A brand-new free mobile app is aiming to help dancers from across the globe become mentally fit and emotionally strong by building resilience from the stresses and strains of dance training and performance.
Help4Dancers, which can be downloaded from both the Apple and Google play stores, provides dancers with access to a professional program of daily sessions, including weekly check-in health questionnaires and advice from dance-related psychotherapists and counsellors on many aspects of mental health; exercise and meditation videos; and injury prevention and maintenance with leading physiotherapists.
Other features are strength and conditioning sessions and Pilates with professional coaches, advice on career development and nutrition, and regular guest speakers including UK and international dance professionals.
Help4Dancers has been created by psychotherapist Terry Hyde MA MBACP, founder of Counselling for Dancers. Hyde started ballet classes at the age of six, was awarded a five-year scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dance in London and attended The Royal Ballet Senior School. He later joined The Royal Ballet, followed by a move to London’s Festival Ballet (English National Ballet) as a soloist. After five years, he moved to musical theater, performing in London’s West End, film and TV.
Hyde said, “During the pandemic, dancers have been missing in-person training and performing and sadly, as a result, I have seen an increase in clients seeking my help. Because of my own experiences as a performer, I can bring a genuine understanding of the unique demands that are placed on dancers, from body image and bullying to audition anxiety.”
Hyde, who has been running free online well-being sessions for those in the performing arts throughout the pandemic, has been working on the app for the last six months on its design and comprehensive, professional content as well as trialing it out to a team of dancers. He feels the app will help dancers to continue their career, keep mentally and physically fit, and prepare them for live performances and in-person classes.
Hyde added, “On this free app, users will be able to join a six-week program which tracks their progress and, in turn, helps them to recognize what they can do to help improve their emotional and physical strength. And, as it’s mobile, we can reach dancers across the globe, providing free access to expert help whenever they need it.”
Help4Dancers participants can join pre-recorded sessions with a host of professional dancers and practitioners, including Director and Choreographer Brendon Hansford, who has shared his skills with the likes of Sam Smith, Rod Stewart and David Guetta; Isabella Gasparini, soloist with The Royal Ballet; Tomorr Kokona, coach, mentor and former international arts professional; Ballet Physio Luke Abnett, who spent six years treating students at The Royal Ballet School; Mikko Nissinen, artistic director of Boston Ballet and School; and Professional Irish Dancer and Pilates Teacher Joe Duffey (Riverdance/Lord of the Dance/Broadway).
If successful, the team behind the app hopes to expand its offer with the introduction of seminars, workshops and conferences.
Help4Dancers, for professional and student dancers as well as parents and teachers, is available for all dance styles, including ballet, Irish dance, tap, hip hop, ballroom and South Asian dance.
The Help4Dancers app can be downloaded now from both the Apple and Google play stores.
We are all different. Our anatomy, our goals and our dance styles vary. So is there really a golden list of stretches you absolutely should not do? No, not really. But are there some really smart rules to follow to help you avoid teaching or encouraging ineffective and injurious stretching practices? You betcha! Here is one such list of five things about stretching that you should avoid.
# 1. Avoid overstretching.
Dancers need to learn their own range of motion and how far they can go before feeling tension, followed by pain. Stretching into pain doesn’t do anything for you and won’t improve your flexibility; in fact, the only effect you might get out of it is injury. It might not seem like it in the moment, especially if you’re trying to be careful, but overstretching over the course of time contributes to breakdown of the protective surfaces in your joints. So those crazy stretches that your students are trying to do in their teens could eventually cause them pain in their 20s and onward. There are a couple over-stretches that dancers seem to love. But don’t do it!
-Oversplits
-Forcing your frog (on your belly)
-Walking on your knuckles/tops of toes
-Backbend without abdominal muscle support
# 2. Avoid stretching when you haven’t warmed up.
When you are warm, getting your heart rate up and starting to sweat, your muscles and other soft tissues respond and are able to stretch more easily. It really doesn’t help to try and stretch something that isn’t willing to let go. Learn more about this here.
#3. Avoid stretches that don’t prepare you.
You should be stretching for a reason. Usually, that reason is to prepare your dancers to perform certain kinds of movement or to increase flexibility. The warm-up and pre-dance stretching should be based on what you are going to do in class or performance, and generally focus on dynamic stretch. After dancing, usually during the cool down when you no longer need to produce powerful movements, is when you’d want to focus on increasing flexibility and do more static stretching. Review your static, dynamic and ballistic stretch here and here.
# 4. Avoid copying others.
Here’s where Instagram can steer your students really, really wrong. Discuss this with your dancers. Once they know the limits of their range of motion, they must honor and respect their amazing bodies and maximize within their personal limits. Other people have their own body to learn and figure out. Learn more about these differences and what contributes to individual flexibility in this article.
#5. Avoid forcing your students into stretches
Sometimes it can be fun to have students play games and push each other into stretches, but they don’t know what each other are feeling and they can very easily push bodies past a safe position. Same goes for teachers! Educators should not be forcing students into positions either. When someone else is moving you, you’re also often not engaging the muscles that stabilize your joints, so a lot of the natural protection mechanism your body has for your joints is lost. This same problem holds true for using devices that force you into a passive stretch. If you want to stretch with your friends, focus on Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation.
#6. Bonus: Do you even need to stretch?
If you’re really tight or injured, stretching could make it worse. Remember that you should stretch to the point of tension, not to the point of pain, so if it is hurting, stop! If you think you might be injured or know you are, see a healthcare provider to find out what happened. Stretching something like a strain or sprain could exacerbate the sensitive injury.
Experts who generously contributed opinion to this article:
Former professional dancers and long-time dance educators Michelle Loucadoux and Kristin Deiss have joined forces to bring mental wellness to the forefront of the minds of the dance community by providing a virtual space for education and connection for dancers and dance educators. Their new company, Danscend LLC, currently offers a free five-day mental wellness challenge, and a 12-week comprehensive mental wellness course.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “It is well documented that professional dancing increases the risk for, or strongly associates to, mental health issues like eating disorders, anxiety and compulsive-obsessive disorders.” Danscend hopes to begin to change the conversation surrounding mental wellness in the dance community.
“Both Michelle and I are fully aware of the serious mental challenges that come with being a dancer,” explains Deiss. “Yet, there are few resources available to help them cope with these challenges.” In the words of Kathleen McGuire Gaines in a July 2017 article in Dance Magazine, “Dance institutions are failing their dancers with a lack of support for mental health.”
A study by Minding the Gap found that 75 percent of dancers say they have dealt with a mental health challenge in the past five years, and 81 percent of those dancers do not believe the community does enough to address these issues. Danscend was created to address this, and their students can access courses by visiting the school’s website. They will then be provided course materials and emailed private links to real-time virtual events with mental health professionals and dance industry professionals.
Did you know that dancers, on average, jump 200 times per class? But after a year away from the studio, we won’t just be jumping right back in. While you may have managed to maintain turnout or clean up your port de bras, everyone’s leaps have lowered a little without the space or flooring to safely practice them.
Dr. Emily Sandow, DPT, OCS, a physical therapist through the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital and partnered with Gibney, taught a class on how to work up to your pre-pandemic jump height. Before bursting into the studio with your grandest grand allegro, look through some of these tips and tricks to jump conditioning. In addition, you want to be sure you have the proper footwear and dancewear to keep your body healthy and your mind confident, so read on for some great shoe and warm-up suggestions from Só Dança.
#1. If you have access to a sprung floor, fantastic. If you’re still dodging furniture in the living room or garage, wear sneakers to moderate the stress on your bones with each impact – it’s also a favor to any downstairs neighbors. These Só Dança Adult Split Sole Dance Sneakers could be a great alternative to ballet slippers while you’re getting back to jumping at home, or even when you first return to the studio. They promote foot health through arch support and tendon protection.
Photo courtesy of Só Dança.
#2. Work at a 5-8 out of 10 range of intensity, and take breaks when you need. When you’re resting, and before or after class, keep your feet warm with these Elastic Laced Ballet Warmup Booties. They offer maximum support with its criss-cross elastic lacing, so you have everything you need to warm up confidently.
#3. Start in parallel and first to refamiliarize yourself with landing alignment before tackling a trickier fifth position. Be sure you’re wearing ballet shoes that fit properly as well. Só Dança’s SD16 Stretch Canvas Split Sole Ballet Shoe will hug your foot and offer the perfect amount of protection. They come in a handful of different colors and are even available in a vegan version!
#4. Pacing is important! Choose music that has a bouncing or springing beat, and slowly add airtime from there. We might wish our grand allegro was slow and soaring, but it isn’t helpful to start at the slowest tempo if we’re just sitting into our jumps. “If we sit in our jump, we lose energy,” Dr. Sandow says. “And then you have to regain energy every time you lift up. So you want jumping to be like a bouncing ball.”
#5. Another reason to start with small jumps is to train your type II fast twitch muscle fibers. This is a different kind of engagement from the slow strength of adage, and is achieved through a different physiological mechanism. Your fast twitch fibers have been deconditioned, and it’s important to mindfully reactivate them.
#6. Find full length in your jumps. Jumps move from concentric engagement in the prep, eccentric in the air, and back into concentric in the landing. This means that your muscles start shortened, then lengthen, then shorten again. Remember to be kind to those hard-working muscles, too. Warm up and cool down in these Unisex Warmup Pants, which are stylish and comfortable. Your legs and muscles will thank you.
#7. Make sure you keep your landings quiet. By keeping your muscles engaged in their elongated position in the air, not only are you creating a dynamic line, but you’re also ensuring they’re ready to absorb impact upon landing.
#8. Once you’ve got your alignment stabilized with parallel and first position jumps, test it with lateral jumps (like hopping sideways over a puddle with one feet or two) and rotating jumps (turning 180 degrees in a parallel fourth jump, for example.) This teaches your feet, knees, hips and trunk how to align and catch your weight coming out of tricky leaps. In a turning jump like a saut de basque, you want your body to remember to keep your knee from over-rotating past your toes on the landing.
#9. Don’t forget to stretch it out afterward. Calf, quad and glute stretches are a must! Get comfy in some stretching clothes – the Stirrup Warm Up Ballet Pants from the Sara Mearns Collection, “Trash Bag” Warmup Pants and Tie-Dye Zip-Up Jacket are all comfortable and perfect for warming up at home or in the studio.
#10. Take days off! While your reconditioning needs to stay consistent to see progression, days off are just as important. Let your body recuperate and digest all the sensory information you’re feeding it. Your body is smart, but give it time to think!
When working through all of this, a helpful concept to keep in mind is periodization. Periodization training is training at intervals and intensities that match up with where your baseline currently is, then slowly progressing to expand your limits. After a year of de-conditioning and Zoom classes that end before allegro, be prepared to start small. From there, you can rewire alignment, gain stamina and build strength to prepare you for the impact of jumping. As a rule of thumb, the progression of difficulty of jumps goes like this: two feet to two feet, two feet to one foot, one foot to one foot.
Periodization is a concept from sports medicine and sports therapy. “Dance research borrows a lot from sports medicine, our wealthy older sibling,” Dr. Sandow explains. “We’re at the cutting edge of a lot of dance medicine research, but there’s a lot that’s been done in sports that we’ve adapted.”
After all, dancers are athletes, and should have a pre-season training period just like any other athlete would. Working out in a gym and doing exercises tailored to you will not make you bulky; it will make you strong, less susceptible to injury and give your career a shot at longevity.
Photo courtesy of Só Dança.
It’s hard to come back after time off. Anyone who’s ever been injured knows that. It might be especially frustrating if you weren’t a big jumper beforehand. But with focused and mindful conditioning, you can turn any weakness into a strength. Says Dr. Sandow, “Whenever I work with a young dancer with an injury, I say that this is a great opportunity for you to learn how to improve your technique. You’re going to be really smart when you come out of here. You’ll know how to protect yourself and prevent injuries down the road.”
Supplemental conditioning can be the difference between injury and health, both over long-term use and in one unstable moment with a joint in a compromised position. It helps temper the worry of big jumps, and allows us to feel properly free in our allegro. Like Dr. Sandow says, “There’s nothing like jumping, like flying through the air.”
If you’re interested in learning more about dance medicine and the preventive and rehabilitative training it offers, check out the Harkness website for information, courses, or book a free injury prevention assessment. You’re eligible for up to one free consult per year, and it is also available virtually. You don’t need to be from New York, either; dancers across the country are welcome.
Revolutionizing Performance Nutrition was the theme of 2021’s symposium for the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN) practice group. This subgroup of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics puts on one of the most highly respected sports nutrition conferences in the U.S. each year. As a dietitian for dancers, I am a member of SCAN and attended the conference this March. Here are my top takeaways.
The latest on bone density and preventing fractures
With stress fractures being one of the number one injuries in the dance community and with dancers being at higher risk for low bone mineral density (BMD), bone health is a top priority. Getting the bone-building nutrients through food is the best way for them to be absorbed, but sometimes supplements are advisable.
Calcium (1500 mg per day total). Food sources are beans, greens, seeds, soy, tofu, tempeh, broccoli and cow’s milk. Supplements are better in smaller doses such as 250 mg at a time. Excess calcium in supplements (over 500 mg at a time) are not well absorbed and can interfere with the absorption of phosphorus and iron.
Phosphorus (found in nuts, seeds, eggs, meats, cow milk, vegetables and legumes).
Vitamin D3 (at least 800 mg, and some scientists feel that this number is too low).
While vitamin K wasn’t specifically mentioned in this conference talk, dancers would do well to make sure they’re getting 4-7 servings per week of dark leafy greens.
Up to 90 percent of peak bone mass is reached by age 20, and weight-bearing, high-impact activity (petite allegro, for example) makes a significant difference in building bone. Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) is when female and male athletes don’t eat adequate food to provide for their energy, growth and performance needs. Females may have menstrual irregularity (common in the dance field), but with RED-S, these hormonal changes affect bone density. It’s not just eating too few calories; it’s also going for too long at a time, particularly during class/rehearsals, that affect the living bone tissue. Low energy availability (not eating enough) also delays gastric emptying and increases gastrointestinal discomfort. In my practice, I’ve seen many dancers who go for five to seven hours at a time without eating during the day or skip meals and then have stomach pain or bloating. They often jump to conclusions that they need to cut out gluten or dairy without first addressing how their GI system is reacting to extreme energy deficiency first. One of my biggest messages to dancers is that eating regularly through their day, preferably in three-hour increments, is one of the best ways to boost performance, mood and, of course, bone density.
Collagen and bone broth: Are they worth it?
Collagen is popular and expensive, but the science isn’t yet clear on how beneficial it is for young, already healthy athletes. Collagen, gelatin and bone broth all come from cow, pig or marine animal’s connective tissues. They contain amino acids (mostly glycine), meaning they’re proteins. All proteins get digested and broken down in metabolism to their individual amino acids and reformed in the body to meet the body’s protein needs or collagen-building needs. Collagen is found in the human body in bones, skin, ligaments, tendons, between joints, and in the ears and nose. According to the presenter, bone broth and gelatin have the least impact on joint pain. It seems that these lack adequate amino acids to make much of a difference. Best to save your money on these pricy but watered down products. There is evidence that a dose of around 20 grams collagen with 50 mg vitamin C may help with joint pain and inflammation. Whether a young athlete will see a difference by taking collagen versus an older athlete is to be determined. Since collagen is an animal-derived product, it is not vegetarian or vegan.
Omega-3 fatty acids: More than just anti-inflammatory
Omega-3 fats (including EPA and DHA) are found in nuts, seeds, some algae and cold water fish, and are good for the cardiovascular system. We’ve known that they are anti-inflammatory, but new science shows that they also increase muscle protein synthesis, meaning they help build muscle in training athletes. Studies showed that 1.9 grams of EPA and 1.5 grams of DHA for four weeks showed an increase in muscle building. It took at least two weeks to initiate change and is best eaten 40-60 minutes pre- and post-exercise. Bring a pack of nuts with you to the studio, and add some ground flax or chia seeds to your oatmeal. The researcher recommends a food first approach versus a supplement. 2.5 grams up to 5 grams per day is their recommendation. Do not go overboard on these as supplements. They increase blood flow and reduce blood clotting time, so excess could lead to serious medical complications if the person got a cut or head injury.
What are the supplements with the most science to back up the claims?
#1. Beets, beetroot powders, beetroot juice. Naturally occurring nitrates turn to nitric oxide and act as a vasodilator, help with muscle contraction and oxygen capacity, and improve both endurance and speed performance.
#2. Caffeine. A little is performance enhancing, but too much is detrimental.
#3. Protein. I personally recommend eating protein through food and avoiding whey protein powders. If powder is necessary, stick to pea, hemp or soy. Protein powders have been shown to have high probability of contamination with heavy metals, BPA, pesticides and possibly substances that could interfere with an athlete’s ability to pass a blood test.
#4. Creatine. It could be effective for sprints or variations that focus on speed and jumping but only if the dancer is in a positive energy state, meaning they need to have eaten something. Creatine may increase cognitive ability and mental processing speed. It’s neuroprotective. Creatine does increase the water content of the muscles which in excess might make a dancer feel weighed down or less flexible. This is a good example of how a little can be good, but too much is detrimental.
CBD: Is there anything to the hype?
This product is everywhere and in everything, but buyer beware. The legality of CBD in food and supplements in the U.S. and UK is still not at all clear. Tests show that three out of 25 products have +/- 20 percent of the amount the label claims it has. Fifteen of the products were below the advertised amount, and two exceeded the amount. Synthetic cannabinoids that can be potentially dangerous were found in four out of 25 tested products. There are currently very few human trials on CBD specifically (not THC, which is a different compound in the plant), and they show no effect on muscle soreness or recovery. Medical applications use much higher doses than what are commercially available and are tested for safety first. Those do have side effects. In the UK, only 70 mg is considered safe. Until we know more, hold off on expensive CBD products.
Sleep: The ultimate performance enhancer
Chronic partial sleep loss leads to decreases in memory, attention, motor skills and motivation. Being awake for 16 hours is like having a blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent. Less than eight hours of sleep almost doubles injury rates. College athletes are three to four times more likely to contemplate suicide when sleep deprived. Light, especially blue light from cell phones and computers, disrupts circadian rhythms and pushes your natural desire to sleep later and later, making it harder to get up the next morning. Teens need eight to 10 hours of sleep, and athletes need more. Athletes who extended their sleep cycles showed a seven percent improvement in sprinting and had nine percent faster turnaround time for swimmers. Sleep loss leads to increased body weight. There is no question that adequate sleep impacts performance more than any supplement can.
Emily Cook Harrison MS, RD, LD Emily is a registered dietitian and holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nutrition from Georgia State University, USA. Her master’s thesis research was on elite level ballet dancers and nutrition and she has experience providing nutrition services for weight management, sports nutrition, disordered eating, disease prevention, and food allergies. Emily was a professional dancer for eleven years with the Atlanta Ballet and several other companies. She is a dance educator and the mother of two young children. She now runs the Centre for Dance Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles. She can be reached at emily@dancernutrition.com www.dancernutrition.com
In the face of the challenges we’ve all experienced over the past year, we’ve had to adapt, rethink and overcome. That’s where Só Dança’s new fitness line comes in. From leggings to bra tops to lightweight vests and jackets, this collection has so much to offer to dancers and non-dancers alike!
Photo courtesy of Só Dança.
Dedicated to the women who are committed to self-love and growth, Só Dança has developed this line to support healthy daily practices that enable us to find balance between mind and body in style. With trendy color palettes, flattering seams and straps, and high quality material, Só Dança wants to support you in the journey to being your best self! Here are some of our favorites in the new fitness collection.
This full zip vest comes in black, white and pink. With a sports mesh front and pockets, not only is it lightweight, practical and stylish, but it makes for a great pairing with your favorite bra tops or a cute little turtleneck underneath! Collect every color – you won’t regret it.
A new take on the classic, this supportive bra top comes in black, navy blue and pink. With a soft dip in front and an open back, your body will thank you for the flattering flair.
Need we say more? Not only are these leggings beyond comfortable, but they also offer completely unrestricted movement and weightless coverage. Whether in black or navy blue, no worries about anything showing through. Plus, these babies add a subtle sheen to your look that can power you through the most challenging classes and workouts.
Photo courtesy of Só Dança.
P.S. The three pieces above make for a show-stopping outfit!
This V-front mesh crop top offers the perfect mix of chest support and sass. With a completely mesh back and mesh V in front, you can show off your body with confidence. The top comes in burgundy, mauve and black – everyone’s favorite palette!
True as its name sounds, this “dark night” colored jacket can accompany you both in and out of the studio. With insanely soft fabric featuring soft ridges and a lightweight hood, this little number is fitted but not tight and provides the extra texture your outfit needs.
Ooh she’s strappy! Available in pink, burgundy and black, this bra top with its crossed straps that adorn the upper back offers the delicate/durable balance we’ve all been searching for.
The body’s innate wisdom is vast, layered and not something that science fully understands quite yet. Yet, some movement methodologies have gotten close to that comprehensive understanding — forms such as SAFE® (or Spine Advanced Functional Empowerment, which includes both SAFE® BARRE and SAFE® FLOOR), developed by former Principal Dancer for the Deutshe Oper Berlin Alexandre Munz (and later validated by scientists).
Alex Munz. Photo by Rufender Kranich.
Dance calls upon the body’s wisdom — for strength, safe flexibility, the nuances of artistry and more. Could SAFE® help dancers better understand their instrument, use it in a safer way and even heal movement patterns that have led to pain and physical limitations? Dance Informa spoke with six dancers — both present and former — who have tried the form (either SAFE® FLOOR, SAFE® BARRE or both), as well as Munz and Sanchit Babbar, the first certified SAFE® Coach in the U.S., to learn more.
Finding healing
SAFE® FLOOR appealed to Dr. Abbie Doll, a dancer and self-identified lifelong student of movement, when she first learned about it; she thought that it might help her with unresolved hip and back pain. She wanted to take classes with Babbar right away, while he was still offering virtual classes through the pandemic. She’s taken about two classes with him weekly since July 2020.
The form was challenging for her at first. “It took me several months to ‘get it’, which felt pretty frustrating for me as a dancer,” she says. “I went through this whole process of wanting to perform well. Even while benefiting from the practice, it was important for me to be ‘getting it’, and I was halfway aware that I was missing something.” Yet, over time, she’s been able to find what it’s like to truly move slowly and consciously — something previously “foreign” to her. “In the past, I thought I would be doing yin or slow movements, and I had no idea. I was moving slowly but with fire energy underneath,” she shares.
Dr. Abbie Doll. Photo courtesy of Doll.
The result? Doll has found increased mobility in her spine (particularly in her thoracic spine, an area where she previously had trouble finding mobility) and much improved sleep. “SAFE® was one of the first practices that asked me to really get into my body, and to stay with my body,” she reveals. “To not try to ‘fix’ or change what I was doing to create a certain line or aesthetic…to slow down and listen.”
Lisette Ballard, a former dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet, started feeling relief from the sciatic pain on her left side almost immediately after beginning SAFE® FLOOR sessions. She believes that some of that pain resulted from harmful patterns in her ballet training — and that SAFE®, such as through its frequent use of spirals, has wisdom that ballet training can fruitfully call upon. For example, turnout involves the back, Ballard notes (the psoas, a key rotator, attaches to the T12 vertebra, Babbar explains). Additionally, from SAFE®, Ballard has also taken away the idea of the body suspending from the spine, rather than purposefully placing everything (which can create rigidity for some dancers).
Most of all, Ballard has enjoyed the process of “deactivation”, something Babbar will often encourage in his classes. It’s about releasing rigidity and letting the body’s natural patterning take the lead. Overall, it’s made a big difference for Ballard. “SAFE® FLOOR is like peeling an onion; you feel better with each layer you peel, but as you go deeper, then you really start healing yourself from the inside-out,” Ballard explains.
Lisette Ballard as Coffee in Pennsylvania Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’.
Victoria Psihoyos, of the George Balanchine Trust and New York City Ballet (NYCB), travels a lot for work but catches a SAFE® FLOOR session as often as she can — because she feels herself craving it. “I’m not really sure what’s happening anatomically, but I can feel it in the psoas,” she attests. Moving slowly is not easy for a dancer, especially a Balanchine dancer. “You get coiled and ready for [movement] to go faster,” Psihoyos notes.
Yet, SAFE® remains slow and relaxed. “It’s like a bath for the body, a treat,” Psihoyos says. Unlike dance, wherein one learns rudiments and ultimately choreography — all toward a specific artistic result — SAFE® isn’t building toward any secondary outcome. “It’s like a metabolism,” Psihoyos adds. Space for silence throughout sessions helps to create this calm atmosphere and steady, serene rhythm. Munz explains how “in the silence of the teacher’s demonstration, as well as in the participants’ practice, our mirror neurons work in an optimal way.”
In this space, sensory memory is activated — wherein memory is built by inner sensation, rather than through messages that something should or shouldn’t be done a certain way, Munz explains. As someone acquainted with dance education and holistic movement forms through the years, Psihoyos is also encouraged that Munz has a rigorous and systematic certification process in place for SAFE® teachers — ensuring the sustainability of the form’s integrity, that these sorts of effective methods will remain in place.
Terri Stratton. Photo by Zach Stratton.
Terri Stratton, former dancer at NYCB and faculty at Pacific Northwest Ballet, has been taking SAFE® for eight months — first one class weekly and then two. Like other dancers who’ve started with the form, it took her some time to learn to “deactivate”. At the same time, she noticed using muscles she’d never used, or at least hasn’t used for some time.
Yet, unlike when using new muscles with other movement forms (skiing for the first time, for example), she hasn’t woken up sore after practicing SAFE® the day before. Stratton also takes ballet over Zoom, and she’s finding it easier to turn on both sides. In her everyday life, pain associated with osteoporosis has been less of a problem for her. Actions such as bending down to pick up her dog’s water bowl are less painful, for example.
Dawn Dippel, on faculty with Houston Ballet, began taking SAFE® FLOOR in April 2020, and SAFE® BARRE soon after. The spirals and release in contemporary dance have always resonated with her, and the same in SAFE® caught her eye. “I saw the spirals, and knowing how regenerative that is for muscles, I knew it was for me,” she says. Babbar believes that the spirals and release in SAFE® can help ballet dancers become more comfortable with contemporary dance. In any form, reducing or eliminating muscular tension can help dancers execute fast choreography with greater ease and proficiency, he explains.
Dawn Dippel. Photo courtesy of Dippel.
Now in her 40s, the form has helped ease some of the pain Dippel experiences from dancer “wear and tear”, she shares. Dippel believes that the deactivation in SAFE® is key for creating that outcome, because it gives the body the chance to channel and create safer patterns. “I’ve always been a bit slower-paced as a dancer, wanting to really explore movement,” she notes, so the slow pace of SAFE® exercises also really resonates for her. “It allows what the brain knows to be true to translate to the body.”
Dippel has even found herself bringing that deeper awareness into her teaching, particularly with older students who are at a place to receive such teachings. Yet, even eight- to 10-year-olds can begin learning the concepts and physical actions of expansion and spiraling, she notes — learning that builds the foundation for deeper learning down the line.
For a dancer of any age, “the body finds release through spirals, and you find your body can go to places you didn’t expect!” Dippel says. Babbar believes that with the spiraling connections that SAFE® creates in the body, it’s possible to execute any movement that a choreographer might ask for. Part of that might also be greater confidence through opening up the heart area, he notes. “Once dancers are coming from a place of heart, they can do anything in their body,” Babbar affirms.
Going forward, having re-learned what the body knows
Victoria Psihoyos. Photo by Rünno Lahesoo.
All of these elite artists hope to continue practicing SAFE®. Many attested to craving it, and getting emotional from the physical and spiritual connections it offers in certain sessions. They all expressed sincere gratitude for Babbar’s teaching, such as in his unique blend of philosophy, spiritually and anatomy. As described, they also all seem to believe that SAFE® has helped them to tap into a new wisdom in their body.
Munz, however, is clear that this is rediscovery, rather than discovery. “They did not ‘learn’ to deprogram [Western movement patterns]; the spiral movement pattern of the SAFE® exercises did the job for them. It reactivated their physical intelligence,” he affirms.
Munz also underscores how resilient dancers are, being able to perform with grace and integration even while in a state of “postural imbalance”. But it doesn’t need to be that way. Holistic movement forms such as SAFE® can lead dancers to work in ways that work in organic alignment with the body’s innate wisdom, rather than in tension with it — the latter of which can lead to pain, injury and physical limitations down the line.
Sanchit Babbar. Photo by Maison Munz.
Munz is also clear that finding ease and integration in the body can lead to the same in the mind and the spirit, because in truth the body stores emotion. With their body, mind and spirit empowered in these ways, what could dancers achieve? What impacts could they make on their communities and wider world? One thing we do know — dancers are a force to be reckoned with, and with further potential not to be underestimated.
For more information on the SAFE® methods, click here. To learn more about Sanchit Babbar and book sessions, visit sanchitbabbar.com.
Creating an appropriate and safe dance floor at home can present a number of challenges.
Your first consideration is where to locate your home studio. If it is in a dedicated spot, you have options depending on what is the current floor and what styles of dance you are practicing. Generally, homes do not come with sprung floating subfloors. Chances are your wood floors are installed directly over concrete, which provides zero protection from injury. Carpeting, especially the thick, plush variety, provides only the illusion of safety. If you are a tap dancer, carpet is a sound killer.
The option for those having a dedicated space should be to consider a transportable floating wood subfloor that is assembled and disassembled without tools (such as Stagestep’s Springstep IV). The floor surface depends on whether you do everything, or just ballet, ballroom, jazz or tap. Go to stagestep.com to find the dance floor surface that is designed for how you move.
There are those who are dealing with a restricted space, perhaps in size and accessibility. Here, it is best to consider a practice board or mat that addresses your needs and is very portable. Stagestep provides boards — ballet, tap and turning (modern, jazz), and all have built-in floating subfloors and are very portable. A Dancestep Plus mat has built-in dual density foam backing, comes in four standard sizes with free shipping and is available in custom cut lengths.
For those interested in a real hardwood floor that you can install and remove yourself, Stagestep offers Encore Home (image above). This finished wood floor comes with a built-in floating subfloor and requires no tools to assemble.
One problem that comes with dealing with a home environment is carpet. The softer and more shag a carpet is, the less likely for it to serve as an underlayment to a dance floor. The best bet is the practice board or the floating wood subfloor and a top dance floor surface. There are a number of options and variations on those options.
The two most important things to keep in mind when dancing at home are safety and performance. The tile floor in the kitchen and the wood floor in the living room may be lovely to look at, but they represent a danger zone for the dancer Zooming from home.
Stagestep is ready to answer your questions at 800-523-0960, or visit online at www.stagestep.com.
You know those “a ha!” moments in your dance training, those exciting moments of embodied understanding? Think back to those for a moment. For me, most of them were connected to imagery of some sort — to something in everyday life, or to seeing in my mind’s eye something in my anatomy moving in a certain way. I’d bet that it’s similar for many dancers out there.
Eric Franklin’s Dynamic Alignment through Imagerytakes that sort of process, of learning about movement or dance technique through an image, to a whole other level of knowledge, nuance and action. In fact, Franklin suggests incorporating the exercises in the book into daily movement practice, and the immensity of what the book offers could make that kind of conscious movement practice a lifestyle of its own.
Eric Franklin.
The work begins with explaining the history of alignment through movement, which — fun fact — goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt. It’s intriguing and humbling to learn about people such as Lulu Sweigard and Joan Skinner, movement enthusiasts who became so fascinated with the potential for imagery to guide people toward healthier, more functional movement that they dedicated their lives to studying, practicing and teaching their own methodologies in the form. Other innovators in this area are ones I know well — Joseph Pilates and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, for example — yet it’s thought-provoking to think of how their movement forms and philosophies fit into an imagery for dynamic alignment framework.
The intrigue continues through Chapter 2, which breaks down imagery and methodological approaches to safe, functional posture — the root of dynamic alignment. For instance, one approach is to imagine the head resting on the body while another is to imagine the body hanging from the head. It’s fascinating to practice these and notice subtle differences in the body! Following chapters give further basics of imagery for alignment and movement — the why, the how, the what and the where (as in where in the body). For example, just scratching the surface of the complexity of this area of study and practice is how one can imagine the image internally (seeing the movement happening directly in the body as affected by the image) or externally (seeing oneself moving with the influence of the image, as if watching a movie).
Other insights challenged my training and experience as a movement/fitness instructor. For example, “co-contraction” is a common cue in Pilates, meant to stabilize the core through deep abdominal contraction and integration — one I’ve both given and received countless times through teaching and taking Pilates classes. Franklin, however, believes that the level of “stabilizing” that co-contraction creates is actually rigidity, and that’s not functional because it doesn’t allow for the slight adjustments that create dynamic alignment. I believe that questioning preconceptions is intellectually healthy; I’m now inspired to discuss this with other movement/fitness professionals and hear what they think. I’m almost always supportive of creating dialogue, because it leads to learning!
Part II offers an immense amount of knowledge as well — from laws of physics that affect imagery, alignment and movement to breaking down what finding “center” really means (certainly meaningful for dancers!) to the ways muscles and joints work. When I opened this book, I didn’t expect to take deep dives into physics and physiology, but there it is! All of this is accompanied and visualized through delightful drawings — cartoonish in a positive sense: creative, imagistic, memorable and plain fun.
What I found more challenging as the chapters continue was the vast amount of information that Franklin presents, including detailed breaking down of kinesiology nitty-gritty — such as the way the parts of the pelvis widen and narrow with hip flexion and extension (and there are several parts moving in several different directions, something I never knew!). Challenging isn’t necessarily bad; it’s just something to recognize. The beautiful drawings did help me visualize, and from that understand, the information Franklin is giving. Yet even so, particularly in long sections without drawings, it could be a challenge to take it all in — and I have a fairly extensive knowledge of anatomy. I could just imagine someone first learning a lot of the basics here being overwhelmed by it all.
At different degrees, that remained the case through sections breaking down intricate anatomy, kinesiology and images that shape movement and alignment for all regions of the body — pelvis/hips/upper leg, knees/lower leg/feet, spine and abdominal center, shoulders/arms/hands, head and neck, rib cage/breath/organs. Reading the book felt like a deeper dive into anatomy than I’ve ever taken, in a book I expected to be about alignment and imagery.
Concrete information about how the information plays into dance technique or dancer safety did always help understanding, and while I was reading I was wanting more of that. Other dancers laser-focused on their technique and artistry reading this, I’d wager, would feel the same. On the other hand, taking the learning on anatomy and kinesiology sometimes out of the context of dance art could expand dancers’ understanding of its applications and implications — such as in their cross-training and simply how they operate their instrument when not dancing. That’s a healthy and productive thing, I’d argue, because it can lead dancers to a safer, more functional life in their body.
The images from everyday life, such as a geyser flowing from the bottom to the top of the pelvis to encourage spaciousness and lift through the pelvis and lower back, also felt evocative, accessible and memorable to me — and therefore, I’d argue, effective. That leads me back to thinking about expectations and scope. As alluded to, I learned much more in this book than I expected to. Additionally, for it to truly make a difference in my movement, toward greater safety and functionally, I believe that I’d have to 1) read the 400-page book a few times to get a better grasp of the gargantuan amount of information presented, and 2) incorporate the many exercises into my daily movement practice.
I think about the wide scope of what I could add into my daily movement practice from Franklin’s book, from the hundreds of exercises he details. That makes the work of imagery for dynamic alignment seem like a movement practice of its own — beyond that, a way to understand and approach movement and the body itself. Like yoga, dance artistry or fitness, it could become an all-encompassing lifestyle in movement. That’s a powerful and meaningful thing.
On the other hand, for those just wanting a quick guide to this work, I’d love to see a 100-page version of this book that breaks down basic anatomy, physiology and physics involved in it, with some basic exercises to start with. Perhaps Franklin would bristle at the idea; he might say that book would be incomplete and therein maybe even harmful. Regardless, for those picking up Dynamic Alignment through Imagery for the first time, be prepared to take away some meaningful insights.
The mind-body connection, while not a novel phenomenon, has become a trendy topic in health and wellness circles. Often used as a selling point for various health programs, the mind-body connection is inherent in everyone. Its accessibility may not be so apparent, and this is where we can go overboard trying to access or “perfect” it. Furthermore, connecting the mind and body can be harmful when forced or done so from an uninformed lens. Dancers especially can be susceptible to emotional and physical injury because of certain conditioning. This can lead to unhealthy mind-body strategies that can exacerbate the very issues we are looking to manage.
How might dance culture influence misuse of the mind-body connection?
#1. Perfection
This is very prevalent in the dance community. The idea of perfection is an illusion anyway. This sets us up for comparison, stress and pushing beyond our limits. The mind-body connection is not something to be perfected but experienced and lived.
#2. Over practicing
This goes hand-in-hand with the notion that “practice makes perfect.” The mind-body connection is to be experienced and honored, not practiced like a routine or piece of choreography.
#3. Competition
The dance world is no stranger to competition, and yet this can play a huge role when harnessing the mind-body connection. Posing as a well-rounded dancer who has training in mind-body, somatics or movement practices can look good on a resume but doesn’t always translate into ethical practice.
#4. Not trauma-informed
While this is changing, there are many things about dance culture that perpetuate trauma or even create pathways for it. Facilitating a mind-body exercise from an uninformed lens can cause further harm and create a mind-body split.
#5. Instructional
Traditional settings for dance tend to be instructional, which can be counterproductive when trying to experience the mind-body connection. This can lend itself to a “perfect” or “right way” mentality. Facilitation fosters exploration while instruction can focus more on a directive or order.
You might be wondering how something natural or inherent in us can be harmful or misused. The irony is that even though the mind-body connection exists, so many individuals have overridden its programming and live in a state of disconnect. This is perpetuated by our own colonizing societies and cultures that package and sell “the cure” for the very thing they created. It’s not that we need to buy into the mind-body connection. We need to relearn how to safely access it.
How can we tap into and gently access the mind-body connection safely?
It isn’t about perfection but setting aside time to acknowledge the connection and making this a part of everyday life. The more we expose ourselves to a new experience, the faster it becomes a habit.
#3. Set boundaries.
Only you know what it feels like to be in your body. If something doesn’t feel appropriate or safe, allow yourself to set limits. This is difficult especially when we have been conditioned to push our limits or silence our own needs.
#4. Listen to your body.
Your body is always talking. Tune in and take notice of what message it is trying to send you. This might require limiting distractions in order to be with your body and its needs.
#5. Check your environment.
If you don’t feel physically or emotionally safe in your environment, then it will be more difficult to explore your authentic mind-body connection. Identifying places and people that feel supportive and accepting is a great place to start.
So why bother? Well, prioritizing our mind-body connection can have immense benefits. It can lead to longer careers, injury prevention, faster recovery from injury, and overall a healthier mind and body. Outside of the dance studio, it can improve our relationships, cultivate purpose, and foster self-acceptance, self-esteem and overall life satisfaction. Who doesn’t want that? Most importantly, tapping into the connection between mind and body allows us to take responsibility for our mental health, which is something everyone needs right now.
*The famous quote, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” was part of a campaign slogan used by the United Negro College Fund in 1972. The goal of the campaign slogan was to highlight the necessity of education.
By Erica Hornthal, LCPC, BC-DMT, Dance/Movement Therapist.
Erica Hornthal is a licensed professional clinical counselor and board certified dance/movement therapist based in Chicago, IL. She received her MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling from Columbia College Chicago and her BS in Psychology from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. Erica is the founder and CEO of Chicago Dance Therapy, the premier dance therapy and counseling practice in Chicago, IL. As a body-centered psychotherapist, Erica assists clients of all ages and abilities in harnessing the power of the mind-body connection to create greater awareness and understanding of emotional and mental health. For more, visit www.ericahornthal.com.
