“If you had to limit your advice to one idea that could have a profound impact on the training of young dancers, what would it be?” Dance Teacher posed this question to New York City–based physical therapist and former professional dancer Rocky Bornstein, who spoke about the power of the single-leg stance before offering some […]
Q: I have an 8-year-old student who is coming along quite nicely in her technique, but I’ve noticed that one foot doesn’t point as well as the other. What’s up? A: Your student may have an os trigonum problem, where a tiny chip of bone from the talus is getting caught in the joint. Initially, […]
Have you ever looked at a student’s posture and said: “Close your ribs” or “Don’t grip your glutes” or “Use your abdominals more”? While that pinpointed correction may or may not have achieved the desired results in the moment, such phrases naturally raise a bigger question: “But how?” Not all verbal cues are equal to […]
Turnout—the outward rotation of the hips that dancers are constantly striving to improve. Yet few actually have the 180-degree outward rotation that is so idealized. In her 40-plus years of working as a movement analyst, Deborah Vogel has only come across a handful of dancers who have it. “That’s structural,” she says. “They have a […]
One of my dancer friends was told by a doctor that she had reverse curve in her spine due to constant forward curves, head-tail movements and backward rolls. Do you have any advice for how to remedy or prevent this? The answer is: good posture! The constant forward head that students have as they look […]
I have heard you say that tight hamstrings prevent full extension of the knees and that you prefer hamstring stretches in a standing position, rather than on the floor. Can you explain why? The reason I prefer stretching tight hamstrings in a standing position is to isolate the stretch better. The problem with stretching on […]
One of my dancers has knee pain that is baffling me. She dances 5–6 hours a week and has had the pain for a few months. She says it doesn’t hurt until she starts dancing, and certain strenuous movements make it worse. She says the pain is at the bottom of her kneecap and mentioned […]
How does having wide hips affect my turnout? The width of your hips doesn’t influence how much turnout you have at the joint. Turnout is determined by your hip joint structure and the muscle balance around the joint. That being said, having wider hips can influence turnout in fourth and fifth positions because of how […]
When teachers say, “Tuck under” or “Pull in your belly button,” what is happening anatomically? Is there better language I should use? Our language should be as anatomically accurate as possible. Phrases like the two you mentioned can create a variety of responses, and not all desirable ones. For example, a teacher may say, “Tuck […]
I have plantar fasciitis. What do I do? —Jacqueline Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the fascia on the bottom of your foot. Fascia is a sheet of connective tissue that surrounds muscles. The traditional first step is to roll out your foot on a ball. Next, you’ll want to check other areas that may […]