Keeping Your Edge

The most important part of being a professional dancer is maintaining your physical and mental health; if you are injured and/or unfit for performance, you will be replaced or worse, forgotten.  This may sound brutal, but professional ballet companies are designed to run like machines and dancers are merely the inputs to these machines.

With physical health being paramount, dancers are always sharing tips with each other on their latest diets, workouts, physical therapist, technical tricks, etc.  Keeping your edge is always a hot topic!  Having danced for the New York City Ballet for ten plus years makes me a longtime survivor of the rigors that the ballet world places on a dancer.  The secret to longevity is a personal cocktail of body maintenance tricks and tools, often specific to each dancer.

The most important part of this personal cocktail is having a physical therapist that understands your body’s needs, tendencies, and quirks.  My physical therapist often knows what I need before I even sit down on the therapy table!  A good physical therapist keeps an eye on a dancer’s schedule, knowing what rep they are dancing and how it affects their body.  When I am dancing repertoire that requires a lot of jumping, my P.T. knows I need calf releases.  When my schedule requires a large amount of partnering, my P.T. knows that my back will need decompressing.

Finding a physical therapist that you feel comfortable with and that you will have a good time with is paramount. First, you will be spending an enormous amount of time with the person over the years, so it’s helpful if you enjoy chatting. Second, they will be getting to know your body intimately.  YES, they will be massaging your butt sometimes! If dancers are uncomfortable with their P.T.s, the P.T.s will not be as effective as they can be with their treatment.

Without proper body maintenance from a physical therapist, the talus of the ankle won’t get unjammed, backs won’t get decompressed, and muscles will become imbalanced.  Compensation in movement due to the pain and discomfort of unaddressed bodily issues will give way to ankle sprains, disk herniation, and muscle strains/tears.  Don’t be the person who wishes they had gotten their foot looked at before they busted it!

So, remember, longevity is essential.  The right P.T. leads to good care.  Good physical therapy prevents injury.  Injury prevention equals a happy dancer, because healthy dancers keep their parts and are not forgotten!