The DDA way

What could be scarier than Halloween in the month of October? Well quite possibly the smell of your dancers dance bag. Have you ever wondered to yourself, “how could such pretty little feet make that smell ?”...... Here are some tried and true tricks to keep your dancers dance bag smelling fresh in between classes. Should be obvious, but take out dirty leotards and tights and wash them. Smelly shoes the problem? You can make shoe dehumidifiers by using old worn out tights. Simply cut off the feet of the tights, fill with dry rice, you can also add a few drops of peppermint oil to the rice. The rice will absorb moisture and the peppermint will leave a pleasant smell. Place dance shoes in a Ziploc bag and freeze them overnight. Freezing the shoes will kill the bacteria therefore, destroy the odor. Once a month take everything out of the dance bag and wash it in the washing machine. Canvas ballet shoes and canvas lyrical shoes can be washed in the washing machine on...

A student once told me, “I have to remember 500 things all at once to not look like a floppy fish while dancing, Ms. Geneva!” I responded, “It sure seems like it, right?! But don’t worry, soon you won’t have to think as much about all those things and friends at school will ask you if you are a dancer just because of the way you sit and stand!” Control, grace, holding balances, turning, landing from jumps, extensions, and looking elegant all comes from having beautiful posture that works individually for your body as a dancer. I say ‘individually’ because some students have medical issues with their spine, abdominals, and collar bone, etc. so teachers have to gauge what works best for each student. Pulling the belly button towards the spine, engaging the abdominals, lifting up out of the lower back, pulling the shoulder blades down, lifting up the back of the neck while keeping the neck long and high, is just the start of everything to think about! Once your body gets used to having go...

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 ● D...