Why You Should Come to Dance Class Even if You Are Injured!
/I decided to publish this blog post again because as slog through a slow COVID recovery, I have needed to listen to my own advice.
I have a lot of experience with being injured and returning to dance. The last decade has been one long string of body parts giving out. Being injured causes physical and emotional pain. The physical pain is obvious, but the emotional pain is no less real. Missing performances, having to sit on the sidelines at rehearsal, and not feeling like a contributing member can all wear on a dancer’s self-esteem and mood. I have spent some time recently investigating “best practices” around injured dancers and want to offer some suggestions for ways an injured dancer can keep learning, participating, and feeling connected in class and troupe rehearsal. First, we will look at how you can physically continue participating. Second, if you must sit out, how can you make use of that time to improve your dance? Third, how can you also use that time observing to benefit your teacher, the class/and or the troupe?
1- Physical participation
There are several strategies you can use to make decisions about physical participation.
Medical Advice: At the post-op apt after my hip replacement, the surgeon and I danced. I stood up and showed him the movements I needed to do and he stood up and showed me what I needed to avoid. Between that meeting and similar sessions with a physical therapist, I returned to dance with very clear instructions about movement. If you are injured, ask your medical providers for suggestions on modifying movement and share those suggestions with your teacher.
Pain Free Range of Motion: Basically, don’t do anything that hurts!
Modify Movements: This means reducing the difficulty of the movements, modifying your exertion level, or otherwise limiting your participation in order to allow your body time to heal. In other styles of dance, “marking” the movement is more common than it seems to be in ATS®. Marking is a great alternative to dancing “full out” both for dancers who are injured and for dancers who are tired and therefore more susceptible to injuries.
Remove weight bearing: Can you sit and continue to do upper body movements while decreasing the load on your lower body? Are there alternative movements that can train your body in the same way but can be done on the ground or in a chair? Ask your physical therapist and your dance teacher for help figuring this out.
2- Mental Rehearsal
Mental rehearsal is a strategy used by professional athletes and sports psychologists to enable high-performing athletes to benefit from practice without adding strain to their bodies… again, both preventing and dealing with injuries. There is an abundance of evidence that this is an effective strategy to improve performance! The evidence supports that mental rehearsal helps you maintain neuromuscular connections and refine your movements. It can also help you analyze your personal dance habits and technique.
Mental rehearsal is most effective when the dancer alternates between 2 different perspectives.
Kinesthetic Practice: When you visualize yourself executing the movement from the inside.
Visual Practice: When you visualize yourself executing the movement from the outside as if you are viewing a movie.
While visualizing, notice the cues and instructions you give yourself about doing the movement. Recording those mental cues and instructions is one more way you can deepen the benefits of this strategy.
3- Written Class Observation
Observing class allows you to recognize how your movements can be improved and identify strategies for change by watching how other dancers execute the movements you have trouble doing. You can also assist your teacher and the other students by noticing strengths and opportunities for improvement within individual dancers or the class. Here are some questions you can consider while you are watching.
What general or individual feedback comments did the teacher make? How does this feedback apply to you?
What do you see in your classmates that you can apply to yourself?
Are there any students in the class who are inspiring to you? Why specifically?
What do you notice about the relationship between the music and the movement? How are individual dancers responding to the music? Is there anything specific you want to emulate?
There are so many great ways to make use of class time, even if you can’t dance. Physically participating is not the only way to benefit personally or add value to a class or troupe. By appreciating the abundance of ways you can contribute even if you are injured, I hope students and troupe members will be encouraged to take time to heal and to feel great about it!