Sleep-ins, Christmas parties, lazing about on the beach… the summer holidays are here! Whether you’re dance student or a company dancer, you’re probably looking forward to some well-earned time off over the Christmas break.
For dedicated dance students (and professionals!), however, it can be hard to know exactly how much rest is enough. Will you lose it if you don’t use it? We’ve all experienced the physical and mental pain of returning to training after a break only to discover that our muscles are no longer co-operative. The first few weeks back at class often see aching bodies and demoralised brains, as well as an increased risk of injury.
It is, however, super important that you take time to rest and recuperate. So how do you strike a balance?
Dance Australia spoke to a selection of dance experts for advice about how to make sure you come back to class relaxed, refreshed and ready for action!
Rest!
It may seem counter-intuitive but an important part of your preparation for the year ahead is ensuring you DO take a holiday, says dance physiotherapist Emma Sulley. “Enjoy your break – you deserve it! Spend time catching up with friends, chilling out and doing all those things you’ve wanted to do but had to put off over the year.” Co3 community engagement director, Richard Longbottom, agrees. “It’s important to take a bit of time out over the summer; the emotional and cognitive stresses of dance training can impact on your overall health and wellbeing just as significantly as the physical side. So remember that it’s the holidays, and if you don’t have to work during your break, then sleep when you need, hang out with mates, laugh, eat well and be kind to yourself and those around you.”
But keep moving…
For those who have a longer break, such as full-time students, it’s important to keep that body active, say physiotherapists at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS) Melanie Jenkins and Gabby Davidson. For the first few weeks of the break they suggest that dancers participate in non-dance-related activities, such as swimming or bike-riding. Enjoyment is important if you’re having a “rest and recovery” period, says VCASS’s contemporary studies coordinator, Steven McTaggart. “Non-contact games and exercises offer enjoyable and varied ways to keep active and maintain fitness.”
Head of dance at Queensland University of Technology, Associate Professor Gene Moyle, says maintaining physical fitness over the break is important. “[Activities] can include alternate training and cardiovascular fitness activities, in addition to key strength and conditioning exercises/activities such as Pilates and yoga.
Establish good habits for the year
The holiday period is a chance to establish good eating and sleeping routines for the year, says Sulley. “Catch up on sleep and get into a good sleep routine. Guidelines recommend 9-11 hours for 6-13 year olds, 8-10 hours for 14-17 year olds and 7-9 hours for those 18 and above each night. Niggles can hurt more the next day if you haven’t had enough sleep. A good sound sleep is essential for a dancer’s body and mind alike,” she advises. “Eat a nutritious diet full of things you like. If you’ve been watching your diet over the summer break remember you’ll need to bring your food intake up when you return to training. Food is the fuel for your body. You don’t need to starve yourself if you eat the right foods. Enjoy lots of vegetables of all colours and unprocessed carbohydrates as the bulk of your diet. Ausdance has a factsheet with more information and resources on fuelling the dancer.”
Address chronic injuries
“Use the summer break as a time to work on injuries or niggles you’ve been carrying over the year but might not have had the time to fully address,” suggests Sulley. “Previous injuries are the biggest predictor for future injuries. So see a dance physiotherapist for advice, to get a plan for getting 100% better and to avoid long-term repercussions.”
Get dance specific
In the two to three weeks leading up to resuming full time training, exercise should become more dance specific, say our experts. “Students need to be slowly building up to dance classes as regularly as they did before going on holidays,” says Moyle. “This is called ‘periodisation’ and focuses on increasing stages/phases of building dance fitness up to what it normally is.”
Jenkins and Davidson concur that starting slowly is best. “Start some gentle specific exercises a couple of weeks prior to starting class,” they advise. “This should include rises and some balance work, and may also include basics like plies and tendus.”
McTaggart agrees that specific dance training preparation should commence at least two weeks before full-time training starts. “This means doing dance specific stretches, strengthening exercises and dance classes,” he explains. “It is important to maintain any injury-rehabilitation exercises as per instructions from your health practitioner and to ensure you gradually return to a full capacity in class.”
Want more articles like this? The Feb/Mar edition of Dance Australia (out late Jan) will include a Back-to-Class special, with more tips for young dancers about how to prepare physically and mentally for the year ahead, tips for teachers about injury prevention, and nutrition advice from dietitian and nutritionist Fiona Sutherland. Plus we’ve got suggestions about how to handle the stresses of the year from professional dancers.
Emma Sulley is a Postgradute Dance Physiotherapist who has been working with professional and aspiring dancers for over 15 years. Emma practises at Body Logic Physiotherapy in Shenton Park, Western Australia.