Mirrors in the Studio: Do They Help or Do They Hinder?

            “Mirrors,' she said, 'are never to be trusted.” ― Neil Gaiman

         Mirrors – you will see them lining the wall of every dance studio you enter. Dancers are taught from a young age to fight for a spot in the studio where they can see themselves.  Teachers use the mirrors as a teaching tool  - they allow the teachers to face the mirror when demonstrating a combination, while being able to watch and monitor the students at the same time. Teachers teach dancers to use the mirror to determine if their legs and arms are in the correct positions, to determine if they are dancing in unison with other dancers, and to help determine where they are in space.

            Mirrors are a valuable teaching tool for dance. But, is it possible that dancers can rely upon them too much?

            Constant reliance upon the mirror can cause dancers to grow too mirror-focused. When this occurs, dancers tend to stare at themselves constantly rather than use their heads as part of their instrument to complete lines or to spot appropriately during turns.

            While some may argue that mirrors are invaluable tools for teaching combinations in class, several studies have actually shown that better learning occurs without the use of the mirror. Moreover, reliance on the mirror can also cause dancers to watch others when executing combinations. If the dancers are able to see others all the time, the mirror becomes a crutch, and dancers may not learn the combinations completely for themselves.

            The mirror may also become a crutch for balancing. Dancers typically rely heavily upon somatosensory information to help them maintain balance when executing movements and combinations. Somatosensory information is feedback that is received during physical activity from our muscles and joints. This information helps us determine where our bodies are in space and is also known as proprioception. Over-reliance upon what a dancer sees will compromise the dancer’s ability to develop his or her proprioceptive sense of balance.  A recent study published in the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science had dancers perform exercises in class with their eyes closed. The researchers found that when vision was limited, dancers were forced to rely upon proprioception, and balance  improved. 

            It is important for dance educators to consider all of these factors and also to remember why they are training dancers. The ultimate goal for all dancers is, and should be, performance, yet the ways we sometimes train dancers does not prepare them what they will encounter when they step out onto a stage. 

           

            There are no mirrors on stage for dancers to determine if their bodies are in the right positions, no mirrors to assist them if they forget what step comes next, no mirrors to help them determine where they are in space and no mirrors to provide visual cues for balancing.

            Mirrors can definitely be used effectively as a teaching tool in the classroom. They can be used to teach dancers how to spot, they can be used when teachers are trying to monitor the progress of the class, and they can help dancers place their bodies into correct positions when learning poses or movements for the first time. It is important, however, to remember that training needs to be specific to the desired goal. Incorporating exercises into class that are executed with the eyes closed and covering the mirrors are both valid ways to achieve this end. In addition to covering the mirrors, having the dancers use different “fronts” in the studio is also valuable. Having to re-orient themselves to face a different direction, forces dancers to constantly be aware of where they are in the space and is a perfect way to prepare them for dancing on different stages and in different venues.

Alignment: Developing a Strong Foundation

"When you find that your life is out of alignment with your grandest idea of yourself, seek to change it." -Neale Donald Walsch

         A contractor would never try to build on an unstable infrastructure, yet each day dancers attempt multiple pirouettes and complicated combinations upon misaligned bodies that provide a shaky foundation.

         Correct body alignment allows for efficient muscle use, encourages a less bound and more relaxed approach to movement, reduces the risk of injury, and contributes to ease of movement.

         Whenever a dancer has difficulty with balance or executing a step, which he or she should be strong enough to do, it is important to first observe his or her body alignment.  Just as a building will weaken if there is a crack in the foundation, the body is weakened by misalignment.

         Before each class a dancer needs to re-establish a strong base by being certain that all five toes are flat on the floor.  Body weight should be equally distributed on each foot in a triangular pattern formed by the base of the big toe, the heel, and the base of the pinky toe.  The ankle should be lifted so that the base of the tibia is not rolling forward and causing the foot to pronate, or roll inward.  Subsequently, the knee joint should be centered over the ankle, and the hip joint should be centered over the knee.  The base of the ribcage should be in line with the pelvis while the sternum is lifted and the shoulders rest on the body, similar to how frosting rests upon a cake.  The neck should be lengthened with the head lifting as if it were a helium-filled balloon.

         Dancers are often told to “pull up their centers” which often causes a disconnect between the upper and lower halves and the front and back halves of the body. When a dancer “pulls up” the stomach, the tendency is to “sit” or relax into the back of the hips and open the ribcage, resulting in a swayed back.  Dancers engage their abdominal muscles, tuck the pelvis, and hyperextend their legs and believe they are properly aligned.

         This ideology results in gripping muscles instead of lengthening them, stressing ligaments instead of strengthening muscles, and skeletal misalignment.

         Instead, dancers need to think of the ankle being lifted by the patella, or kneecap, and the leg being lengthened by the pelvis lifting and lengthening the quadriceps and hamstrings.  Dancers also need to remember to lengthen the back of the torso as well as the front as if the entire upper body were being sucked up through a straw.  Additionally, it is important for dancers to lengthen through the front and back of the neck equally to avoid the turtling of the head that often occurs.

         Simply thinking about dance posture differently will help align the body, engage the muscles in a different way, and produce a lengthening of the body which will increase the efficiency of movement, improve mechanics and balance, and lead to healthy dancing.

        

Cooling Down After Class - Does It Serve Any Purpose?

"If you don't take care of your body, where will you live?" - Author Unknown

        The broad music begins, the grand allegro has been shown, and dancers begin soaring through the air performing saute de chats, grand pas de chats, and tour jetés.  After traveling across the floor, they return to line to perform the combination once more.  The breathing is audible, and the dancers’ faces are flushed.  Their hearts are beating quicker, they are breathing harder and faster, the increased frequency of heart contractions have pumped blood faster through their arteries, and their blood pressures have risen.

            All too often, class time runs out and movement draws to a complete stop.  The teacher dismisses the class, the students bow, clap, and quickly exit the studio to make room for the next class. 

            In order to stay healthy and minimize the stress on the body, it is important for all dancers to learn about the benefits of a cool-down.  Just as the warm-up prepares the body for what is to come, the cool-down slowly returns the body to the pre-exercise, resting state.

            A cool-down is a gradual decrease in activity that allows the heart rate and the breathing, or respiratory, rate to gradually slow down and return to normal.  As this slowing occurs, blood circulation also gradually slows.  Without this gradual decrease in activity, a quick drop in heart rate will decrease the pressure in the arteries rapidly.  This sudden drop in blood pressure can cause dizziness and fainting.

            A simple exercise performed at the end of class, similar to a reverence, that incorporates a gradual slowing down of the body is all that is needed.  The exercise might include grand pliés in second position, slow head circles, slow reaches or circles with arms and stretching.  A cool-down is an ideal time for dancers to work on flexibility and range of motion.  The muscles are now completely warm and will not be required to perform any more explosive activities, providing the perfect time for static stretches to be held for 20-30 seconds.  While stretching, the internal temperature of the muscles gradually decreases and, therefore, reduces the chances that muscles will cramp or go into spasm upon leaving the studio.  Muscle cramping becomes a bigger concern during cold, winter months when warm bodies move out into the cold air.  Muscles, like everything else, contract when cooled and will do so quicker when moving from one extreme temperature to another.

            The cool-down takes no longer than 5 minutes at the end of class and provides the benefits of decreasing some of the stress exercise puts on the body, avoids dizziness or fainting, assists in developing range of motion, and helps decrease muscle spasms and cramping after class. 

            If time does not allow for a cool-down in class, each dancer should take responsibility for the health of his or her body and perform an individual cool-down, including stretching.  It will take only a few minutes out of the day, but will keep you dancing healthier, and your body will thank you for it!

            

Improving Balance

            “BALANCE – The ability to equally distribute weight and remain upright."                                                        Merriam-Webster Dictionary                                                                                                     

            Balance, equilibrium, steadiness, stability – a goal for a happy life and a necessity for a dancer. Balance is regulated by our body in three different ways: through our eyes, through the vestibular system of our inner ear, and through sensory receptors in our muscles that provide proprioception. 

            We constantly use our eyes to determine where we are in space, and this optical sense is the body’s most dominant way of establishing balance.  The optical righting reflex helps ensure that we remain upright since it works to keep both eyes constantly on the horizontal plane.

            The vestibular system helps the body maintain balance through the anatomy of the inner ear.  This system gives the brain information about the body’s position during movement.  The ear canals are filled with fluid and lined with cilia, or tiny hairs, that are sensitive to the movement of the fluid.  When the position of the head shifts during movement, the cilia send signals to the brain to activate the muscles that keep the head vertical.

            Our body also uses proprioception to determine if we are balanced.  Proprioception is the body’s awareness of its position and movement in space.  There are sensory receptors located in the body’s muscles, tendons, and joints that send messages to the brain, letting it know where the different parts of the body are and how they are moving in relation to other body parts.  The sensors in the muscles respond to muscular contractions, those in the tendons respond to changes in tension, and the sensors inside the joints respond to changes in pressure while those in the connective tissue surrounding the joints respond to the speed of a moving joint.

           

            These three systems work together and communicate with the cerebral cortex in the brain.  The cerebellum controls coordination and stores learned information about muscular actions that can restore balance.  The signals that the systems send to the cerebral cortex are integrated with the information stored in the cerebellum, and the body is able to right itself when it is thrown off balance.

            When one of these systems does not operate correctly, the body must rely on the other two systems.  If an inner ear infection disturbs the vestibular system, the optical reflex and proprioception must be depended upon to maintain balance.

            The proprioceptive sense is vital for a dancer.  A dancer must be able to “feel” the difference between a parallel position and a turned-out position and needs to be able to sense how high a leg is being held.  When turning, dancers need to be aware of the position of the gesture leg, and dancers need to be aware of the position of their arms.  Mirrors can be used as a tool when dancers are first learning a skill, and the eyes and vestibular system can be used to establish balance when the training is at the beginner level.  However, as dancers grow more advanced, learning skills like tilts and advanced, inverted jazz turns, it becomes difficult to rely on these two senses, and when a dancer performs onstage with lights, the optical sense is taken away.  Reliance upon the proprioceptive system becomes a dancer’s lifeline.

            Since this system must be relied upon so heavily, it is important to help students develop it in the studio.  Although the mirror can be used effectively as a tool, dancers often become dependent on it.  Having dancers perform combinations facing away from the mirror forces the dancers to rely on their proprioception to determine where they are in the space and what positions they are in.  Another way to work on the proprioceptive sense is to ask the dancers to perform stationary combinations with their eyes closed.  When this idea is first introduced, the combinations can be simple port de bras exercises and then progress to exercises that include développés, grands battements and even jumps.

            Our bodies come equipped with three systems meant to help maintain balance, yet we often do not use all three effectively.  Dancers can improve and strengthen their technique and performance skills vastly when they are aware of, learn to use, and practice training the proprioceptive system.