the return should be gradual.

1)    Gather information before charging headfirst into grand jetés and multiple turns:

·      Create a survey for each dancer, asking what he/she has been doing since the shutdown, inquiring about current levels of fitness, any recent illnesses or injuries and what concerns the dancer might have about returning

·      Create some type of baseline evaluation for your dancers. It should be made to fulfill needs based upon the technique and level of the class. You might consider evaluating the number of relevés and sautés that can be completed correctly before the dancer fatigues and displays poor technique or look at the amount of time a dancer can hold a correct plank.

2)    Consider a phased-in approach – Strength, flexibility and neuromuscular coordination will have decreased (1).  Since dancers will not be performing at the level they were before the shutdown, classes should not pick up right where they left off. The first few weeks should be focus on conditioning exercises and basic technique to help raise fitness levels and reinforce neuromuscular pathways. Work from short sequences, two-legged stationary jumps and single turns toward longer sequences, single-legged jumps, leaps, multiple turns and traveling phrases. 

Expecting too much too soon is a sure way to increase injury risk!

3)    Lastly beware of week three! Studies on military recruits have shown that most injuries occur between weeks 3 & 6 of basic training (2), and dancers will likely experience this same phenomenon. Everyone will be excited during the first two weeks back and on high alert. The body will be in a heightened state and releasing hormones and neurotransmitters like adrenaline and dopamine. They push us forward and dull any pain, making us feel invincible. As the excitement begins to subside, so will the release of these substances. The dancers will not feel as energetic, their bodies will feel tired and will start feeling pain if they have overdone it during the previous two weeks.

It will be both exhilarating and exciting for dancers to return to the studio, however, nothing will be more disheartening than to have a dancer be forced to leave again because of an injury. Dancers need to be guided responsibly through a healthy, phased-in approach that helps them return to the studio and start dancing again!

(1)Narici, Marco et al. (2020) Impact of sedentarism due to the COVID-19 home confinement on neuromuscular, cardiovascular and metabolic health: Physiological and pathophysiological implications and recommendations for physical and nutritional countermeasures, European Journal of Sport Science, DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2020.1761076

(2)Piantanida NA, Knapik JJ, Brannen, S, and O'Connor, F. Injuries during Marine Corps officer basic training. (2000) Military Medicine, 165(7), 515-52

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Masks in the Dance Studio - Harmful or Helpful?

"A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it." - Ray A. Davis

Since it looks as if masks are here to stay, dance educators and dancers should be aware of how to use them effectively. There has been widespread concern about dancers wearing masks during class –

                        Will they get enough oxygen?

                        Will they be inhaling too much carbon dioxide?

            If an asymptomatic individual is a carrier and inhales expelled droplets, will he or she develop a full-blown case of the illness?

The good news is that there is no evidence that wearing a mask while exercising causes any harm. While masks do present an added obstacle for the body when exercising, the body is fully capable of overcoming the obstacle and meeting any increased demands of energy. It will take time for the body to adapt just as it does when someone begins a new exercise routine. For this reason, students should begin wearing masks for short periods of time with breaks and gradually work up to completing an entire class with a mask without a break.

Several studies on exercising with masks have been conducted within the past 4 years. These studies included high intensity interval training (2), endurance exercises (3) and resistance training (1) while wearing, much more restrictive, altitude training masks.  Alll have determined that exercising while wearing a mask results in no significant changes in heart rate or blood pressure. The studies, however, have found an increase in the rate of perceived exertion (the amount of energy the individual feels he or she must be expending) which makes sense because the mask does present an additional obstacle while exercising (1,2,3,4)

While the endurance exercise study found modestly lower levels of oxygen in the subjects, the levels were well tolerated, and since dance does not fall into the category of endurance training, these findings are not a major concern among dancers (3).

Since cloth masks are not sealed, additional oxygen is allowed to enter through the sides, and most of the exhaled carbon dioxide escapes before the next inhalation. Additionally, the body is strong enough to filter out and withstand  the small percentage of viral droplets that might be exhaled and inhaled again.

Masks will require an adjustment for dancers, and exercises that focus on breathing – inhaling through the nose and out through the mouth – can help prepare them for dancing with a mask. It is important to note that masks that become wet due to sweating are ineffective so dancers should also be encouraged to have a second mask in their bags.

It is an adjustment, however, one that our amazing bodies are capable of making. Will it present a challenge? Definitely, but who better to rise to this challenge than dancers?

(1)Andre, Thomas L. et al. (2018) Restrictive Breathing Mask Reduces Repetitions to Failure During a Session of Lower-Body Resistance Exercise, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 32 (8), 2103-2108.

(2)Biggs, NC, England BS, Turcotte NJ, Cook MR, and Williams, AL. (2017) Effects of simulated altitude on maximal oxygen uptake and inspiratory fitness. International Journal of Exercise Science, 10, 127–136.

(3) Granados, J, Gillum, TL, Castillo, W, Christmas, KM, and Kuennen, MR. (2016) Functional respiratory muscle training during endurance exercise causes modest hypoxemia but overall is well tolerated. Journal of Strength Conditioning Research, 30: 755–762.

(4) Maspero M, and Smith JD. (2016) Effect of an acute bout of exercise using an altitude training mask simulating 12,000 ft on physiological and perceptual variables. International Journal of Exercise Science, 2 (8), Article 90. 

Ignoring Your Body - Part 2

        My previous post, Why Dancers Need to Ignore Their Bodies – Part 1, explained that when dancers focus too much on controlling their bodies, they prevent the body’s automatic, reflexive responses from working. These responses help us to maintain balance and to move efficiently and effectively. When we override these responses by trying to control every single movement we make, we cause our bodies to work twice as hard.

        Researchers have found that by directing attention away from the body and toward an external focus, dancers and other athletes can work more efficiently and effectively while also improving.

        Imagery has been used in dance for a long time. There is the type of imagery that serves as a mental rehearsal of a combination or dance, the type that envisions success on the stage that can reduce performance anxiety, and there is metaphorical imagery that can be used in class and rehearsal to help dancers understand a concept and improve upon technique.

        Metaphorical imagery is the type that provides the dancer with external foci and draws attention away from the body. My last post mentioned increasing jump height and technique by trying to jump higher than something on the wall of the studio, and using a sticker or post-it note to work on turning. Instead of focusing on getting the body to turn in space, dancers should concentrate on the sticker “spotting” the wall or mirror. It is important to note that even when the sticker is removed, the

results should be reproducible.

        Many throughout the years have used metaphorical

imagery. Lulu Swiegard is well-known for the imagery she used to teach proper alignment, and Eric Franklin has published articles and books on the subject of imagery in dance.

        Below are some examples that dancers and educators can begin using in class. These are only a few suggestions, and this list is by no means exhaustive.  If you have any examples of metaphorical imagery that have worked for you or your students, I hope you’ll share them with us in the comments below the post.

Imagine being sucked up through a soda straw – to teach students to lengthen through the back and sides of the torso as well as the front.

Imagine your head floating up like a helium-filled balloon ­– to teach spine lengthening and alignment.

Touch the edges of a bubble surrounding yourself – to teach students to extend themselves in every direction when teaching a circular port de corps.

Trace the rainbow -  to teach port de bras side

Imagine yourself wearing a sandwich board – to teach the students to bend directly side without leaning forward or backward.

Imagine water spraying out of the top of your head and arching backward

Or

Arch up over a brick wall behind you – to teach port de bras back

Imagine yourself breaking through the top of the water in a lake or pool – when opening the arms to 2nd from 5th position.

Draw each circle on the floor larger than the one before – to achieve a lengthened leg in rond de jambe par terre

Allow your leg to go over a speed bump and not into a pothole ­ - to help with the movement of the leg from 2nd postion en l’air to an arabesque position and from arabesque to 2nd position.

Let your knee open the door – to achieve a turned out retiré or passé.

Envision a telephone pole in front of you & wrap your arms around it – to help with holding a balance with the arms in first position.

Drill a hole down through the floor – to help teach strength of the standing leg and alignment in turns.

Jump over a hurdle – to teach grand jetés

Why Dancers Need to Ignore their Bodies - Part I

        Dancers’ bodies are their instruments. They know which muscles are tight, they know how flexible each body part is, and they know the difference between sore muscles and injured muscles. They can concentrate on and control each and every movement their bodies make – that’s a good thing, right? Maybe not…

        Scientists are spending a lot of time researching exactly how our bodies learn to move and perform, and there are some interesting findings. When we move, our bodies are programmed to respond automatically.  They respond quickly, reflexively and without any thought on our part. These responses are there to keep us balanced and to keep our bodies operating efficiently and effectively. When dancers or any other athletes begin to think about and analyze movements, they interfere with the bodies’ automatic responses and actually hinder motor performance. An example from every day life would be running up a flight of stairs. It may be something we do each day automatically. The minute we begin thinking about it, we find ourselves tripping and maybe even falling because we have interfered with the body’s automatic motor responses.

        Imagine the dancer who is working on turning. She tirelessly concentrates on alignment, arm placement, balance, the strength of the relevé and spotting and yet falls out of the turn. She prepares again, concentrates even harder and falls again. It seems that the more she concentrates, the harder the turn becomes. She believes she is working on controlling her body, and she may, instead, be fighting against herself. The more control she attempts to exert over the turn, the more she impairs her body’s automatic muscular and balance responses to turning.

        How then does the dancer stay in control of his or her movements without interfering with the body’s automatic motor learning responses?

        Studies have shown that when dancers focus on something external, rather than on their bodies, their bodies work automatically and efficiently. When we stop thinking about controlling our bodies, we use fewer muscles more effectively, our heart does not beat as fast and we do not breathe as hard. All of this means that our bodies do not have to work as hard and undergo less stress which are two great goals to achieve.

        Studies that involved jumping found that subjects who focused on jumping higher than something in the room achieved greater height than subjects who thought about the muscular effort of their feet and legs.

        A study conducted on gymnasts introduced the use of stickers to help with turning jumps. The sticker, although placed on the gymnast’s body, served as an external focus. The gymnasts were working on half turns and were told to concentrate on which wall the sticker would be facing when the turn was complete. The subjects who wore the stickers improved both jump height and movement quality of the turn.

        By using an external focus, dancers can use the body’s automatic motor responses to their advantage while also using tools to improve their technique. 

The next post in this series will discuss how metaphorical imagery can be used by both dancers and dance educators to create external foci for dancers to use.

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Guss-West, C., Hum, B., & Wulf, G. (2016) Attentional focus in classical ballet a survey of professional dancers. Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, 20 (1), 23-9.

The Female Athlete Triad and What It Means for Dancers

"To keep the body in good health is a duty..." - Buddha

The female athlete triad is a medical term that refers to three separate health conditions occurring at the same time in female athletes. The three conditions are:

Caloric Energy Deficit – Typically dancers are conscious of the food they eat.  They worry about ingesting too many calories and gaining weight. The problem with this logic is that calories also supply dancers with the energy they need to perform in class, rehearsals and on stage.  By reducing their caloric intake, dancers often end up burning more calories than they eat and create an energy deficit.

Irregular Menstrual Cycles – Many dancers experience irregular cycles or may find that their periods stop completely. The purpose of periods is to support the life of a developing baby. If the body does not have enough fat or is not at a healthy weight that could sustain both the body and a developing fetus, periods will stop. Dancers who are below a healthy body weight and/or lack body fat may experience irregular cycles or an absence of a cycle.

Osteoporosis – Irregular or absent menstrual cycles cause low levels of estrogen in the body. Our bodies need estrogen to be able to properly absorb and use calcium, which is necessary for bone growth. If our estrogen levels are low, calcium is not absorbed and bone growth in hindered. The lack of bone growth leads to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a decrease in bone density which results in weakened bones that can break easily and may result in stress fractures in dancers.

When all three of these factors combine, they create a weakened state and a very unhealthy dancer.  

http://www.femaleathletetriad.org/for-professionals/what-is-the-triad/

Knowing how to eat healthy is a key element in avoiding the female athlete triad. Dancers need to remember that they expend a lot of energy on a daily basis and that the food we eat is the fuel that powers our bodies. According to USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, active teen females should consume between 2200-2400 calories per day. It is extremely important that these calories be healthy calories that will provide dancers with enough energy to get through their long days of classes and rehearsals and enough protein to keep their muscles healthy. 

Learning about nutrition and what to eat before and after class and rehearsals is extremely important. It is also important that dancers who experience irregular or an absence of menstrual cycles speak with their health professionals to avoid sliding down the slippery slope of injury.