Team USA!

The USA women's gymnastics team has never fallen short to impress me with their perfection of skill and delivery of pure technical amazement.  The ability to put the human body into such intense moments of upside down verticality on the uneven bars, or to complete numerous rotations within a few short moments on the vault, or to dazzle with speed, height, and emotion while on the floor.  There is much we can learn from these Olympic athletes:

1. How to develop personal goals for performance
2. How to support your teammates
3. Finding strength as well as flexibility while in motion  
4. Balance!
5. The importance of upper body strength

Tomorrow I will begin work with my second small group at NYSSSA as the dancers and I will focus on our first training series.  We will incorporate balance training as well as lots of upper body strengthening for the young women I am working with while in residency this summer. 

Women need as much strength as the men we work with -- and we are truly capable of achieving it.  Tune in tomorrow to see how day one of our own Olympic training goes!

Another peek at assessments

In addition to the agility assessments I shared in my latest post, I'd like to share photos of two additional types of assessment we completed:

STRENGTH ASSESSMENTS -- the students worked with partners who used resistance to measure the strength of opposing muscle groups, like the quadriceps and the hamstrings.  Take a look at Alexia and Kai preparing to measure flexion and extension of the knee.

Students also completed isometric abdominal testing both prone (on their forearms) and on each side. Take a look from the side.

FLEXIBILITY ASSESSMENTS -- flexibility is obviously important in the world of dance and students are generally wishing for increased flexibility.  With an increase in strength we often see a decrease in flexibility so it's important to work simultaneously on these and not let one overcome the other.  The students completed two types of testing: hamstring and lateral flexion. This measures the flexibility in the back muscles that help the dancer port de bras (bend) to the side.   In the next photo, Lily is getting ready to measure Erin's lateral flexion to the side. 

At the completion of our program, the students will do a week four post test to see what has improved during their time at our intensive.  Many students said "I had 12, is that good?" and my answer was, we are measuring you now, and will compare that against you in a couple of weeks.  Each dancer in encouraged to track their OWN progress and to set realistic goals for their own particular body.   

Week 1 Assessments

Day one of my conditioning program is a lot of information gathering.  In order to determine the most strategic and appropriate tactics for conditioning, it's imperative to begin with a thorough round of various assessments. On the first day the dancers were exposed to:

• Fitness testing -- measuring cardiovascular endurance through resting and active heart rate
• Flexibility assessment
• Strength assessment
• Agility assessment
• Mobility assessment
• Squat assessment
• A visual assessment by their partner

I blend commonly used practices inside the dance field (flexibility and mobility testing) as well as methods used in fitness and athletic training (agility testing, squat assessment) as I feel these are related to the work that modern dancers do. 

Let's take a look at one for today: Agility is the ability to start, stop, and change directions quickly.  Many modern dance choreographers require skills such as these to execute movements.  The students are learning the repertory of Robert Battle this summer and agility is ESSENTIAL to this work.  I assessed the students using two athletic tests:

1. The Davies Test to assess upper extremity agility: In this test the dancer placed their hands 36 inches apart while maintaining a push up position.  The hands moved to tap each tape mark for 15 seconds.  Completed taps were recorded. Watch Erin completing this movement: 

1. The Shark Skill Test to assess lower extremity agility: In this test the dancer stood inside the center space of a numerical box 

on one foot with hands on their hips. They were given a pattern and instructed to hop to each number and then back to the center box in between each. If their hands came off their hips, they missed a box, or their foot touched the floor, this was taken into consideration. They were timed.  Take a look at Kai completing this test.  They first time was a challenge: 

 

And the second time, her trial, was a success:

I think dancers should consider these athletic assessments as informative and essential to the overall picture of skill level and ability.  Tomorrow we'll take a look at some of the strength and flexibility assessments that the students completed. 

What a group!

I started my day by welcoming our 29 eager and talented (!) students to class this morning and had a chance to meet with them this afternoon in my first conditioning session.  The New York State Summer School of the Arts school of modern dance has begun its 24th season in Saratoga Springs and I am delighted -- as always -- to be here.

After several computer glitches today, I am glad to finally have internet so I can share what our first day was all about.... self identification, knowledge acknowledgement, and assessment.  We began with a questionnaire regarding who the students are, what their backgrounds include, and how they see themselves... some visioning questions to help me get to know them.  This year as I'll again be working with the entire group of students (and for several of them this will be their second or third year working with me) I created a pre-test including questions about:

1. Core strength
2. Plyometric training
3. Identification of bones on a skeletal diagram
4. Identification of muscles and their actions
5. Ligaments
6. Hydration

And other topics which we'll get to this summer.  The questionnaire, the pre-test and along with their ASSESSMENTS, which I'll describe tomorrow with some photos and video clips, will help to shape the groupings of our work together the rest of the summer. 

I am looking forward to reading their responses and to help them to determine goals for this summer and beyond... and the strategic plan for geting there. 

Enjoy what you do

I was shocked to see a room full of 35 or more ballet dancers yesterday, who were stone faced and trying so hard for perfection.  I arrived to take a relaxing class, work on my technique with little to no judgement on myself.  I determined this BEFORE heading to the class and forced myself to keep it up even though I was surrounded by many people with body types different than mine, skills and abilities different than mine, and goals and objectives different than mine. 

What was also most different was the disposition of most students in the class.  The typical face had a furrowed brow, lips biting, tension in the neck and upper spine, and a look of panic or frustration in almost every moment.  The teacher was fabulous while lightening the mood with her anecdotes -- I was the only one laughing. 

So what is it about dancers, and I have found the case true to be with athletes as well..... and the high level of perfection??

Linda Hamilton, clinical psychologist and former NYC Ballet dancer states that the dancers' personality profile is

• single minded
• perfectionistic 
• achievement-oriented 

Well, that could be okay if paired with a great self image, appropriate goal setting and when being surrounded by a support system that can keep your spirits up.  But most dancers do have those things, which can lead to the hyper criticism that is detrimental to one's self esteem.  Hamilton goes on to say that perfectionists have

• a high personal standard
• increased emotional stress
• concern over their mistakes
• doubts about the actions they take  

It's really a mind shift to approach something, that is so physical, for yourself with only the joy of moving and not the fear of being criticised by your peers, teacher, or the audience. 

When I thanked the teacher for class yesterday, with a big smile on my face, she said, please come back -- you're a beautiful dancer. 

Enough said ;)  

Limber ladies!

In addition to gathering more information on nutrition in preparation for NYSSSA, I'm interested in gaining more specific knowledge on stretching techniques for dancers.  I decided to head to Peridance near Union Square in Manhattan.  I took an "Open Stretch" class where I learned a few "to-do's", and a whole lot more "not to-do's" from the class.  

When I walked in the lights were completely out and we appeared to be inside of a cave.  Having come in 2 minutes late from the ballet class upstairs, the instructor threw a mat down on the ground and kept the class going.  With the lights out, my eyes hadn't adjusted to the scene and I could barely follow what was happening.  The instructor was: 

• abrasive with a strong and direct tone of voice, which did not make me feel relaxed and safe 
• snapping his fingers loudly to keep a beat while we stretched -- this made me feel as though I was performing the class -- inside I was dying for some Enya! 
• making physical contact with students (me included!) to push them further into stretches without awareness of previous injury 

I believe stretching techniques require more guided one on one training and observation from the instructor along with open communication.  The instructor should not just approach the student and physically move their body without having knowledge of previous injury or of their current strength/weakness investigation.  Each student will be on their own tragectory of goal setting and the instructor needs to respect that.  I was hoping to gather new techniques for my program this summer and was disappointed to leave with a heightened sense of anxiety in my muscles.  

No matter how young or old the student (and I had to keep reminding myself!) you have to work at your own pace.  It doesn't matter if the girl next to you can bend her body in half (and she could!)  Set your own goals; make your own progress.   

This summer I hope to inspire the students to work in conjunction with their bodies and help them to discover their limits and the appropriate plan to work through and beyond them.  Through safety and relaxation, we will accomplish our goals!   

Principles of Dance Medicine

As I'm again gearing up for my annual trip to teach in Saratoga Springs next week, I am preparing my Dance Conditioning curriculum for this year's students.  I've decided to include more resources regarding nutrition and what should be included in an appropriate diet for dancers.  You'll be seeing more posts about this coming up, as well as daily posting throughout the rest of the summer! 

I was fortunate to attend a day of the Principles of Dance Medicine conference, by The Harkness Center for Dance Injuries of the Hospital for Joint Diseases at NYU's Langone Medical Center last Thursday in Manhattan.  The continuing education course brought physicians, trainers, and educators together from around the world to discuss topics of nutrition, injury prevention and the needs for specific dancer populations (adolescents, women, men, etc.)  I was pleasantly pleased with the level of dance knowledge by the presenting practitioners -- what an asset to our field!

With my new interest in nutrition for dancers, I was intrigued by Beth Glace, sports nutritionist at Lenox Hill Hospital.  She shared lots of information that is applicable to dancers:

• high intensity exercise cannot be maintained when glycogen levels are low, therefore carbohydrates in the diet are essential!
• you may burn up to 20x the amount of calories while doing high levels of activity -- food is truly fuel for the body
• cognitive and physical performance increase with carbohydrate intake and new studies show that there are receptors on the tongue that can instantly sense when carbs are being eaten and immediately increase drive to continue through moments of fatigue 
• a great post activity snack: salty pretzels -- the sodium and carbs will help to increase glycogen and fluid levels 
• studies show there is a high prevalence of dancers with low vitamin D levels, which is essential for bone and muscle health 
• skipping meals has been shown to increase body fat in gymnasts and runners (Deutz) 

And the list goes on..... I am excited to bring this new perspective to my students next week and to help guide them during meal times at our month long intensive.  Food is fuel and it's essential to give our bodies the proper amount of nutrients to get through each movement activity and to promote muscle repair, healing and cell growth.