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Fueling Your Dancer for Their Best Performance


By: Katie Behrens
Health Coach and Sports Nutrition Expert, DDA Instructor
Certified By: The American Council On Exercise

Let’s set the scene. It is the Friday night before competition. All of the costumes are packed and labeled, early morning alarms are set to get up to do hair and makeup. The last thing to do is create the fuel your dancer will need throughout the day so they can stay at their peak performance.

Dancers bodies are like a fine tuned machine. I actually like to compare them to a race car. You cannot show up to the Indy 500 with a Porsche, put 87 grade octane gasoline in the tank and expect to win the race. Dancers must put high-grade fuel into their bodies to be able to perform their best.

Let’s talk about what types of foods fuel an athlete like a dancer. Carbohydrates are what our bodies first look for when they look for energy. Some of my favorite portable carbohydrate snacks for quick energy absorption are:
● Grapes
● Apples
● Carrots
● Bananas
● Strawberries
● Dates, loaded with natural sugar (these are much better than pixie sticks!!!)
● Dried fruit
● Pears
● Oranges

Where’s the bread you ask???? Yes grains like bread, crackers, rice, pasta are all sources of carbohydrates. However we’re talking about fast easily digestible sources of fuel for our athletes. When you add more complex carbohydrates it takes longer for the body to break them down into fuel which can lead to belly aches right before your dancer goes on stage.

Next let’s talk about protein and fats. Pairing protein and fat with a simple carbohydrate is going to slow down the energy (sugar) absorption and help the energy sustain longer in the athletes body. My favorite portable forms of fat and protein are:
● Nuts
● Hard boiled eggs
● Cheese sticks
● Olives
● Avocado (high in fat and fiber, not protein)
● Greek Yogurt (with less than 7 grams of sugar)
● Hummus
● Lean lunch meats like ham and turkey

Here are some examples of what a day of meals could look like at competition to keep your dancer performance ready.

Breakfast (2 hours before stage call)
● 1 hard boiled egg, apple slices with nut butter
● Banana, peanut butter, chia seed, almond milk smoothie
( 1 small banana, 1 tablespoon chia seed, 1 tablespoon nut butter 8oz unsweetened almond
milk ½ cup to a cup of ice blend well)
Snacks on hand for quick fuel in between dances:
● Grapes
● Apples
● Carrots
● Bananas
● Strawberries
● Dates (these are much better than pixie sticks!!!)
● Pears
● Oranges
● Olives
● Trail mix
● Cheese sticks
● Hummus

Lunch/Dinner if dancers have at least 2.5-3 hours before stage again.
● Spinach salad with chicken, strawberries, feta cheese and walnuts.
● Lettuce roll ups (lettuce, deli meat, cheese mayo or mustard)
● Non dairy based soups (too much dairy before a performance can lead to gastric upset).

Next let’s talk about hydration throughout the performance day. Our athletes are perspiring with each performance they do on stage. Keeping up their hydration is just as important as keeping them well fueled by food. Water is best of course. They are also sweating out salt though which affects their electrolyte levels. Adding in a watered down version of an electrolyte replacement such as Gatorade is a healthier choice. I like to do a 50-50 mix, 50% water 50% Gatorade. This cuts down the  immediate sugar shock that can happen if you just drink straight Gatorade. When I think of hydration I say stay away from C.R.AP (carbonated/chemicals, refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, processed).

OK you’ve read this far and I can hear what you’re thinking, “KATIE my kid won’t eat all of those fruits and non-processed foods. My kid wants the burger and the fries and the shake”..

So let’s talk the last meal of the day. This is where the re-load of carbohydrates can come in. If the dancer is done dancing for the day go ahead and have the burger and fries or the pasta and pizza don’t forget the ice cream. The above snack and meal ideas aren’t only good for competition, but also on a day when the dancers are at the studio all day.

Staying away from excessive added sugar and processed foods are going to help fuel your athlete for their best performance. Trying out a few of the meal ideas before you actually get to competition weekend is the best way to make sure the fuel agrees with the athlete.

For more healthy snack and meal ideas check out the link below!
https://choosemyplate-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/misc/tool/2WeekMenusAndFoodGroupContent.pdf

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