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My Favorite Conditioning Exercise for Dancers

I try to encourage my dancers from a young age to think of themselves as athletic and strong. Building strength is critical to their success as a dancer. I think teachers tend to over emphasize flexibility. Flexibility is an important element of dance; but equally important is the strength to control that flexibility!  Hands down my favorite conditioning exercise is the basic push-up. Dancers can gain upper body strength, core strength, tune in to their alignment, and see their dance technique improve as a result of their increased strength. What's not to love?? Below I have outlined the progression of the exercise as I teach it at my studio. Dancers should begin with the plank on their knees and move their way up to the full push-up. I start incorporating planks into my technique classes at age 7.

Plank on Knees
1. Hands should be placed directly under the shoulders. Dancers should aim to create a straight line that extends from the top of their head to their knees. Focus should be down at the ground.
2. Hips should be pulled under, eliminating any curve in the low back.
3. Dancers should envision pushing the ground away from them and avoid "sitting" in their shoulders. 4. Hold for 30 sec. (or until form starts to suffer). Repeat 2-3 times.

Plank on Toes
1. Same as above, but instead of resting on their knees, both legs are extended fully behind them and the straight line extends from the top of their head out their heels.
2. Hold for 30-60 sec. (or until form starts to suffer). Repeat 2-3 times.

Push-up from Knees
1. Find your "plank on knees" position. Take arms out slightly wider than shoulders.
2. Lower the body down towards the ground bending the arms to a 90 degree angle before coming back to the starting position.
3. Fingertips should face forward and elbows can flair slightly away from the body.
4. Maintain strong alignment as the body moves. Keep the hips pulled under.
5. Work up to 10 repetitions. Repeat 2-3 times.

Push-up from Toes
1. Same as above, but instead of resting on knees, legs are fully extended.
2. Work up to 10 repetitions. Repeat 2-3 times.

Helpful Hints
- Go for a full range of motion. A lot of times in class I see older dancers doing a mini push-up; they are on their toes but barely moving their upper body. I would rather see them go to their knees and get a full range of motion (finding a 90 degree bend in the elbow). They will see results faster!

-Watch the alignment when dancers are doing push-ups from their knees. Dancers tend to leave their backsides up in the air while they move their arms. Make sure the body is moving as a unit and it isn't just the chest that is moving up and down.

-Set a goal! By age 12, I think most dancers are capable of doing 10 quality push-ups from their toes. If a high school student is not able to do this, building strength should be a priority in their training. Adding a few sets throughout the week will get them there in no time! Their technique WILL improve as a result of the added strength:)

Need a visual? Check out this guide from Dance Spirit Magazine. They have even included a few variations once the traditional push-up is a breeze:)

Trying Out for High School Dance Team?

Deciding whether or not to participate in a high school dance team can be a difficult decision for a dancer. At our studio, we often have parents and students asking for guidance in making this decision. Can they continue to train as intensely? Can they balance everything with school work? Will it effect their technique? These are valid questions and any student considering dance team should take some time to really think them through before even trying out for the team.

First it is important to pin point the motive for wanting to participate in dance team. For some dancers,  it is a way to be involved in their school and serves as away to make some friends. For those who are entering high school as a freshman, it can be great way to calm nerves going into this new phase in their life. They will have older teammates that can look out for them the first couple weeks of school. Other dancers are excited about dance team because it allows them to do different styles of dance then what their studio focuses on. And some dancers are very into the uniform or performing at football and basketball games for their peers.  

The next step is deciding what the dancer wants to do in regards to training at their studio. Are they wanting to pull back a little, continue with the same schedule, or add more. Some of our dancers take class at the studio as a way to ensure that they MAKE the dance team at their high school. Once they do, they may drop down to one or two classes a week. Other dancers want to do it all; dance team, youth company at the studio and all the technique classes to go along with it. 

Finally and most importantly, you and your dancer must determine if they can balance this new life with the responsibility of school and any other activities they are involved in (sports, music, art, etc). It is important to set realistic goals for your dancer to avoid setting them up to fail. The demands of dance team are different school to school as are the demands of your studio. It is important to lay out a typical day for your dancer and see if it is something they can handle. Not every student is the same and some are better then others at balancing a busy schedule. 

As a studio director and a former pom at my high school I am always a little torn when a student approaches me about dance team. Does dance team effect a dancers training at a studio? yes. However those effects can be both positive and negative.

The Positives:

• More practice of pirouettes, leaps, etc. Dance teams drill these steps over and over which is great! 
• It can help dancers improve timing and it demands clean and sharp lines.
• Dancers are sometimes given the opportunity to choreograph routines for competitions and or games.
• It builds confidence- they are performing in front of their peers(not much else is scarier then that!).

The Negatives: 

• Practice is after school, technique/rehearsal is usually after that- us teachers are often getting the tired, worn out, crabby, and hungry versions of your sweet dancers which can lead to injuries and stall growth in their technique.
• Dance team = more absences due to games, competitions, etc. If a dancer is missing dance classes they are not able to improve their technique or learn new choreography. 
• Studio youth companies often take second priority to dance team. For the reasons listed above, this can create a frustrating scenario for fellow teammates who are not on dance team. 

Can you do both- yes! But it is not an easy path. Whatever your dancer decides to do, I would recommend going over the importance of making a commitment and sticking to it. There will be times where your dancer is tired and has a lot of homework, so why not just skip technique class? As the parent you should remind your dancer that this is what they signed up for and that the other dancers are depending on them to be there. Balancing it all is tough but honoring a commitment is a lifelong skill that will be worth the effort. 

Concert Dance vs. Commercial Dance

Most professional dance opportunities fall into two categories; concert dance or commercial dance. A brief rundown:

Concert dance is most often seen in a theater setting. Most professional dance companies, college dance programs, and ballet schools focus on creating concert dance. The focus of a concert dance piece is the telling a story through movement.  Examples of companies that would fall under this category would be Hubbard Street Dance and American Ballet Theater. A common track for a dancer pursing a career in concert dance would be high school training, followed by a degree in dance or acceptance into a professional ballet school, auditioning, and ultimately a contract with a company. 

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Commercial dance is most often seen on TV and in venues like arenas and cruise ships. While these dances can still tell stories, the main focus is pure entertainment. Examples of commercial dance would be professional dance teams, music videos, and most of the numbers on SYTYCD. A common track for a dancer pursuing a commercial dance career would be high school training, moving to a city where there are a lot of commercial opportunities (most are happening in LA), continuing to train and take class, attending auditions and maybe getting an agent, and ultimately booking gigs or projects. 

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Why does this matter to dance students and parents? If your child is interested in pursuing dance after high school it is extremely important that they are exposed to both types of professional dance. This can help them to develop goals within their current training and also make sure their training is supporting their long term goals. While strong technique is extremely important to both tracks it is going to look a little different. 

In my performing career, (in modern and jazz companies) I have never been asked to do more then a double pirouette on stage or a jump more complex then a simple leap.  I try to remind my students of this whenever they aren't focusing enough on the details or frustrated that something is "too easy". Concert dance becomes a lot more about the quality of what you are doing and the message your are conveying to your audience. If students aren't exposed to this or taught why this has value, college dance in particular can be really disappointing. They are going to have a hard time transitioning without the bells and whistles of their high school training. Most college programs focus on modern and ballet, so goodbye pop tunes and crazy jazz combos. If they have been exposed to concert dance they are better able to handle this transition and can see it as an opportunity to dive a little deeper into their training and ultimately become more than a technician- but an artist! 

It is hard NOT to be exposed to commercial dance these days. Dance is everywhere...which is an awesome thing! Commercial dancers need amazing technique, but they also need to build upon the skill set they developed in high school and add skills and tricks that can make them more diverse and more likely to get booked. Most concert dance companies hire dancers for a season where they will perform several or many times throughout the year. Most commercial opportunities are for specific jobs or performances and will end when that performance is over. While some choreographers will use the same dancers for multiple jobs, most dancers are going to need to have a diverse training background in order to book work. It may be beneficial to get training in hip hop, break dancing, acro, and even circus arts. I don't think most college dance programs would adequately prepare students for the commercial world of dance (there are some..but they are not the norm). They may be better off moving to the city they want to work in and taking as much class as they can. 

Whichever direction dance takes your student, one thing I can recommend is an open mind.  Post high school, the sooner they can get rid of "this is weird", or "this is different", the better! All choreographers, regardless of what world they work in, want to work with dancers that are able to commit fully to what the choreographer is asking. I would encourage parents to seek out studios that support all styles of dance as valid and offer students opportunities to perform both types of work. In the future I think that the lines separating these two worlds will continue to become more blurred..it is important that our future dancers are prepared!