Setting Up a Successful Season

Written By Kathleen Bower

Hello and welcome to another episode of The Dance Docs. This week Dr Davenport and I put our heads together to come up with tips for starting the season off right.  From at home screening and some of our favorite exercises, to thoughts on general health and wellness this episode should help you to identify how to set your upcoming season up for success.  We had a great time planning this episode and hope that you get a lot out of it.  And remember if you have any questions for us, general or specific we love hearing from our listeners, and delivering content that fits you.  

Ramping up for the upcoming season

For some of our younger dancers who are just finishing summer programs

  • Please take a week off and let your body recover!

  • Prioritize eating well and getting rest

For our returning college or company dancer 

  • you should have already been working on your strength, and building up for a return to full rehearsals

Returning to dance from summer rehabilitation

  • Make sure to start back in a gradual program under supervision of your medical team

Clinically what would we want to see from the dancers?

  • Should be able to complete at least half of your schedule without difficulty

    • Company dancer who needs to take class and complete all of rehearsal (8 hrs) should be able to complete 4 hrs easily prior to season starting

    • Younger studio dancer dancing 3 hrs a day should be able to complete ~1.5 hrs of training

  • Some basic and balanced strength

    • Impact 

    • Non-impact

    • Core

    • Cardio

Be gentle with yourself as you return

At Home Screening

What are 5 tests and measures that dancers can do at home to assess where they are

  • Single leg eleve- how many can you do

    • 25-35

    • Slow and controlled

    • Make sure to maintain upright posture and straight knee

  • Airplane

    • Forward T position with trunk and leg in line with each other

    • Maintain T position and bend bottom leg and straighten 

    • Add Tippy Twist- adds ER component x5 (Horton Lateral T)

      • From T position rotate through supporting leg hip rotate out and then back to neutral and then into internal rotation

  • Single leg balance- 

    • On flat and releve

    • Arms crossed over chest

    • Eyes closed/ Eyes open

    • Hold for 30-60 seconds

    • love to do this with a band under the head of first metatarsal

  • Single leg Bridge- posterior chain strength with core support

    • Want to complete 10 with good form

    • Watch for hip shifts, pelvis dropping into low back arch or into rotation

    • Can do with small ball between legs

  • Single leg hop x5- LE control and strength

    • Watch for alignment of lower leg- can do 5 x and hold the 5th one and look at alignment on lower leg

    • Sometimes this is really hard for a dancer who has a history of ankle sprains or any kind of instability

    • Will also demonstrate pelvis organization and core control

Exercises for Injury Prevention 

  • Balance

    • Like my dancers to do dynamic exercises on the MOBO board

    • Single limb stance or plie releves with band under head of first metatarsal

    • Will also put on BOSU to see where dancers wants to put their weight during balance work- heel or toe

      • Also a great way to engage calf muscles  

  • Hip flexion strengthening 

    • May help with gripping feeling that we get in the front of the hips

      • Current research is showing that strengthening is just as important as stretching for releasing tight muscles

    • Eccentric

      • Bringing leg up and slowly lowering down

    • Concentric- shortening the muscle

      • Think pulling up with band around the hip/thigh

    • Stretching iliopsoas without sinking into hip joint extension 

    • Like to do hip flexion work both bent knee and straight knee with focus on lifting above 90 without flexion through back and tucking pelvis under

    • Sitting with legs extended in front of you, can do both parallel and turned out, lift leg up and out to the side, lifting over yoga block and then return back to starting position

    • Sitting at the edge of a table with knees bent off the edge, use hands to lift knee up, let go with hands, hold there without losing back/pelvis positioning and then slowly lowering back down

  • Releves- 30

    • Technically eleves- knee is maintained in a straight position throughout

    • Important to be able to do 30 consecutive eleves

    • Calf strength challenge 

  • Core work

    • Really like planks- but focus on good form with neutral pelvis

      • Front planks

      • Side planks

      • Dynamic planks

      • Bear plank/bear walks

    • Don't be afraid to do planks on your knees.  Best is to focus on good form

  • Adductors

    • I have been testing this is most of my dancers- and they are very weak especially in ballet dancers

    • Important for maintaining hip balance

    • Another way to help engage the core and feel like you are lifting out of your legs

      • Talk about feeling like you are zippering up from your heels to your sternum

    • Favorite ex is sidelying top leg on chair, bring bottom foot to knee and lift the bottom knee- if you can do that while maintaining good alignment, then see if you can lift the bottom hip off the ground

  • Posterior Chain Work

    • Bridging with feet on wall, or on chair

    • Airplanes

    • Russian Deadlifts (RDL’s)

What to Prioritize During the First Few Weeks

  • What to think about when everything is new

    • Many dancers are starting new adventures with college, programs, company contracts etc. 

    • There is a lot of stress around placement auditions, Nutcracker auditions or feeling like you need to prove yourself

      • This is not all or nothing

      • It is super common to have changes in placement (up or down) as the year progresses

      • It’s about showing up and doing your best, not about being perfect

      • Be gentle with yourself 

  • Starting a new program and adventure can be stressful. 

    • Don't try to add a whole long conditioning program on top of what you are doing

    • Pick 3-5 exercises to do, and consider building them in as a warm up instead of just coming in and stretching

    • If you coming off an injury or being amazing at injury prevention 

      • show up early to class and do your home exercises. 

      • This is good for your body, but also good for your teacher/director to see your dedication and your ability to take care of your body

  • Pay attention to those shoes

    • It is easy to focus on new things and forget to change your shoes and start dancing on dead shoes

    • This goes for flat shoes, pointe shoes, character shoes, tap shoes etc. 

    • A program may be requiring different shoes (tap, heels, etc) so make sure you have a list of requirements and walk around your house in the new shoes before you go put them on in dance class 

    • You may be going to a new studio who likes/doesn’t like the brand of shoe you are currently wearing - call now and make sure you are prepared 

      • If you’re in a new shoe or new brand, pay close attention as these may “die” differently than your old shoes. Do not dance on dead shoes! 

    • Also check to make sure that you can still get your favorite shoe due to supply chain issues

      • Be flexible and know that you may need to try different shoes

  • Recovery

    • Nutrition

      • Have snack on hand throughout the day

      • As the demands of you schedule change, your nutrition demands need to change

    • Hydration 16-24 oz every hour, especially if you are sweating a lot

      • If you are still wearing a mask, make sure that you are still drinking enough and staying hydrated

      • Find a water bottle that you like and will use

      • Focus on taking little sips of water throughout class instead of just chugging water 

    • Avoid dehydrating

      • Try not to consume excessive alcohol even on days off

      • Watch caffeine consumption  

    • Sleep- 8-9 hrs/ night if possible

      • Limit screen time before bed

      • Dark rooms

      • Cool temperatures

      • Have a bedtime routine

    • Rolling out- mid day and at the end of the day

    • Lotions and potions

      • Use creams and lotions that make you feel better

      • Epsom salt baths- magnesium helps with muscle recovery 

  • Other things to consider 

    • Smoke inhalation (vaping, MJ, stage smoke)

    • Hearing protection 

    • Cooking and food prep 

      • Take one day to meal prep, so when you get home after a long day you are not having to think about what to eat for lunch, dinner and snacks

  • Ask for help!

    • An experience, such as a new company, program, studio, college, may be new to you but someone has gone through this before. 

    • Ask for help from peers, mentors, teachers, ballet masters   

    • There is professional help- Good stress, normal stress is still stress. 

    • Sports and dance psychologists specialize in helping stress and basically all transitions are stressful. 

  • Identify your team

    • It can be helpful to identify your doctor, physical therapist, psychologist should something come up during the year. This way, you’ve removed one stressful item if an injury happens and you have a plan as a safety net just in case. 

    • Knowing your team can also help you seek care earlier in an injury, which can prevent an injury from worsening and lessen the time it take to recover 

Kathleen Bower
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