In a recent guest post, Leora Amir shared her advice on how to boost and maintain the energy levels of your dancin’ son. I then interviewed her on this topic so we could go into more detail. Your dancer is an athlete. All athletes need energy to attain peak performance. Without energy, your son can’t […]
How to Maintain Your Dancer’s Energy Level
Serious dancers are athletes challenged to have high levels of energy for prolonged periods of time. Dancers are often over-scheduled, have stressful lives, and suffer from a lack of quality sleep and poor eating habits. These factors lower energy levels. Fatigue breaks us down physically and emotionally, and it wreaks havoc on the immune system. […]
Keeping Your Kids Hydrated During Summer Dance Classes
The kids were off yesterday for the Fourth of July. Good think because it got hot, and it is going to stay hot until Thursday or Friday. Really hot–98 or 100 and humid. Yuck. If your son is dancing somewhere where it’s hot this summer, remind him to hydrate well. Water is great, of course, […]
The Nutrition Needs of Serious Dancers: How to Stay Healthy, Strong and in Peak Performance Shape (Part 2)
I have a very difficult time feeding Julian foods that give him what he needs to perform well during peak times of dance activity. In fact, I have trouble feeding him correctly even during normal rehearsals. I know the value of giving him proteins over carbohydrates, for instance, but I’m not always around after school […]
The Nutrition Needs of Serious Dancers: How to Stay Healthy, Strong and in Peak Performance Shape (Part 1)
When I first considered giving Julian high-quality vitamins in an effort to keep him healthy, I really didn’t think about the fact that the amount of dancing he did each week could be contributing to his health. Normally we think exercise makes our children healthy. However, too much exercise without the right nutrition can actually […]
Keeping Your Dancer Healthy During Intense Periods of Activity
With the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive fast approaching, I’ve begun thinking about how to keep Julian healthy for seven weeks. We stay in the city for an extra week so he can dance at the great studios there for another six or seven days after the intensive ends. So, I thought I’d posts information […]