I have a dancer who has a very tight back. She can’t even touch her toes. She says it doesn’t hurt, but she feels no stretch. I am able to push her back down further (with no pain for her), but she just can’t do it on her own. How can I help her? —Anna […]
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 […]
I have, according my dance teachers, the “perfect dancer body.” My legs are hyperextended and I have perfect turnout. If I have the “perfect dancer body,” then why does my body hurt so much while I dance? It is all about balance! Dancers need to have flexibility and strength. It seems that you have the […]
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 […]
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 […]
First of all, thank you for answering my question about how to get higher extensions to the front and side. Regarding the exercise you suggested, I have a question. When I tried it, I felt the bone that is between the top of my thigh and torso “pop out” and a lot of engagement in […]
My 10-year-old daughter has a dance teacher who has the students stay in the frog position for a few minutes each class. My daughter finds it very uncomfortable. Does this position actually serve a purpose? Sometimes it is hard to know if uncomfortable is a good or bad sensation. Sometimes when you try something new, […]
Like many dancers, I was taught to hold my hips square when standing in fourth and fifth positions. However, in a recent professional development course, I was told the following: “The hips cannot anatomically be square in fourth or fifth. The dancer must not try to hold them square—it is neither possible nor desirable. For […]
What is the key to getting higher extensions to the front and side? I’ve gotten many suggestions to use my psoas, but during all of the exercises I’ve done to try to strengthen them, I always end up using my hip flexor. —Hadley Hi Hadley, What a great question and one that many dancers are […]