ADVICE FOR DANCERS.Q The director of my daughter's dance school believes that students should train without relying on a marley floor. She uses a sprung wooden floor. Yet I know other dance schools that use marleys. Doesn't this floor covering keep dancers from slipping? What about cushioning joints and muscles? Worried Mom A In the 1950s many performers loved to dance on wooden floors--and hated linoleum linoleum (lĭnō`lēəm), resilient floor or wall covering made of burlap, canvas, or felt, surfaced with a composition of wood flour, oxidized linseed oil, gums or other ingredients, and coloring matter. ! Nowadays, dancers prefer vinyl floor coverings. Why? According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Perry Silvey, production stage manager for New York City Ballet New York City Ballet, one of the foremost American dance companies of the 20th cent. It was founded by Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine as the Ballet Society in 1946. , this floor is predictable. Rather than slipping or sliding, dancers can concentrate on performing the steps. Of course, most dancers still deal with less-than-perfect dance floors. But are these different kinds of floors safe? Yes and no. Concrete floors in opera houses Opera houses are listed by continent, then by country with the name of the opera house and city; the opera company is sometimes named for clarity. Note: there are many theatres whose name includes the words Opera House create all kinds of physical problems for dancers. However, a properly sprung dance floor (resilient but not too bouncy) absorbs energy, preventing overuse injuries. Added protection comes from a vinyl cover, so long as it isn't too slippery or too sticky. Vinyl can also provide some cushioning. Still, a sprung wooden floor shouldn't be dangerous for dancers if it's well maintained and not too oily. Q I'm a fourteen-year-old male dancer with an injured hip. My doctor has diagnosed it as tendinitis with an inflamed bursa Bursa, city, Turkey Bursa (b  rsä`), city (1990 pop. 838,323), capital of Bursa prov., NW Turkey. . Right now, I'm trying to change my technique because my dance teacher says that my problem comes from sitting in my hips. Yet it's still popping out of the joint. What can I do? Brandon A See a physical therapist! While hips don't pop out of their joints, dancers can suffer from a syndrome called snapping hip. Predisposing factors include tightness and poor technique. Fortunately, special exercises can help. Q My dance teacher told us that my class could not go on pointe pointe n. In ballet, dancing that is performed on the tips of the toes. [From French pointe (des pieds), point (of the feet), tiptoe; see point.] until we are thirteen, no matter how good we are. What does age have to do with it? Say What? from Milwaukee A No one really knows when dancers should begin toe work. However, most dance medicine specialists agree that it takes about four years of training to develop sufficient strength and technique for toe. Some Russian doctors also feel that dancers who start on pointe at age fourteen will have fewer injuries. It's good that your teacher is being cautious. However, if you want more information, check out The Pointe Book, Revised: Shoes, Training and Technique by Janice Barringer and Sarah Schlesinger (Princeton Book Company, revised edition 1998). Q In your November column you mentioned the hot fields of dance medicine, including psychology. Dance psychology greatly interests me. Can you tell me more? Stephanie from Boulder A Gladly! If you want to be a psychologist for dancers, you need to get a doctorate in clinical or counseling psychology Counseling psychology as a psychological specialty facilitates personal and interpersonal functioning across the life span with a focus on emotional, social, vocational, educational, health-related, developmental, and organizational concerns. . Then it helps to do your dissertation on an important topic in dance such as eating disorders eating disorders, in psychology, disorders in eating patterns that comprise four categories: anorexia nervosa, bulimia, rumination disorder, and pica. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by self-starvation to avoid obesity. or career transitions. Last but not least, try to get clinical experience by working in a dancers' health care clinic. In my book, Advice for Dancers (Jossey-Bass, 1998), I provide information on more than thirty medical services and clinics for dancers. Q New York City Ballet and I were "born" in the same year. Now, at the vibrant young age of fifty, I hope that we both continue to grow and prosper. My own interest in ballet has recently led to Labanotation. Do colleges offer courses on how to codify codify to arrange and label a system of laws. movement? I'm sure that there's a great need for professionals to record this lovely art. Jeanne from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of A Labanotation is an exciting field. Professionals can teach in universities, stage works from dance scores, and record new works. College Labanotation courses cover the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels in about one year. The next two semesters include a training course, followed by certification after you have notated your own dance score. To find out more, contact the Dance Notation dance notation Written recording of dance movements. The earliest notation, in the late 15th century, consisted of letter-symbols. Several attempts were made in later centuries to describe dance steps, but no unified system combined both rhythm and steps until the 1920s, Bureau (151 W. 30 St., Suite 202, New York, NY 10001; (212) 564-0985). This organization is the only one in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. to produce, house, and disseminate dance scores. It also sets the standards for certification. Q Two months ago, I broke my ankle. The cast made my muscles atrophy. Then I became extremely weak because I couldn't dance for more than a month. I'm thirteen and I need to get my strength back now to audition for summer programs. Please, please help me! Weak! A I'll help if you promise to slow down. While it's never easy to be injured, you can do wonders with the right rehabilitation. Orthopedists tell me that physical therapy is crucial after a serious injury. A body conditioning program is also necessary to get you back into tiptop shape. Popular options for dancers include Pilates-based exercises (telephone 800-505-1990) or the Alexander (telephone 800-473-0620) or Feldenkrais (telephone 800-775-2118) techniques. Aerobics, such as swimming, can also restore stamina and help you maintain a low weight. Once you're reconditioned re·con·di·tion tr.v. re·con·di·tioned, re·con·di·tion·ing, re·con·di·tions To restore to good condition, especially by repairing, renovating, or rebuilding. , ease back into a full schedule of dance classes. But stay close to your physical therapy until you get the green light to go full speed ahead. Before you know it, you'll be ready to try out for summer dance programs. Linda Hamilton, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and former dancer with New York City Ballet. |
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