10 Questions With…

10 Questions With…Ashley Gilfix

October 26, 2010 by 4dancers

Welcome back to our “10 Questions With…” series where today we are featuring dancer Ashley Gilfix from Ballet Austin…

1. How did you become involved with dance?

My mom put me in ballet when I was 4 years old, and dance has been a part of my life ever since.

Ashley Lynn Gilfix — Ashley Gilfix, photo by George Brainard

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

I am currently in my 9th season as a company dancer with Ballet Austin. I have been fortunate to be a part of the creative process of innovative new works by director, Stephen Mills, and many other choreographers who are making waves in the dance world right now. At Ballet Austin, we are constantly pushing the envelope, yet keeping the old traditions alive. Last season, I danced Swan Lake and Coppellia, and also premiered several new contemporary works by Mills, and Dominic Walsh. I feel so lucky to be a part of a company that performs such a broad repertoire of both classical and contemporary ballets.

3. Would you share a special moment or two from your career?

One of my most treasured experiences onstage was dancing Don Quixote with partner, Jim Stein in his farewell performance. It was my first “Kitri” and his last “Basilio”. I can still remember the electricity in the air that night. There were so many emotions. It was such a gift to share his last performance with him in that way, holding his hand while he took his last bow. 3 other colleagues retired that weekend. It was bittersweet. That ballet will always be sentimental for me.

4. What is the best advice you have ever received regarding dance?

My teacher always used metaphors to communicate corrections and words of wisdom. One of the things she often told us was, “You cannot paint with just one color. You need a palette with all the colors of the rainbow.” She was telling us that a good dancer needs to be versatile, to not only dance one way all the time, to be open to new ideas, and become good at everything.

5. Do you have any advice for those who would like to dance professionally?

Find a good school and teachers who can provide well-rounded pre-professional training in classical ballet and modern dance. Sadly, many aspiring dancers find out too late that their training has not prepared them for a professional career. If you are not training 5 or 6 days a week, it is probably not enough. Also, supplementing your classes with private lessons can help you improve at a faster rate. And, for those who have gotten a late start or are not quite ready to be a professional by the end of high school, attending a university with a solid dance program can be an excellent option.

Photo by Anne Marie Bloodgood

6. What has been your biggest challenge in dance?

My biggest challenge has been working with an imperfect facility. I was not blessed with 180 degree turn out or much flexibility in my hip sockets and am constantly fighting for higher extensions and to appear more turned out than I actually am. In dance, it is a constant battle against nature. I am naturally a slow, fluid mover, so brisk movements and jumping have always felt uncomfortable for me. I have had to work very hard to become a faster mover, and to be more dynamic and versatile. I’m always looking for areas where I am weak, so that I can try to become a more balanced dancer. It is important to me to be able to do everything well, rather than being excellent at just one thing that comes naturally.

7. What is it that you love so much about ballet?

I love ballet because it is beautiful. I love the aesthetic and I love music. I love performing. It is such a gift to be able to express myself through dance. It is indescribable.

I also really love the quest for perfection, and constantly being challenged and pushed to the next level. You can never get bored because there is always that next hurdle ahead. It is not just the physical challenges, but the emotional and artistic ones too, especially when you are portraying a character and/or communicating a specific idea or message to the audience. There is hardly a dull moment because there is so much change. You are constantly rehearsing new ballets, and working with different choreographers. Even when we repeat old ballets, it is a unique experience. I’m always learning new things and looking at the world from different perspectives. It is such an interesting life.

8. Do you have a special routine that you go through before a performance, or is each one different?

There is usually an order in which I do things that I establish for each production. Depending on the show, I will usually eat a certain way, and do specific cross-training exercises, and do my hair and make-up in a certain order. If there is difficult partnering, or particular steps in the piece that stress me out, I usually like to rehearse them onstage either right after class, or right before curtain. I set a routine with my partner and we work on those steps before every performance. All that said, I am really not superstitious.

Photo by Tony Spielberg

9. Where you do think dance is headed?

I think dance is continuing to move away from tradition. Many choreographers are re-working the classics or abandoning them altogether, and trying to please a younger audience. I have seen a lot of dance that is more of a theatrical or “performance-art” type of experience. Dance has always transported its viewers, but now it is based less on storytelling and more on making impressions. It is becoming a multidimensional, mixed-media experience that is reflective of the technological era we live in. Dance is also moving toward a more raw emotional experience, not just capturing classical beauty and perfection, but exposing pain and uncertainty and the beauty that can be found in unconventional places.

10. What is next for you?

I am very excited about graduating from St. Edward’s University in August of 2011! It has been extremely challenging to split my time between my personal life, dancing, and school. I look forward to being able to spend more time with my husband, Mike, and focusing more energy on growing as an artist. I am also interested in volunteering around Austin, and becoming certified in Pilates.

BIO: Ashley Lynn Gilfix is a native of the Chicago area, where she received her formal training from Ms. Sherry Moray. Ms. Gilfix performed with the Alabama Ballet prior to joining Ballet Austin in 2002. During her eight seasons with the company, Ashley has had the honor of performing in many world premieres by Stephen Mills, and touring with the company to Italy, Slovenia, The Joyce Theater, and The Kennedy Center, where she was featured in Balanchine’s Episodes in collaboration with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Ms. Gilfix has also danced a variety of roles by such choreographers as Sidra Bell, Thang Dao, Thaddeus Davis, Nicolo Fonte, Gina Patterson, Dwight Rhoden, Amy Seiwart, Twyla Tharp, Michelle Thompson, Septime Webre, and Dominic Walsh, and recently appeared as a guest artist with Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre, and the Califa Arts Collaborative. Ashley has especially enjoyed dancing the roles of Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Kitri in Don Quixote, Ophelia in Hamlet, Cinderella, Odette in Swan Lake, and Swanhilda in Coppelia. Ashley was honored to receive a 2009 Austin Critic’s Table Award for Outstanding Dancer for her performance in Balanchine’s Episodes, Mills’ Hamlet, and Fonte’s Left Unsaid. Ms. Gilfix is currently pursuing a degree in Dance and The Humanities from St. Edward’s University.

10 Questions With…Miriam Landis

October 19, 2010 by 4dancers

Today we have an unusual interview–with writer/former dancer, Miriam Landis. She is the author of a book about ballet…but I don’t want to give everything away so…read on!

1. How did you wind up in dance?

My mom noticed early on that I was walking around the kitchen on my tippy-toes, so she put me in dance classes before I was even three. As I grew up I enjoyed ballet more and more and discovered I was good at it. When I was thirteen I started going away for six weeks to ballet summer programs in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and eventually New York. When I was sixteen, I attended the summer program at the School of American Ballet and they invited me to return for the full school year. I moved away from my family in Salt Lake City and lived in a dorm at Lincoln Center to attend SAB for my last two years of high school. After the annual workshop performances at the end of my senior year, Edward Villella invited me to join the Miami City Ballet.

2. What was your career like?

It was a whirlwind. I joined Miami City Ballet when I was eighteen and started dancing soloist and principal roles within a year. My first big part was the Flower Festival in Genzano pas de deux. I worked hard and the big parts came quickly. I danced leading roles Scotch Girl in Scotch Symphony, the ballerina doll in The Steadfast Tin Soldier, and even Liberty Bell in Stars and Stripes. By the time I was twenty-two I felt like I had accomplished what I wanted in ballet and was ready for a change of direction. Ballet was such a core part of my identity that it was difficult to move on. It’s still a huge part of who I am today and I’ve been able to apply the discipline and other skills in many other aspects of my life. I also made lifelong friends who I’ll feel connected with forever. I was fortunate to have the experience of dancing with such a prestigious company and felt so close to the people I trained and performed with every day for four years. My whole world revolved around dance during that time in my life.

3. What have you done since you retired from dance?

I branched out my interests when I left. I traveled through Europe and did two different study abroad programs in France. In fact, much of the book was written while I was living in France at a time in my life when i could reflect in a meaningful way. I completed all of the pre-med courses in college but eventually decided I didn’t want to become a doctor. l found it hard to go from working with bodies in perfect form to bodies with disease without becoming emotionally overcome. I switched my major to English instead and pursued a career in publishing. I started writing “Girl in Motion” during my junior year of college. After I graduated from Stanford I moved back to New York and worked as an assistant editor at a major publishing house in New York. Three years later I had a great opportunity to move to Seattle and work at Amazon in book merchandising. I’ve been in Seattle for three years and met my husband here.

4. Why did you decide to write the novel, “Girl In Motion”?

There were two reasons. One was that I read a lot of ballet books as I grew up and never found one that fully reflected what my experience was like. I felt a real need to share what I learned with younger ballet students. Second, the writing was also for myself. I was trying to come to terms with leaving the ballet world, and writing was a good way to process my experience.

5. What audience is the novel aimed at?

It’s for ballet students and their parents, and anyone who is interested in ballet.

6. How did you draw on your personal experience with dance in terms of your writing?

I wrote about the emotions I felt and the struggles I watched my friends go through. The feelings remain vivid in my mind ten years later. It was easier to examine how we became professionals through the lives of fictional characters because so many of the themes are universal to every young dancer.

7. What was the experience of writing a novel like?

It was so challenging. There was too much I wanted to say and didn’t know how to express in words. Dancing is all about saying things without words, and writing is completely the opposite. I wrote so many drafts of “Girl in Motion.” At certain times it was in third person, had different titles, and focused on different characters. I tried so many different ways of expressing the story.

8. Do you have any advice for people who might be thinking about writing a dance novel?

The publishing industry is difficult and a unique business world, which makes getting published through traditional routes a real challenge, especially if you don’t already have a persuasive way to market the book. Publishers want to see that. I’d say to worry about that later though, and first try to write the book. I always felt the challenge was to refrain from over-dramatizing ballet the way you often see it in done in films. It wasn’t easy to make the dancers seem like real characters that normal people can relate to, and that’s really important in a novel. Most people don’t go through the specific intense competition involved in a dancer’s life, and dancers’ experiences aren’t universal. Fiction needs to have more universal themes.

9. Can you share a favorite memory from when you were dancing?

One of my favorite memories was my very first performance with Miami City Ballet. We were dancing Western Symphony at the Olympics in Atlanta. I remember standing in the wings and watching all the dancers creating the ballet together, and there was just this incredible feeling of teamwork and love for what we were doing. I could see every person pushing themselves, concentrating, and striving for something larger than we could have done alone. The energy was just incredible.

I was so excited to be a part of it.

10. Where can people purchase your book?

Writing About Dance — Human Kinetics Book

The easiest place to find “Girl in Motion” is on Amazon.com.

You can also join the “Girl in Motion” Facebook page.

I’d love to know what people think of “Girl in Motion,” so don’t hesitate to post a review on Amazon or make comments on the Facebook page.

I hope people enjoy the book!

BIO: Miriam Wenger-Landis was a student at the School of American Ballet and a professional ballerina with the Miami City Ballet. She graduated from Stanford University and lives in Seattle.

10 Questions With…Emily Long

October 12, 2010 by 4dancers

I met Emily Long on Twitter and found her interesting…thought I’d ask her to do the “10 Questions With…” to get to know her a little better–and I’m glad I did! I’m sure you’ll enjoy her interview as well…

1. How did you become involved with dance?

I began dancing because a friend of mine in grade school did it. My favorite part of my first year of ballet was the flashcards; we sat in a circle and had to demonstrate steps one at a time as we were each flashed a card. But I was pretty theatrical as a kid—putting on Broadway shows in my basement with the neighbor kids, folk dancing in the backyard, improvising to a Putumayo CD of Latin music my dad had—I think it was inevitable for me to come to dance one way or another.

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

I am beginning my second season as a dancer with Ballet Quad Cities. In two weeks we premiere the ballet “I, Vampire,” in which I am killed no fewer than four separate times under various character guises. It’s all very dramatic.

Emily Long

3. Would you share a special moment or two from your career?

Special moments for me have been times of being aware of connectedness—sometimes they happen onstage with the audience or a partner, sometimes in the studio, sometimes in discussion outside of rehearsal.

4. What is the best advice you have ever received regarding dance?

The best advice I’ve ever received was from a very, very dear teacher I had, Kimmary Williams, who told me that as long as I wanted to dance, there would be some way to do it. The corollary to that, I infer, is that if I can’t find a way to dance, it must mean I don’t want it enough and should probably stop. Sometimes I wonder if that’s an oversimplified way of looking at things, but it’s worked for me so far.

5. Do you have any advice for those who would like to dance professionally?

Find what works for you. Realize that the only factor in the equation of personal or professional success that you can know and control is yourself, and knowing yourself is an ever-changing, ongoing process.

6. What has been your biggest challenge in dance?

My biggest challenge physically has been my tendency to overwork. I’ve been called “bulldog” by more teachers than I’d like to count! A manifestation of my reluctance to trust my body’s natural tendency toward balance and efficiency, I think. But I believe self trust is one of the great human challenges, so I’ve begun to grow out of the overwork as I’ve begun to grow up.

7. What is it that you love so much about ballet?

I love that there is so much to study: different techniques and frameworks of movement in the broadest, most absolute sense; the movement philosophies of individual choreographers; and on the most personal level the emotions or ideas one can inject into one’s own dancing. I love the process of finding the appropriate vehicle to convey a particular thought or feeling.

8. Do you have a special routine that you go through before a performance, or is each one different?

I make sure I have time onstage before curtain to go through any bits of choreography I find scary or inconsistent…usually that also involves a lot of pep talks and/or lectures under my breath, too! I eat some small complex carbohydrate three or four hours before the show. Basically make my body as ready as possible, whatever happens to mean for a given show. I also usually put my eyelashes on before class to get used to having to focus through that filter.

9. Where you do think dance is headed?

That’s a big question. To the extent that the state of art reflects the state of society, I think it will become increasingly plural and increasingly relativistic—what’s considered innovative, classical, or deviant changes so quickly. Dance is also increasingly trans-generic; all the styles are informing one another. And one can’t even begin to address the impact technology is having on dance in terms of access and the exchange of information. Those are probably all pretty obvious statements.

10. What is next for you?

Next for me is, of course, the rest of the season: “Nutcracker;” a mixed bill, “The Ugly Duckling;” and “Cinderella.” Many more years of dancing following that, I hope.

BIO: Emily Kate Long began her dance education in South Bend, Indiana, with Kimmary Williams and Jacob Rice and graduated in 2007 from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s Schenley Program. Ms Long attended Milwaukee Ballet School’s Summer Intensive on scholarship before being invited to join Milwaukee Ballet II in 2007. She also has spent summers studying at Saratoga Summer Dance Intensive, Miami City Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, and Ballet Chicago.

Ms Long has been a member of Ballet Quad Cities since 2009, during which time she has danced featured roles in Deanna Carter’s Ash to Glass and Dracula, and participated in the company’s 2010 performances at Ballet Builders in New York City. Prior to joining Ballet Quad Cities Ms Long performed with Milwaukee Ballet and MBII in Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker and Candide Overture, Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadére, Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano and Napoli, and contemporary and neoclassical works by Tom Teague, Denis Malinkine, and Rolando Yanes. She also collaborated extensively with the Milwaukee Ballet Education Department to create Maria and the Magic Doll Shoppe, which toured to over 20 venues throughout southeastern Wisconsin. Favorite roles danced to date include Simone Ferro’s EVOL and Deanna Carter’s Ash To Glass with Ballet Quad Cities, and Petr Zahradnicek’s Dessert Pas De Trois with Milwaukee Ballet II.

10 Questions With…Rebecca King

October 5, 2010 by 4dancers

Today we have Rebecca King on “10 Questions With…”

Rebecca is a dancer and a dance blogger. See her writing at Tendus Under a Palm Tree.

1. How did you become involved with dance?

From the time I could walk, as my mother will tell the story, I was constantly dancing around the house. One day while enjoying some ice cream near the local community center, a group of little girls in tutus and tights came walking past me. I was mesmerized. My mother asked where they took ballet class and as soon as I turned three, I was enrolled. Around Christmas time, I would watch Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker on video and dance around the living room to the music. (I bet my parents were sick of Nutcracker music at that point, little did they know, there would be years and years of Nutcrackers to come.)

Warming up before a show at the Vail International Dance Festival 2009

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

Currently I am a Corps De Ballet dancer with Miami City Ballet. Two weeks ago, Miami City Ballet wrapped up filming for our first PBS special: “Great Performances: Dance in America.” We spent two weeks filming three ballets: Balanchine’s Western Symphony and Square Dance, and Twyla Tharp’s Golden Section. I will appear in Western Symphony’s Fourth Movement.

3. Would you share a special moment or two from your career?

Last season I got the opportunity to dance “Rum and Coke” in Paul Taylor’s “Company B.” Company B is a World War II ballet set to the music of the Andrew Sisters. In Rum and Coke, there is one girl who dances a solo, with 7 boys rolling around on the floor admiring her. I had the best time: I had great boys to play off of, and I got lost in the fun music and cute choreography.

4. What is the best advice you have ever received regarding dance?

I actually just got the best advice ever this past summer from my former teacher at Miami City Ballet School, Geta Constantinescu. She was telling me that it is so easy to focus on drama; to let our egos get the best of us and worry about who got what part, who got promoted, or who is doing well. But dancers need to remember what brings us to the studio every day. It is the love of dance. I think this is great advice for professional dancers and students alike. It goes to show that it doesn’t matter where you are in your career, there is always so much to learn.

5. Do you have any advice for those who would like to dance professionally?

I think the most important advice I can give young dancers is that hard work pays off. I know that may sound cliche, and we have all heard that before, but really, work ethic is what sets dancers apart. A dancer may have a perfect ballet body and be a nice dancer, but without the drive and determination, will not make it in the professional ballet world. So work hard, improve as much as possible, and hold on to the joy that dance brings you.

6. What has been your biggest challenge in dance?

While at the Rock School in Philadelphia for my senior year of high school, I was diagnosed with an os trigonum in my right foot. An os trigonum is an extra bone in the back of the foot that is very common in dancers. I was told that I would have to have surgery. I was going to be out for about four months and would not be able to attend Miami City Ballet School’s summer program nor would I be able to audition for companies as I had planned. Despite all the worries, in the end I really got lucky. I had a wonderful surgeon in San Francisco who is the orthopedic for SFB, had wonderful physical therapy, and was able to start back to ballet slowly at my home studio.

King 2 — Paul Taylor's "Company B" "Rum and Coke", Photo by fellow MCB dancer Leigh-Ann Esty

About two months after my surgery, I wrote to Linda Villella, the Director of Miami City Ballet School, asking her if I could attend the school for the year, based solely on my audition for the summer program months before. She accepted me into the Advanced level and allowed me to continue my rehab with the Physical Therapists hired by the company. Six months after my surgery, I was onstage with Miami City Ballet dancing in the Nutcracker.

7. What is it that you love so much about ballet?

I love performing. When I am on stage, I feel like nothing can touch me. All the worries of the day melt away for those moments, where the lights are shining brightly and I am performing into a dark space in front of me. I know that there are people out there in the audience, but I can’t see them, I can only feel their presence and their delight by the sound of applause. It is an intimate moment that dancers share with the audience; where the dancers are completely lost in the steps, the music, the joy, and the audience is completely lost in what they are watching.

8. Do you have a special routine that you go through before a performance, or is each one different?

Each one is different; as each ballet requires different preparation depending on the type of ballet and the choreography. For example, warming up for a contemporary ballet is much different than warming up for classical ballet. I usually begin getting ready about an hour and a half or two hours before a show starts. I always do my hair first; I like to have my hair slicked back and completely out of my face before starting my makeup. I then put on my costume, cluttered by warm ups, and head to the stage with my iPod and bag of shoes. If I am dancing in a ballet that is really difficult and will cause my calves to cramp, I will eat half a banana on the way, to get some extra potassium. After doing a barre in my socks, I will put on my shoes, to test them and warm up my ankles.

About 10 minutes before the show I have my costume done up in the back and start reviewing the choreography and rehearsing those pesky steps from the ballet that are a challenge for me. After wishing the cast good luck, or “Merde”, with a kiss on the cheek, warm-ups are stripped off as everyone takes their places. This is my favorite moment; the anticipation of the curtain rising.

9. You write a dance blog…can you tell readers a bit about how you got started and what it’s about?

I am lucky enough to have a job that allows me to do what I love everyday. My job is so exciting and unique, that I choose to find an outlet that would allow me to share my thoughts and experiences with the public. Not only do I want to reach out to people who already know and love ballet, but also to find and educate people who are unfamiliar with the ballet world.

For those who are ballet lovers, I want to bring them news about Miami City Ballet and share my experiences around this exciting city. For people who don’t know quite as much about ballet, I hope that I can show the glamorous and trendy side of this art form. I think that many people misperceive ballet as boring and outdated. I hope to prove them wrong.

10. What is next for you?

Currently we are kicking into full gear to prepare for the opening weekend of Miami City Ballet’s 25th anniversary season. Opening night is October 15 at Miami’s Arst Center for the Performing Arts. We will be performing Robbin’s “Fanfare”, Balanchine’s “Bugaku”, and Balanchine’s “Theme and Variations”. Also on tap this season is Balanchine’s “Scotch Symphony”, “La Sonnambula”, and “Western Symphony.” I am also looking forward to the company’s premier of Twyla Tharp’s “Baker’s Dozen” and Paul Taylor’s “Promethean Fire”. Last but not least, our fourth program is John Cranko full length “Romeo and Juliet” which we have already staged. The company has a lot of exciting things happening this season, and I can’t wait to get into the theater!

BIO: I was born and raised in Northern California. I received my ballet training from former San Francisco Ballet School Director Richard Cammack and former ABT and SFB dancer Zola Dishong at Contra Costa Ballet Centre (http://www.contracostaballet.org/) in Walnut Creek, CA. My senior year in high school I moved to Philadelphia to train at the Rock School. After graduating in 2006, I moved to Miami to train at Miami City Ballet. After a few months in the school I was asked to learn Snow and Flowers with the company for their upcoming Nutcracker shows. After performing those parts as a student, I was also on stage dancing Willies in Giselle and in Balanchine’s Symphony in 3 later that season. I was then offered a Company Apprentice contract for the 2007-2008 season. In 2008 I was promoted to Corps De Ballet.

10 Questions With…Liz Bayley

September 27, 2010 by 4dancers

1. Can you tell readers a bit about your background in dance?

Like many other little girls, I started dancing aged 3 and trained almost exclusively in ballet for 16 years, but also studied modern jazz and contemporary and now specialise in Latin, Ballroom, Salsa and Argentine Tango. After gaining a degree in Psychology, I started auditioning in London because I ‘wanted to see what would happen’. I’m happy to say that I didn’t look back and have been dancing professionally for over 10 years. I have worked all around Europe, including the most famous cabaret in the world – the ‘Moulin Rouge’.

My husband and I met on a contract, when we came together through our love of partner dance and have been working together as a Show Dance Team ever since. I still perform from time to time and teach at ‘Danceworks’ in London. Having an eclectic dance background provides me with a good knowledge base when working with dancers from various genres.

Liz Bayley

2. How did you get the idea for Sports Therapy 4 Dancers?

Before I became a Sports Therapist, I was always interested in injuries, anatomy and posture. Whenever I was laid out on a treatment table, I would ask the therapist question after question and pay close attention to what they were doing. I was just very aware that while working with my body every day, I had absolutely no knowledge about how it functioned or what I should do if I sustained an injury.

On occasions when I was injured, I wished I could find someone to treat me who had a background in dance and would be able to understand me and my body from a dancers’ perspective. I thought that if I felt like this, then other dancers must as well and so Sports Therapy 4 Dancers was born.

3. Can you talk a bit about the work you do with dancers?

I treat dance professionals, students and teachers from various backgrounds, who usually come to me with sub-acute or chronic injuries. An injury is classed as sub-acute after 3-5 days, when the initial inflammation has reduced and the soft tissues start to repair. Chronic injuries continue after about 3 weeks, but can still cause dysfunction years after they originally occurred.

I use various techniques to address muscle tension, stretch the soft tissues and re-align scar tissue, in order to restore normal function or enhance performance. I also prescribe Pilates based exercise for rehabilitation and conditioning. This forms the base of my job, but I have also worked at events to provide first aid in case of accidents on stage. In these circumstances, I deal directly with acute injuries such as sprained ankles, rotator cuff strains, back spasms and torn hamstrings. Although this can be quite stressful, I enjoy it for the fact that effective first contact management can aid a faster recovery. I also provide pre and post event massage to dancers.

Another part of my job is education and advice. I have a ST4D Facebook page where I regularly post advice, quotations and information relating to injury prevention and management in dancers. All members are welcome to ask me questions and often do. I’ve been asked about back strains, foot fractures and even for advice on academic papers!

4. Are there any “common” injuries that you find in dancers?

The most common chronic injury that I come across is tendonitis, whether it affects the hamstrings, rotator cuff or lower leg and foot. This is because it is an overuse injury, which is brought on mostly by over training and not getting sufficient rest in between sessions. If you are in a show, performing every night, this can be a recipe for disaster as the movement that originally caused the injury must be performed continuously. In cases like these, modification of movement can be vital if the dancer is to continue to perform and avoid aggravating an injury.

One of the best examples of an overuse injury is in the dancers in Paris who perform a ‘Can Can’ twice a night. This is a powerful and fast dance that can wreak havoc on the performer’s bodies. Tendonitis at the origin of the hamstring, which is felt at the very top of the leg, just underneath the gluteal muscle is THE most common injury I have to deal with when I work in Paris.

Ballet dancers tend to experience tendonitis of the flexor muscles that point the toes and male dancers who lift their partners often battle with biceps tendonitis, which is felt at the top of the arm, underneath the deltoid and inflammation of the rotator cuff. Shin splints are quite common, especially in student dancers who have just started a new training schedule or are still growing.

5. What is the most difficult thing about treating dancers?

When dancers work professionally, their bodies are their income, so asking them to take 2-3 weeks or even months off isn’t always easy or realistic. Trying to treat an injury, but allow a dancer to continue to work can be difficult. As I mentioned before, sometimes movements can be modified, for example by kicking on the other leg, or marking a back bend, but not always.

Seeing the emotional affects of injury is also difficult. Dancers are usually quite resilient to physical pain, but I have had more than one case of tears where I thought the discomfort of the injury had overcome the dancer, but in actual fact they were just very anxious about the seriousness of the injury and what it would mean to their career.

6. What is the most rewarding thing about treating dancers?

Being aware that knowledge is power and by sharing quite basic information, I can make a difference to performers all over the world. I can’t remember the amount of times that I used to be with a whole group of dancers who would discuss whether to use heat or ice on an injury, but not really know what the answer was or why (it’s ICE by the way, to restrict inflammation and bleeding). Whenever I treat anyone, I always give them information about their injury – which muscles are affected, what this means, how to look after the area and what to do in the future.

I once received an email from a dancer in New Zealand who said that because she’d read something on the ST4D Facebook page, she knew to put ice on a sprained ankle and her prognosis was better for it – what could be better than that!? It’s very satisfying when someone feels immediate benefit after seeing me.

One dancer, who is currently in Chicago in the West End, had more mobility in her hamstring than she’d had for year after just one session of STR (Soft Tissue Release) and deep tissue massage. Cases such as these confirm to me that the work I do can really make a difference to a dancer’s performance.

7. Can you share a highlight or two from your career thus far?

I regularly travel to France to treat the dancers who work in the cabarets of Paris. I see ‘Doris Girls’ from the Moulin Rouge, ‘Bluebells’ from the Lido and also dancers from other cabarets such as La Novelle Eve and Crazy Horse. Many of the dancers who work in Paris are actually from Australia, England or America and really value being able to see an English speaking therapist. The fact that I danced at the Moulin Rouge myself is a real bonus, because I know how hard their job is!

As an expert consultant for dance injuries, I have been quoted in publications such as ‘Dance Today’, which is a British (also sold internationally) Social Dance magazine. In a recent article, I discussed shoulder injuries in Ballroom and Latin Dancers.

8. Would you comment on the importance of prevention in terms of dance injuries?

‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’. In a split second, a dance career can be put on hold for 6 months. I’ve seen it happen, when someone ruptures their ACL (anterior cruciate ligament in the knee). Usually, injuries occur when the dancer is tired and overworked, so performers, choreographers and directors should be aware of this and work within reasonable limits. Of course, dancers must work hard, but they should be fit to do so. Before embarking on a tough rehearsal period, a new term at college, important audition or different style of class, dancers should have cross trained in the gym or by using Pilates or Yoga so that they are in condition for the work ahead. However, cross training should be reduced if an individual is dancing for long hours each day, in order to minimise the chance of overuse injuries and give the body an opportunity to rest.

Most importantly, many injuries will show warning signs – pain, redness, stiffness or limited range of motion – before they become very serious and changes such as these should not be ignored. Sports massage can be very beneficial as a preventative measure. A good therapist will be able to identify potential problem areas and restore balance to the body.

9. If you could give dancers one piece of advice, what would it be and why?

Prevention is better than cure, but if you do get injured, early treatment in the acute and sub-acute stages can make a real difference in the outcome of an injury. For example, introducing RICE procedures (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) can significantly reduce recovery time. All dancers should have a bag of frozen peas in the freezer that can be reused, but never eaten. Peas are great as they are the right temperature (not too cold) and mould to the shape of the body. Use them for about 15-20 mins per hour, depending on the area. If it’s a fleshy area such as the thigh, ice can be left longer than on a bony area like the ankle. Don’t allow the skin to go red as this signifies blood going to the area, which is what you are trying to prevent. Ice is also particularly helpful for muscle spasms, which seems contradictory, but is true nevertheless!

10. What is next for you?

My vision is to make ST4D the first point of contact for dancers in London and Paris when it comes to injury prevention and rehabilitation. I am often surprised by how little basic knowledge dancers have and for this reason; I am particularly interested in providing education to young dancers who are still in college about how to prevent and treat injuries, including teaching anatomy. I believe an understanding of functional anatomy is essential when working with the body every day – it is the dancers’ instrument after all! I’d very much like to implement a short ‘Injury Prevention 4 Dancers’ course into diploma and degree syllabuses around London.

BIO: Liz has been a professional dancer for over 10 years, having worked in Portugal, Italy, Paris and Spain. She was the Dance Captain and Production Manager for FJM Productions in the USA and has appeared on television in Paris, Venezuela and the UK. After training exclusively in ballet for 16 years, she now specialises in Ballroom, Latin, Salsa and Argentine Tango and performs with her husband and dance partner as a Show Dance Team. She currently teaches at Danceworks in London. Liz is a qualified Sports Therapist and treats sports, dance and occupational injuries, in addition to correcting postural imbalances and prescribing Pilates based exercise for rehabilitation and conditioning. She is the founder of ‘Sports Therapy 4 Dancers’, which is based in London. She also visits France once a month, treating the dancers of the Moulin Rouge and Lido in Paris. Liz is available as a therapist for special events (First Aid and First Contact Management), as an expert consultant, or for individual treatment in various locations around London. www.SportsTherapy4Dancers.com

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