Dancing
should look easy; like an optical illusion.
It should seem effortless. –
Bruce Marks
A
dancer’s job is to create a grand illusion for the audience. The most difficult steps must look easy, and
no one must ever guess that pointe shoes contain feet that are home to bunions,
blisters and bleeding toes. Like
athletes, dancers need to perform with sore, and sometimes injured or
overworked muscles, but unlike athletes, dancers must never show any sign of
weakness. Dancers must always be ready
to push themselves to the next level to secure a role or a job, and there is no
option for taking the easy way out.
While all
of these qualities are necessary in a field where performance is the ultimate
goal, it is these same qualities that can be harmful to dancers when they begin
cross-training or conditioning classes.
Pilates and
yoga instructors and personal trainers usually offer several variations of an
exercise, ranging from beginner to advanced levels. Most dancers, in spite of being new to this
type of training, will choose the most advanced version simply because that is
what they have been trained to do.
Although dance teachers might make statements like, “You may do a double turn if you want,” or
“You may add beats to this exercise
if you’d like,” dancers know that if they want to be noticed, an option does
not truly exist. They are expected to
challenge themselves. Unfortunately,
since dancers’ muscles are specifically trained for dance exercises, the
advanced version may be too difficult at first and strain the dancer’s body.
As the
conditioning class or session progresses and the trainer looks to the client to
determine if he or she can handle a heavier weight, more repetitions or a more
difficult exercise, the dancer will not portray an accurate picture. If a dancer finds an exercise taxing or difficult,
no one will ever know it. Dancers are
always performing, and they are trained to make the most difficult look the
easiest.
Lastly,
since dancers are used to working with sore or tired muscles and have extremely
high levels of pain tolerance, they may not always listen and respond to their
bodies the way others do. A pulling or
burning sensation in the muscle may be ignored and classified as a slight
twinge that must be worked through, and dancers may continue the exercise,
assuming that they are feeling “good pain” when in fact they are feeling an
injury occurring. Dancers may not even
realize they are injured until swelling or extreme pain occurs.
When in a
cross-training or conditioning program, dancers need to remember that starting
to train at the beginner level is not a bad thing, it is okay to acknowledge
tired muscles and to listen to their bodies in a different way, and trainers
need to remember that dancers will push themselves to the absolute limit. Cross training in dance is necessary and effective,
but both dancers and trainers need to be aware of the psychological
ramifications of dance training in order to keep the dancer healthy.
