RSSBody

Video: Is ballet a sport? Are dancers athletes?

Video: Is ballet a sport? Are dancers athletes?

| July 7, 2015 | 0 Comments

In her recent sports and fitness article, Discovery’s online editor, Catherine Davis, asked: Is ballet a sport? And, are ballerinas athletes? To any aspiring and professional dancer, the answers to these questions are painfully obvious. Painful in more ways than one, but sadly only obvious to some. The art and pursuit of making dance look […]

Continue Reading

Discovering your sleep debt score and why it matters to a dancer

Discovering your sleep debt score and why it matters to a dancer

| September 30, 2013 | 1 Comment

You probably won’t know it, but you could already be deep into sleep debt and this silent loan shark is steadily stealing the shine off your performance. Sleep debt is caused by accumulating sleep loss over time and yes, your body does keep score – that late night I-know-I-shouldn’t-but-I’ll-have-it-anyway coffee sets you back at least […]

Continue Reading

Insider cross-training tips direct from the ballet professionals

Insider cross-training tips direct from the ballet professionals

| August 15, 2013 | 0 Comments

Do you ever have those days where you know there is so much more you can do in ballet class, but your body stubbornly refuses to cooperate? Of course you do, silly question, pushing the body beyond its boundaries is basically the definition of ballet, right? After all, there is no such thing as too […]

Continue Reading

Ballet cross-training: Best out-the-class ideas for in-the-class performance

Ballet cross-training: Best out-the-class ideas for in-the-class performance

| August 7, 2013 | 4 Comments

It may sound counter-intuitive, but if you want to improve your ballet performance, you may need to step outside the ballet class to do it. Cross-training is the new must-do for professional and aspiring dancers, helping you improve fitness, flexibility, strength, injury recovery, musicality and more. Now don’t get me wrong, the only way to […]

Continue Reading

Quick and healthy tips: Top two ideas to avoid overeating

Quick and healthy tips: Top two ideas to avoid overeating

| May 8, 2013 | 0 Comments

I love food. Yes, even the sad little brussel sprouts can take their place on my plate. But there’s only so much a girl can eat before reaching that “uh-oh, I’ve over-done it again” moment. So here’s the best advice I’ve heard to avoid overeating and be kind to your waist-line and your health. Before […]

Continue Reading

Why pro athletes care so much about sleep – and why you should too

Why pro athletes care so much about sleep – and why you should too

| April 9, 2013 | 1 Comment

Did you know that some high performing professional athletes get up to 12 hours sleep a night? Usain Bolt, widely regarded as the fastest sprinter on the planet, gives part of the reason when he says that “sleep is extremely important to me – I need to rest and recover in order for the training […]

Continue Reading

The surprising secret to activating your arches

The surprising secret to activating your arches

| March 30, 2013 | 3 Comments

When a teacher tells a dancer to lift the arches of the foot, you’d think it’s a simple instruction with no room for misinterpretation. Think again. Are you doing it wrong? Following our recent post on arches (Fact or Myth: Do high heels strengthen the foot arch), we’ll show you one surprisingly simple exercise to […]

Continue Reading

Fact or Myth: Do high heels strengthen the foot arch?

Fact or Myth: Do high heels strengthen the foot arch?

| March 20, 2013 | 0 Comments

Sorry ladies, this one’s definitely a myth, and a dangerous one at that, especially for a dancer. According to the Journal of Experimental Biology, researchers have found that the Achilles tendon of women who wear high heels actually thicken over time and stiffen permanently. In fact, high heel wearers are found to have muscle fibres […]

Continue Reading