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Dancing While You’re Pregnant

March 11, 2018 by 4dancers

Aloha and Happy Spring!  
I know it’s spring performance season, but I hope you can take a moment to read our new post from Ann. F Cowlin – a long time dance colleague of mine in New England. Ann has worked at Yale University for many years, and has a medical background. She founded “Dancing Thru Pregnancy” in 1979 – I learned about this program in the 1990’s, and how valuable this information can be – and am so glad we now have the opportunity to share it with you.
And on a brief personal note — you won’t be hearing “Aloha” from me after this, as I have just moved back to CO (Denver / Boulder) after 6 years on Kauai. Glad to be back and integrating again into the
wonderfully diverse metro dance community. If you’re ever in this part of the country – would love to hear from you!
Aloha (for the last time!) and Happy Spring performances! – Jan, Editor/Dance Wellness


“When a normal, healthy child is born, usually in the father’s compound, the women perform the nkwa to rejoice. Then…they sing and dance their way to the compounds of the mother’s kin to inform them of the joyous event through the dance-play, gathering additional dancers as it moves from compound to compound. In this nkwa, in which only married women who have given birth perform, the dancers highlight procreative body parts, birth exercises and child care gestures.” – page 164, Hanna JL, To Dance is Human: a theory of non-verbal communication, 1979. Rev. ed. 1987.

About Dancing Thru Pregnancy®

by Ann F. Cowlin MA, CSM, CCE, Founder/Director, DTP

From its inception in 1979, Dancing Thru Pregnancy® (DTP) has been inspired by this passage from Judith Lynne Hanna’s amazing text, in which she describes how the Ubakala of Nigeria “announce” the birth of a child. The dance serves a dual purpose – it tells of the birth, while it teaches the uninitiated how pregnancy and birth occur.

As a professional dancer, I long ago recognized the transformative power of dance to make experiences accessible. Through Hanna’s writing we see how dance is itself one of the earliest and most profound ways in which common human experiences are taught and learned. Contemporary culture often removes this type of learning from our environment.

Employing dance to help women approach birth has always struck me as an obvious first choice in preparing women for the physical, emotional, identity-forming and joyful process of birth. From its start – under the auspices of the West Virginia State Health Department’s Improved Pregnancy Outcome Project and the WVU Medical School Ob/Gyn Department – through its ongoing development at Yale University, DTP has undergone a perpetual choreographic process toward the most beneficial way to help women cope with this major life event.

In the intervening years, science and technology have reinforced our understanding of how non-verbal
learning happens. In the process, DTP has trained thousands of movement teachers and trainers about pregnancy and postpartum fitness, bringing activity to millions of moms-to-be worldwide. Our own programs, based at Yale, have a 14% cesarean rate over 35 years.

Mirror neurons are key to how empathy and understanding of experience are produced when people view and learn movement and gesture. The mere perception of an action sets off a low level firing of the neural pathway that executes the actions we are seeing. A most excellent discussion of mirror neurons appears in Acharya and Shukla’s article, Mirror Neurons: Enigma of the metaphysical modular brain, J Nat Sci Biol Med. 2012 Jul-Dec; 3(2): 118–124. The authors provide a thorough grounding in the history of how we have come to recognize that mirror neurons exist and how they work.

There are more arenas in which dance also shines as a preparation.

Appropriately choreographed, dance enables excellent physical fitness and includes all the elements of physical activity that research demonstrates are effective for optimal health in pregnancy and coping with the rigors of birth. From the perspective of exercise physiology, labor is an ultra-distance endurance event, followed by a strength test (birth), a physical recovery period, and 18 years or more of sleep deprivation.

What fitness elements contribute to a healthy pregnancy, powerful birth, and short- and long-term health for mom and baby?

Cardiovascular Fitness

Achieving cardiovascular endurance (aerobic fitness) is essential. There are so many benefits of aerobic fitness that a full recitation and hundreds of citations will not fit in this blog. Check DTP’s website Research pages and our Facebook page for references. But, to summarize: cardiovascular fitness improves implantation, enhances nutrient and oxygen delivery, reduces the incidence or severity of some pregnancy disorders, reduces the risk of fetal distress, reduces stress on maternal cardiac reserve while pushing, reduces the risk of cesarean, hastens recovery, helps maintain a healthy weight, alleviates anxiety, builds body-image confidence and enhances long term maternal and fetal health. The two forms of cardio or aerobic activity most often cited for effectiveness are running and aerobic dancing.

Strength & Flexibility

Two other elements of dance that are useful for pregnant, birthing and parenting moms are strength and flexibility. There are many movement actions derived from numerous dance forms that promote both power and elasticity in the muscles, connective tissue and skeletal structure. Some effective positions, movements and skills are shared with other disciplines: Traditional childbirth preparation, weight training, gymnastics, physical therapy, yoga, t’ai chi, pilates, boot camp, plyometrics, proprioceptor neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) techniques, Feldenkrais, Alexander, somatic therapies, posture training, etc.

Mind/Body Skills

An arena in which dance shines is building mind-body skills. Dancing relies on centering – aligning with gravity to produce the greatest efficiency for movement (balance) – along with breathing as a component of movement.

Align
Breathe
Focus on the breath
Sense the movement within

Then, allow the body to dance…

Centering also reduces the load on the nervous system and allows the brain to modulate into the parasympathetic nervous system state, also known as the relaxation response (autogenic training, hypnosis, meditation, progressive relaxation), the zone (athletes’ term), mindfulness (big in research presently), the trophotropic response (the scientific term), or the alpha state (the current fad term). Dancers sometimes refer to this as tuning in to the unconscious or flow. The actual coordination of motions, such as pushing, is primarily unconscious. The conscious piece is keeping a clear image of the goal, while allowing the body to work. This is the skill that allows the birthing mother to follow her body’s urges, flowing with the labor rather than trying to control what is going on. It gives her access to the cathartic and euphoric nature of birth as a dance.

Muscle Bonding

A part of the dance experience I truly enjoy is a phenomenon known as muscle bonding. When a group does vigorous physical activity together – dancing together, a sports team, a dance company – a special kind of bond forms. Part of the euphoria is this muscle bonding experience. The wonder of it is what the Ubakala women experience moving together to announce the birth of a child.

When I am dancing with my pregnant ladies and we are in the grove with our modified hip hop
routine, we are smiling at each other and feeling completely alive. We are breathing hard and working hard, but we are strong. My hope is always that when she senses that labor and birth are starting, a mom-to-be can get in that groove with the baby and support personnel. Birth becomes a dance.

A Caveat

No blog on pregnancy or birth is complete without a caveat. Every pregnancy and birth is unique. Sometimes things go wrong. But, mostly they go right! And, moms can optimize the experience. One of the greatest dangers to pregnancy and birth is sedentary behavior. Regular, vigorous, strength-inducing, flexibility gaining, mindfulness, relaxing, muscle bonding fun is available. Take advantage of it.

In future posts, we will discuss specific items that help the body and mind prepare for birth and motherhood.


Ann F. Cowlin
Ann F. Cowlin

Ann F. Cowlin is a movement specialist and dance instructor in the Yale University Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation; coordinator of the Childbirth Education Program at the Yale Health Center; and former Assistant Clinical Professor in the Yale University School of Nursing. She founded Dancing Thru Pregnancy®, Inc. in 1979, and is the author of Women’s Fitness Program Development, and chapters in Varney’s Midwifery (3rd, 4th & 5th ed.) and Sports Nutrition (4th ed.). A former professional ballet and modern dancer who received her MA in Dance from UCLA, she is a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) and the Society for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD).

 

Filed Under: Dance Wellness Tagged With: Ann F. Cowlin, Dancing Thru Pregnancy, Judith Hanna, mirror neurons, pregant dancers, pregnant dancing, professional dancer, relaxation response, Yale University

Battling Injury As A Dancer…

February 14, 2017 by 4dancers

Joffrey dancers
Cara Marie Gary with partners Fernando Duarte and Edson Barbosa. Photo credit: Cheryl Mann.

by Cara Marie Gary

My career as a professional dancer has been an incredible journey–and it has taught me many life lessons about discipline, commitment, sacrifice, and patience. Dance has always been my outlet for creativity and expression. I’ve gathered a variety of special moments throughout the years. For example, I still remember the exhilarating feeling I had after nailing my first challenging sequence of fouettes on stage. I’ve been blessed to travel and perform in incredible theaters all over the world, one of my favorite moments was performing at the Kennedy Center as Clara in Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker. I’ve also had stressful hair situations; in Christopher Wheeldon’s rendition of Swan Lake it was choreographed for me to entered the stage with my hair completely down and in a few seconds style it into a french twist that had to last throughout Four Little Swans and the entire ballet! I’ve had crazy things happen at gala performances like music stopping in the middle of a pas de deux and having to exit the stage and start completely over. As a dancer, you learn to be “ready for anything” and to be able to improvise if something doesn’t go exactly the way you rehearsed it.

However, what I wasn’t prepared for was an injury. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: cara marie gary, dance injury, dancer injury, joffrey, physical therapist, physical therapy, physical therapy exercises, professional dancer, rehabilitation, the joffrey, the joffrey ballet

Kylián Keyword: Connection

November 3, 2016 by 4dancers

Pacific Northwest Ballet Dancers
Emma Love Suddarth and her husband, Price Suddarth from Pacific Northwest Ballet

by Emma Love Suddarth

Connection. Between fingertips. Between one note and one arm. Between minds. Between spines. Between you and five other dancers spread across the stage. Between steps. Between dancer and audience. Between details. Between partners. Between souls.

The works of Jiří Kylián are set apart—and rightfully so. The atmosphere of complete intimacy they innately craft, both onstage amongst dancers and across the proscenium with the audience, is unique, and invaluable. At Pacific Northwest Ballet I’ve been lucky enough to perform two already—Sechs Tanze and Petite Mort—and, for the upcoming program Brief Fling, am working to add a third—Forgotten Land. These works hold special places in my heart, not only due to special opportunities, or incomparable partners, but largely due to the joy, trust, intimacy, and fearlessness they inherently create.

My first experience with the work of Kylián came and went in a blur. As a fairly new dancer in the company, simply learning one of the four women of Sechs Tanze was an unbelievable thrill. As a PNB “newbie,” I had no expectation of performing; nevertheless, I was drenched in sweat at the end of every rehearsal because, after all, who wouldn’t want to try being dragged across half the stage in a split, simultaneously going up and down like a carousel, or doing bicycle legs as fast as humanly possible in the air while laying on your partner’s back? It was hard to resist. Then, due to last minute injuries, I got a shot. However, this simultaneously exciting and potentially nerve-wracking experience was different than almost any previous or many since. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: ballerina, Emma Love Suddarth, forgotten land, Jiří Kylián, pacific northwest ballet, Peter Boal, petite mort, PNB, Price Suddarth, professional dancer, Sechs Tanze

My Top 3 Challenges As A Dancer

April 6, 2016 by 4dancers

Joffrey Ballet dancer Cara Marie Gary in Jiří Kylián's Forgotten Land.
Joffrey Ballet dancer Cara Marie Gary in Jiří Kylián’s Forgotten Land. Photo by Cheryl Mann.

by Cara Marie Gary

As a young ballet student or aspiring professional dancer, some big challenges in life usually center around getting into a top summer program, performing well in a competition, or landing that first contract with a professional company. These were certainly part of my experience, but now as a professional dancer with some seasoning and experience, the challenges that I face on a daily basis are different, but just as important.

Pain Management

One of the top challenges in my life as a dancer is dealing with and learning to appropriately manage pain. Fortunately, I haven’t had any major injuries while dancing professionally, but aches in my body are a daily struggle, as an average five-day rehearsal week consists of approximately 38 hours of dancing. Each morning I wake up refreshed, but often with minor aches and pains, and over the years, I’ve found some helpful remedies for this challenge. I often consult with my physical therapists about the pain I’m experiencing and they always offer specific strengthening exercises for weak areas that could be linked to the source of pain.

It’s simply part of my daily routine for my joints to snap, crackle, and pop, especially in the morning, and even though I’m used to these noises, I try to make monthly appointments with a chiropractor for proper treatment. 
I’ve also learned to explore and experiment with alternative techniques and have discovered a lot about what works for my body. For example, I tend to hold a lot of tension and stress in my upper back and neck. I’ve found that the best remedy for this area of pain is a technique called “cupping”. It’s an ancient form of alternative medicine that uses cups and heat to create a suction that pulls the fascia tissue towards the cup, ultimately mobilizing blood flow to promote healing. The cups are normally left on for about fifteen minutes, and once they are removed I feel an immediate release of tension and have a noticeable increased range of motion in my upper back and neck areas. This technique creates dark circles where the cups where placed, and often times my co-workers joke that it looks like I got attacked by an octopus, but I don’t mind, because cupping works miracles for me!

Photo courtesy of Cara Marie Gary.
Myself after cupping. (Photo courtesy of Cara Marie Gary.)

When my calves or hamstrings are hurting, I’ve undergone a technique
called “dry needling”. This is a process similar to acupuncture, but a little more invasive, because the needle is inserted into the skin and muscle. Sometimes, the sensation of the needle hitting a trigger point makes me almost jump off the table, but the certified physical therapists are quick and efficient. At times I’ll be a little sore the next day, but the overall result pays off with lasting relief in the areas that have been targeted.

Photo courtesy of Cara Marie Gary.
Ice bucket. (Photo courtesy of Cara Marie Gary.)

My favorite treatment, of course, is a massage – but not one of those gentle, relaxing, soft-music-playing-in-the-background kinds. I find that deep tissue massage is the best to help release knots and improve circulation. In contrast, my least favorite treatment is the ice bucket. Although it is effective, I tend to hold off on using this treatment until I can no longer stuff my swollen feet into my pointe shoes (Nutcracker season is often the culprit). Everyone has a different pain tolerance, but it’s important to not just push through the pain. Instead of continuing to torture my body, I’ve learned how important it is to deal with pain intentionally, and to find specific and effective ways to care for myself.

Personal vs Professional Life

Another challenge I face as a dancer is separating my work from my personal life. Although I’m passionate about dancing, I’m normally in the studio eight hours a day, five days a week, and I feel it’s important to focus on other interests and activities once work is completed for the day. To tackle this challenge, my roommate (also a dancer with The Joffrey Ballet) and I came up with some “house rules”.

First, we are intentional about limiting talk about work when we’re at home, and we also make sure to leave “work duties” at work – that means no bringing pointe shoes home to sew! Instead, we focus our attention on other aspects of our lives. For example, we try new recipes and often cook together, and instead of watching dance-related videos, we might turn to Netflix for a less-connected escape from reality.

Amber Neumann (my roommate) and I having brunch. Photo courtesy of Cara Marie Gary.
Amber Neumann (my roommate) and I having brunch. (Photo courtesy of Cara Marie Gary.)

We both enjoy art in other forms and have unashamedly bought into the growing phenomenon of the therapeutic adult coloring books, and I sometimes paint while my roommate designs and sews clothing for herself and others. I also enjoy crocheting, (I usually have a project or two going at a time), and on weekends I like to add brunch or a Bikram yoga class to the mix. As dancers, it’s important to recognize that we work in a very unique artistic bubble, and I’ve found that it’s healthy (and fun!) to develop boundaries and a balance between my work and my personal life.

Adapting To Change

A final challenge I face as a dancer is learning to adapt to change. I’ve found that it’s necessary to be versatile in all aspects of what my job demands. The beautiful thing about our art form is that it is constantly evolving, and dancers often have to learn to adapt to new choreography and styles as ballet and dance continue to push boundaries. It’s important to not be timid and learn to be bold when exploring new styles of movement. l try to watch and learn from fellow artists and apply corrections from ballet masters and choreographers, and I’ve found it always goes a long way to be polite and respectful to the people surrounding you as you learn together.

Dancers also have to adapt to occasional disappointments at work. Like any other job, there will be good days and bad days. Sometimes you show up to work and feel great when you’re completely on your leg and feel like you’ve had some really productive rehearsals or successful performances. Other days you might deal with situations like dealing with a painful ache, experiencing unwanted casting changes, or not seeing your name next to a desired role. I think it’s important to avoid focusing on the drama or negative feelings on those bad days. Instead, it’s important to open up your horizons to inspiration not only in the workplace, but also outside of that “ballet bubble”. That could be through studying something new, getting involved in organizations about an issue or community that matters to you, or simply getting out in your city and appreciating what makes the world around you unique.

As humans, we’re often creatures of habit and resist change, but I’ve come to realize that change is the only constant in life. Accepting this fact and learning to move forward has been an ongoing task, and I find that I deal with this challenge most successfully by choosing to adapt and learn from each experience.

Though the challenges that I now face as a professional dancer are different than my days as a young student, pursuing this career has certainly always kept me pushing myself to learn and improve in new settings and environments. Since the opportunity to dance as a career has become my daily reality, I’ve learned that challenges will always keep coming, but life is too short to not enjoy each moment. I challenge aspiring dancers to not be discouraged by the challenges they face, but to find something positive in every day, and use that determined perspective to keep moving toward their goals.


Cara Marie Gary
Joffrey Ballet dancer Cara Marie Gary

Contributor Cara Marie Gary is a native of Belton, South Carolina. She joined The Joffrey Ballet in July 2012. Prior to joining The Joffrey Ballet, Ms. Gary danced with American Ballet Theatre’s ABTII and was an apprentice with Orlando Ballet. Ms. Gary began her formal ballet training at International Ballet Academy in Greer, South Carolina, under Hennadii Bespechnyi and Vlada Kvsselova. Ms. Gary received additional training at summer intensives with American Ballet Theatre, Brianskv Saratoga Ballet Center, Ukrainian Academy of Dance South Carolina Governors School, Ballet Spartanburg, and Chautauqua Institution. Ms. Gary graduated with honors from Belton-Honea Path High School and is currently pursuing a Business Administration degree online through North Greenville University.

In 2010, Ms. Gary was a competitor in the IX USA International Ballet Competition held in Jackson, Mississippi. She was a top twelve finalist in the Youth America Grand Prix National Finals in 2008 and 2009. She also received the overall Grand Prix Award in the 2009 YAGP regional semi-finals. In 2006, she was awarded a Diploma of Laureate at the VI Serge Lifar International Ballet Competition held in Kiev, Ukraine.

Ms. Gary has had the opportunity to tour throughout the United States and Europe. Ms. Gary has performed the title role in classical ballets such as The Nutcracker, La Sylphide, Don Quixote, Paquita, Markitanka pas de six, and Coppelia. Her repertoire with ABT II includes roles in the Flame of Paris pas de deux, Jerome Robbins’ Interplay, Antony Tudor’s Continuo, George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and Stars and Stripes pas de deux, Jessica Lang’s Vivace Motifs, Roger Vanfleteren’s Pavlovsk, Jodi Gate’s A Taste of Sweet Velvet, Aszure Barton’s Barbara, and Edward Liang’s Ballo Per Sei. Ms. Gary has performed roles in new choreography by Robert Hill. Her repertoire with Orlando Ballet also consists of Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake.

Filed Under: 4dancers, Career Tagged With: advice for dancers, ballet student, cara marie gary, dance career, dance challenges, joffrey ballet, professional dancer, The Joffey Ballet, young dancer

Two Decades At Colorado Ballet

December 17, 2015 by 4dancers

Sharon Wehner
Colorado Ballet’s Sharon Wehner. Photo by Allen Birnbach.

by Sharon Wehner

“What does it mean to you to be celebrating your 20th season with the Colorado Ballet?”

This is a question I have been asked over and over again since our season started this past July—a question asked by my colleagues, by board members, by our marketing department, and by numerous members of the media. I have spent hours pondering it, and each time I am asked, it seems I have a different answer.

It is a big question, and quite honestly, I dread it, because it sends me spinning into a myriad of memories and growth periods—both beautiful ones, and those that were, well, more challenging. My first response is to say that it feels like any milestone birthday. On the one hand, it’s could be viewed as just another number. From a pessimistic perspective, it could be seen as the inevitable passing of time—one year closer to the end. Dancers love to bemoan how old they are getting and how old their bodies feel, a tendency that starts about the age of puberty. But from another perspective, a milestone birthday could be an opportunity to feel blessed—one more year to be able to be and do what I love.

What does it mean to dance for twenty years in the same company? As every dancer knows, choosing this as one’s profession means accepting some unique parameters:

  • Dancing is a career with a limited lifespan—retirement does not mean turning 65.5 and collecting a pension. Longevity in one company may earn a small amount of seniority, but nothing like the retirement benefits of a company in the corporate world.
  • Being a professional dancer requires a particular lifestyle commitment. Because our body is our bread and butter, what we do outside the “office” affects our ability to be at the top of our game. Simple things like food, sleep, rest, exercise, and play are all intimately connected to our performance. And as the years pass, maintenance on the body becomes an increasingly refined and conscientious balance of these elements.
  • Dancing can be a very transient kind of lifestyle. Those who freelance must weave together a patchwork of gigs, supplemented by other kinds of work to pay the bills. They must be able to adapt quickly to new bosses, colleagues, an environments. Even those dancers who want the stability of a company, will often switch companies several times during the span of their careers, for a number of reasons.

Given all of these tendencies, why would someone commit the bulk of their dance career to one ballet company for 20-plus years? When I ask myself this question, there are a multitude of answers, which brings up the question “What are the advantages of such a commitment?” [Read more…]

Filed Under: 4dancers, Career Tagged With: ballet career, colorado ballet, dance career, giselle, Koichi Kubo, nutcracker, professional dancer, Sharon Wehner, sugar plum fairy

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