Taking care of yourself

I danced for 18 years and didn't have a knee injury. Oh, I had other various minor hurts, but never a knee injury, one of the most common in ballet.

I have students who are told by non-ballet people ("civilians" as Meredith Bayliss called them), that ballet is bad for your knees. No exercise, done properly, is dangerous; every physical activity, done improperly, is dangerous. As evidence, I present Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from typing. (If I've said any of this before, it's good to say it again).

Take care of yourself. Take care of yourself by being aware of what you're doing. Well, duh, Jerry, of course I'm aware. Well, duh, probably not. You have to be so in tune with your body to be a dancer (or any kind of athlete), you have to have a mind-body connection that allows you to know what's happening when you move, otherwise you risk injury.

You must also take care of yourself by keeping yourself in shape. Now, most of my students are in class every day, either ballet or some other form of dance, but some dancers I know do not take class on a regular basis.

WHAT?!?! Whenever I hear something like, "Oh, I haven't been in class in months.", I want to strangle the person who said it! Do you want to get injured? A teacher my Mother used to take class from would ask performers, "What show are you rotting in, now?" If you're in a show, you should still be in class on a regular basis. No, you're not keeping yourself in shape by doing the show, not real shape. You're doing the same thing, over and over, overusing some parts of your body and under-using others. You need the balance of class to keep you healthy. It would be like going to the gym and only working one side.

What's prompted this, Jerry? I'm glad you asked. I know this marvelously talented dancer who I did a show with several years ago. She was in her early 20's, then, and was amazing. The problem was, she had stopped taking class. She was choreographing stuff, doing shows, teaching (I think), but wasn't in class, wasn't taking care of herself. Apparently, now, she is going through some rough times, being injured. She isn't even 30, and her complaints sound like she's in her 60's. She said she woke up one morning, lifted her head and felt her neck go crunch! This is sad. I took class every day (with a day off every week) up until the day I retired at age 37. I couldn't imagine rehearsing or performing without taking class or warming up, thoroughly, yet I know many dancers who did it all the time. Many of them, younger than I, are in horrible shape because they didn't take care of themselves.

Take care of yourself. Take class. Get sleep. Eat a variety of food and a good amount. My God, this all sounds so simple to me, why is it so hard for other people to get?

Oy...

See you in class.


J