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Poway Oceanside Providence RI
Connecticut A Common Ground Community Arts Center 346 Main Street Dunbury, CT Dolores Matzen The Ridgefield School of Dance To sign up for our monthly Enewsletter, please click here.
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HOW TO AVOID DANCE RELATED INJURIES by Morwenna Assaf, Director Wherever I have traveled in this vast county of ours I constantly hear dancers complain of an ailment of one kind or another. I felt it is time to face some of these things and get them out in the open. Most ailments and injuries can be handled by common sense. Now I realize what is common sense for one might not make sense at all for another so I will discuss a few things. Dance is all about line and form, and the movement of that line and form with relation to time and space. Now, how do you accomplish this? "Dancers are athletes of the arts" states Jacques D’Amboise. Dancers have a discipline of constantly working on themselves, toward achieving a goal. The key thing is to believe the achievement of goals is not that important. It is the process of attempting to achieve the goal that should be primary. Enjoy the process of learning to dance. The process, and not the final achievement, is the heart and soul of the dance. Time and circumstances decide the facts, not you. One has to have a sense of feeling control over your body but also a sense of physical and mental well-being that comes with dance training. This is derived from taking class regularly. It is therapeutic. You don’t have to worry whether you are young or old to participate. Dancing can keep you young through its constant challenge and activity. You feel good when you are dancing, and an interruption of it makes one more sensitive to the dull aches and pains of inactivity. It is after you stop dancing you feel the aches and pains. Dance must be a supervised exercise and it is important to get the right supervision as well. It is an excellent, satisfying form of exercise and recreation for people who enjoy movement to music, or for anyone in search of a structured physical activity. DANCE IS SERIOUS EXERCISE After making the most personal decision of your life, to be a dancer, you are committed to the ritual of classes for the duration. In the world of ideals this should be a t least one dance class per day. Now I realize most of you hold regular day jobs and this becomes a bit of an impossibility. But still you should do something for your dance training every single day of the year. If not class, then a thorough self -conducted workout. Watching videos doesn’t count. The rules are remorseless and ruthless. But that is the name of the game. If you are a professional and working you also need to rehearse. Class is not rehearsing . Two different animals. If on vacation don’t stay away for more than a week. A week’s rest never hurts but after that everyday not dancing is like a ball of wool unraveling. Little by little, you are ceasing to become a dancer. If you don’t "feel" like taking class-tough! If you feel rotten -go! Work within your limits, but work. The ritual of class defines the dancer. The confrontations, with the limitations and possibilities, make it all come together. When finally onstage, all the thinking and studying makes it possible, to think less and dance more. A day missed is certainly not the end of the world, but a pattern of days missed is a matter to be checked into. If your inner self is saying "I love to dance but I don’t want to work at my craft" then stop now. For the chances of injury are multiplied and misery is guaranteed. PERFORMING CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH Dancers come in all shapes and sizes. Performing can become hazardous to your health. Know your limitations. Knee and back injuries, sprained ankles, fractured heels, pulled muscles, laryngitis and exhaustion come from the rigorous demands of shows. A rigorous performing schedule can lead to fatigue related and overuse injuries. But it goes even further because of the time and energy it takes to sustain a lifestyle around performing. A conscientious performer arrives well before a performance to physically warm-up and mentally check props, costumes and floor conditions. As we have already stated, dancers need to continue studying while performing either taking class, teaching or both. Also doing fitness, strength training or body work of some kind as often as possible. The result is today's dancers should be amazing and versatile performers. One needs classes as much as possible to retain the quickness in learning that dancers must display. Preparation with classes, rehearsals and maybe preparing future shows place time and energy demands on the performer that far exceed stage time. All these demands and pressures take their toll and frequently leave a performer to sustain a variety of injuries. According to a recent survey every dancer will be injured at least once in their career. For every 1,000 hours of performing 5.1 injuries and 8.4 for shows on a stage. Most frequent injuries diagnosed were strains and sprains. Most frequent sites were lower extremities. For dancers the most common injury was the knee, then ankle, foot, hip and then calf. Various environmental causes have been implicated. Cold and drafty rehearsal, and performance space, and backstage areas like dressing rooms. Also smoky places and unsuitable staging areas and floors. At least you don’t have to deal with smoke here in California clubs and restaurants. Female performers are more likely to sustain injuries that their male counterparts. Sixty -two percent of all dancers felt injuries preventable. Risk factors included constant repetition of difficult moves, tiredness and undue pressure. Dancers, work the longest hours with the least recognition and careers are notoriously short. But, there are definite steps and lifestyle changes that can prevent injuries and prolong dancing careers. Dancers and researchers have some suggestions for preventing injury.
Make sure your body is strong before you start a performing schedule. (don’t start a job without preparing first). Don’t do anything beyond your capabilities. Have a long term commitment to cross training to increase stamina and counter injuries caused by fatigue. Don’t push until you are really ready to.
Avoid smoking, Athletes have been quick to change their eating and drinking habits to advantage performance but dancers have been slow to change. A dancer’s diet needs to be carefully planned and structured that fit into work, class, rehearsal and performance schedules but provide adequate nutrition. It is critical that dancers have great nutrition. A dancer’s long term nutritional needs resemble those of any athlete; an adequate supply of fluids, calories matched to work demands, good quality protein, and vitamins and minerals in the correct amounts.
Dancers should exercise 30-45 minutes daily plus a short warm-up period prior to performance. Daily workout might include relaxation exercises, body alignment exercises (Pilates) flexibility exercises, balance and coordination and breathing. Cross training in ballet, jazz, Flamenco or West African ( some other type of dance classes)a couple of times per week if possible. A warm-up prepares and focuses the mind and body for performance. A good-warm up 10-15 minutes (A) raises the body temp. not through clothing but actually working, (B) raises the heart rate and increases the circulation of oxygen, nutrients and waste materials from the body. (C) improves the viscosity of the sinovial fluid in the joints. As the body temperature rises, the ability to stretch increases, so stretching should begin after the warm-up. Warm-ups are also a learning time for the dancers to better understand his/her body and take a personal responsibility for needs, such as special stretching or strengthening. Since most classes cannot devote enough time to complete warm-up, stretch, and cool-down periods you have to be responsible for yourself and do your own. This is especially important for amateur performers.
A brief physical warm-up should be done before the stretching. At the end of work-out or class is an excellent time to do some more stretching. Stretches allow the muscles to stretch to the maximum. Also use deep breathing and visualization in stretching. 5. Better awareness of anatomy and how the body works- A clearer knowledge of how the dancing body works can often cure the problem before it occurs. Avoid ballistic stretching because it generates microscopic tears and elicits muscle contraction in response to sudden stretch. Teachers and coaches must insist on proper technique, strengthening and conditioning. Watch for repetitive compaction of the lower extremities this leads to chronic fatigue of the area. Failure to absorb the shock of impact can be a result of weakness, fatigue or lack of flexibility. Achilles tendinitis is related to fatigue.
Injuries can be prevented by allowing sufficient rest in your schedule to prevent fatigue. Appreciate your physical limitations.
Dancers must learn how to relax and pace themselves, allowing time for rest, managing time and stress. The high stress in performers may be related to the highly competitive nature of the profession and the fact that our livelihoods are dependent on our bodies as our instruments. If tension is held in the body flexibility may be affected unless specific countermeasures are taken.
Boy we could go on about this forever. We have always been looking for ways to create better conditions. People who hire us need to know dancers’ needs. This isn’t being demanding it is being realistic of our needs, from floors and stages to dressing rooms. Dancers need to take control of their surroundings and their lives.
Dancers are not generally known for their aerobic fitness. Most dance classes are anaerobic in nature. Muscles can work this way for a short period of time but over the long haul (20 min is a long haul) then the body must replace the oxygen. With insufficient oxygen, lactic acid can accumulate causing fatigue or aching and cramps. Good breathing techniques can aid the proper execution of dance movements, add dynamics and add a pleasing quality to the upper body. Remember this is a dance of people and people breathe.
By repeating movements in class (hopefully, technically correct) the dancer learns to use the minimal amount of muscular contraction and tension to reproduce the movement required..... and makes it look easy. By eliminating excessive tension the movement becomes ingrained in muscle memory. Rehearsals can be much more intense than actual performances. Strengthening exercises are very important before performances. Quick study is necessary not only to keep up in class, and with other dancers but to avoid overuse injuries that are most common to professional dancers. Dancers must learn their own natural learning style and make use of all their senses. Visualization and iedokenises can also be useful skills. Research includes: The Dancer’s Body Book-Allegra Kent To sign up for our monthly Enewsletter, please click here. Home To CEDAR
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