Ballet
Keeping Dancers Dancing: “Help I Have An Injury – What Do I Do?”
by Jan Dunn, MS
Jan Dunn, MS
So you have a dance injury? What do you do….????
Last month we covered the various causes of dance injuries, and I’m hoping that information is helping you to stay injury-free. But hey, it can still happen, despite our best preventative efforts. So, the next piece is knowing what do if / when an injury occurs.
- First off, you have to be sure you recognize that it IS an injury….i.e, knowing the difference between “good” and “bad” pain. This may sound like first-grade language (it is), but it’s the easiest way to understanding the signals your body may be giving you:
-“good” pain is the discomfort we feel when we are doing a new activity our body is not used to, like taking a jazz dance class for the very first time, when all your training has been ballet. It’s the normal response of our muscles / joints to the new movements, and is characterized by:
-a dull aching discomfort (not what we usually call ‘pain”) which is wide-spread through the body area you were using in a new way. For example, in a jazz class you use the ribs / pelvis in very specific non-balletic movements, and the next day you may feel over-all sore in those areas.
-“bad” pain is when your body is saying very clearly “STOP! I am HURT!”, and is characterized by:
-pain in a very specific place, much more localized than the discomfort described above. It may be in that one spot constantly, or only when you use the body part / joint in a specific way. It is usually a sharper type of pain than the “good”kind, but the key point is that it’s NOT wide-spread, but much more in one place.
2. Ok, so you’ve recognized that you have a “bad” pain, an injury —what do you do? The very first step is often abbreviated as PRICED (we used to say “RICE”, but you’ll see below where the “P” is now added in:
Review: Paradice Pack
Paradice Pack
You know how a bag of frozen vegetables works wonders in terms of being able to wrap it around an injury and take down the swelling? So does a Paradice Pack–but you don’t have to worry about the food inside going bad.
This handy pack has little fluid-filled balls inside it (kind of like peas) that stay cold, yet allow the pack to mold to the shape that you need. There are several different models–choose from “cuff” style or a flat pack, depending on what you need. I used the flat pack (see photo) and thought it was great.
The Paradice Pack has a soft fabric shell which eliminates the need for a towel or cloth, which you need to use for a gel pack or frozen veggies to protect the skin from damage. This was one of the best parts about the pack in my opinion, and I really can’t imagine why nobody did this before. (At least I’ve never seen it.)
Dancers often need to use an ice pack for one reason or another, and this one is a good pick. Plus it’s a family business, so you can feel good about supporting it. If you’re interested in learning more about these unique ice packs or purchasing one for yourself, visit their website.
Dancer Spotlight: Pedro Gamino
We’re back again with a “Dancer Spotlight”! Today we are featuring Pedro Gamino from Atlanta Ballet:
Pedro Gamino, photo courtesy of Atlanta Ballet
How did you become involved with dance?
My parents. They wanted my sister and I to have experiences they never had growing up. So they put us in dance and sports.
What is the best advice you have ever received from a teacher or mentor regarding dance?
When performing it is never the same show twice so give it all for yourself and the audience.
What has been your greatest challenge?
Dancing in sync with another dancer through some very difficult choreography. Being correct on the counts is one thing but to be together and feel their timing and energy takes you to another level.
Do you have any advice for dancers who want to go on to a professional career?
Keep open to all different styles of dance. The style you are least comfortable with–go after that one first. So many young dancers try to limit themselves to just ballet or jazz or Hip-Hop. The more well rounded you are the more exciting of a dancer you will become.
What do you enjoy most about your life in dance?
I’m getting a chance to do what I love to do. Especially now being in the same company as my new wife (Faye Abigail Tan-Gamino). We got hired at Atlanta Ballet together and stuck by each other through each experience/challenge and now we’re happily married.
What is next for you?
I would like become a PT either for dancers or for professional sports. Preferably football. Football is my guilty pleasure. Go Niners!!!!
BIO: A San Francisco native, began his training at age 13 with the San Francisco Academy of Ballet and later studied at the San Francisco School of the Arts High School and the School of American Ballet in New York City. Pedro returned to San Francisco to begin his professional career with the Smuin Ballet, where he worked with noted choreographers Michael Smuin, Amy Seiwert and Shannon Hurlburt, and also enjoyed a stint at Dayton Ballet where he worked with choreographers Septime Webre, Dermot Burke and Steven Mills. Eager to get back to the east coast, he accepted an opportunity to dance with American Repertory Ballet (ARB) in New Jersey. There he danced ballets and world premieres by Val Caniparoli, Lisa de Ribere, Twyla Tharp, Susan Shields and Graham Lustig among others. Pedro joins Atlanta Ballet with friends and former ARB company mates Abigail and Jared Tan. In addition to ballet, Pedro is a skilled Mexican folk and tap dancer, a former soccer and baseball player, and an avid bowler. Pedro is very happy to be a part of the Atlanta Ballet family and looks forward to a great season.
0Toenail Injuries in the Dancer by Dr. Sinkoe – Ingrown Nail/Infection
An ingrown nail is usually referred to any condition whereby inflammation of the surrounding skin of the toenail is present. A “true” ingrown nail occurs when the nail does ingrow into the surrounding nail fold. This may result after the individual has lost the nail and the nail regrows abnormal. A chronically bruised and lost nail may result in an ingrown nail. This occurs because the nail root, nail matrix, has been injured and the nail is now “programmed” to ingrow abnormally.
However, the majority of the time, the “ingrown nail” results after the nail is cut too short within the nail grooves. Bleeding will occur resulting in a granuloma. A granuloma appears as reddish tissue within the nail groove. Granulomas attract bacteria and thus a bacterial infection can develop. The granuloma grows and covers the nail border, thus appearing as an “ingrown nail”.
Signs and symptoms:
0Interview With Author Germaine Shames
Today we are happy to share this interview with author Germaine Shames…
Author, Germaine Shames
What is your background in dance?
Like the protagonist in my novel I began taking ballet classes at the age of four with a teacher whom, my parents liked to boast, had studied under Martha Graham. Like other young girls, I dreamed of becoming a prima ballerina.
But I was not like most girls. Shy, stubborn, I balked at following choreography and often found myself stranded alone on one side of the studio while the class, moving as one body, occupied the opposite side. And then suddenly, before I had mastered a single step, it was time for my first recital. A chorus line of us baby ballerinas was positioned center-stage as the towering velvet curtain slowly, slowly opened. One look at the audience and I froze, mouth wide-open, hands clamped to my cheeks.
My parents removed me from ballet class and enrolled me again thee years later—with similar results. There would be no more recitals.
Flash forward half a century…
I have ripened into, not a ballerina, but a writer with abiding creative and emotional ties to dance and dancers. My forthcoming ballet-themed novel You, Fascinating You will be released within days.
The protagonist of my novel, Margit Wolf, begins the account of her life, “They say ballet chooses the dancer.” Regrettably, I was not among the chosen. How I envy those of you who are!
How did you become a writer?
0Finding Balance: An Introduction
Today I’d like to give a warm welcome to Emily Kate Long, 4dancers latest contributor. Emily Kate will be writing about “Finding Balance”…something every dancer struggles with in one form or another…
Emily Kate Long
Balance is an integral part of dance: in technique, physical appearance, partnering, staging, casting, injury prevention…and on and on. Balance is what makes dance beautiful, and imbalance is often what keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, tense and excited. In our day-to-day, balance—or the lack of it—can provide comfort, frustration, boredom, serenity, or stress.
Physical imbalance reared its ugly head in my life throughout December and January. After nothing but Nutcracker for November and early December, three weeks of layoff seemed welcome at first. By about day four, though, I was longing for full days of rehearsal again! How was I supposed to keep myself in good shape while still allowing time for recovery?
Two months of promenades on my left leg had not only eaten through pair after pair of pointe shoes, but had also done noticeable damage to the muscles in my hip and calf on the left side. Prevention, correction, and maintenance all played a part in physically rebalancing my body before rehearsals started up again.
Pilates Reformer work was, and continues to be, a really effective way to maintain balance and alignment in my body. It was also useful as a preventive measure. My trainer and I had been working to stay on top of the one-sidedness of classical pas de deux work in weekly sessions during Nut rehearsals, so by the time the run of shows was over I had a repertoire of exercise remedies to practice with her and on my own.
Pilates Work
A visit to the chiropractor kicked off the corrective steps. He’s always telling me to reverse one-sided choreography, even if that only means one time reversed for every ten times I dance it. I think there’s validity in that, though in a company of nine dancers with one full-size studio there is not always time or space (or, more often, quite enough self-motivation) to take on that extra project, however small. I did begin doing the left side first for class exercises during the layoff, which was an interesting and helpful experiment.
Long, busy days in the theater meant that I wasn’t able to stretch as much as I would have liked, and dancing on a hard stage meant that I needed it more than usual. So I ended up tighter in general, especially in my hips and lower back. Hot yoga was a nice fix for that. The heat allowed me to stretch more intensely, and the combination of turned-in work and plenty of twisting relieved a lot of the tension that had been living in my back and hips.
Maintenance, in addition to continued Pilates work, involved taking lots of time to do class on my own and really simplify things, going back to the basics and re-examining those steps for quirks that could lead to bigger problems later. I also indulged my love of running outdoors, something that I avoid during rehearsal weeks because of the impact.
Now that rehearsals are back in full swing things are starting to get crazy again—just the way I like them! Full days at the studio plus planning classes and choreography make me really appreciate any opportunity I can find for pastimes—currently, reading Jane Austen and Stephen Manes. But that’s fodder for another post!
Emily Kate Long, Photo by Avory Pierce
BIO: Emily Kate Long began her dance education in South Bend, Indiana, with Kimmary Williams and Jacob Rice and graduated in 2007 from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s Schenley Program. Ms Long attended Milwaukee Ballet School’s Summer Intensive on scholarship before being invited to join Milwaukee Ballet II in 2007. She also has spent summers studying at Saratoga Summer Dance Intensive, Miami City Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, and Ballet Chicago.
Ms Long has been a member of Ballet Quad Cities since 2009. She has danced featured roles in Deanna Carter’s Ash to Glass and Dracula, participated in the company’s 2010 tour to New York City, and most recently performed the title role in Courtney Lyon’s Cinderella and the role of Clara in The Nutcracker. Prior to joining Ballet Quad Cities Ms Long performed with Milwaukee Ballet and MBII in Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker and Candide Overture, Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadére, Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano and Napoli, and original contemporary and neoclassical works by Tom Teague, Denis Malinkine, Rolando Yanes, and Petr Zaharadnicek.
2Dancer Spotlight: Lisa Barrieau
Today we’re introducing a new feature at 4dancers–the “Dancer Spotlight”. We’ve gotten such great feedback on our “10 Questions With…” series that we thought it might be fun to do a series of shorter “interviews” with dancers as well. These will pop up from time to time, and dancers will answer a few interesting questions in a more abbreviated format.
Today we have Lisa Barrieau with us from Atlanta Ballet…
Lisa Barrieau, photo courtesy of Atlanta Ballet
What is the best advice you have ever received from a teacher or mentor regarding dance?
The best advice I ever received from a teacher was: Dancing is something that people only dream of doing… the day you wake up not wanting any part of it anymore is the day you should stop. Until then, work as hard as you can to fulfill your passion.
Do you have any advice for dancers who want to go on to a professional career?
Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t be a professional because there is a company out there for everyone as long as you fight for it and accept the challenge.
Do you have a special routine you go through prior to a performance?
Before every performance, I say a little thank you to my grandpa who passed away. Without him I wouldn’t have started dancing as a kid and I want him to know that I am dancing for him.
What is your favorite ballet and why do you enjoy it?
My favorite ballet of all time is Michael Pink’s Dracula. I love the choreography and music. I think I also love that Dracula is such a passionate and misunderstood character and Michael Pink’s ballet helps to illustrate it. It is definitely not your typical ballet.
What do you enjoy most about your life in dance?
I love the people I work with and I love that, unlike other careers, I get to wake up and go to work and be something I am not… be a peasant or a vampire, a princess or a goblin… I get to express myself through movement in a way that so many can’t fathom.
BIO: A native of Milwaukee, WI, Lisa started dancing at the age of four and continued training in Connecticut with New Haven Ballet School and Joyce DiLauro. Her additional studies include intensives with Boston Ballet School, American Academy of Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet School, where she was offered a contract into Nancy Einhorn’s Milwaukee Ballet II program. There, she danced the role of Blue Fairy in Bruce Well’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was seen in Antony Tudor’s Offenbach in the Underworld, and Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty. In 2009, Lisa joined Minnesota Ballet where she performed the roles Lustful Virgin in Agnes De Mille’s Three Virgins and a Devil, and Zulme in Giselle. Last season, Lisa danced with Milwaukee Ballet and performed in Edgar Zendejas’ world premiere of Mara in the International Choreographic Competition. Lisa’s career has offered her the chance to dance works by Alvin Ailey, Kee-Juan Han, Jose Limón, Trey McIntyre, Adam Miller, Pilobolus, Twyla Tharp, and Chet Walker. Lisa is looking forward to her first season with Atlanta Ballet and she thanks her family for all of their love and support.
0Blisters And Corns Between Toes (Interdigital Lesions) by Dr. Sinkoe
Today we welcome back Dr. Sinkoe with some information on something that plagues many dancers–blisters and corns between the toes–also known as “interdigital lesions”…
Corns and blisters between toes can be painful for a dancer. Pain is usually noticed with wearing all closed in shoes. In dance, the ballerina will have pain in pointe shoes, particularly when in demi-pointe. The most common location is between the 4th and 5th toes. The 5th toe usually curls and abuts against the 4th toe. The lesion may initially appear and feel soft but will harden over time. The softer lesion is usually a blister which will develop a callous. Dancers often attempt treatment with applying medicated pads which contain salicylic acid. This medication can injure the skin and result in a more painful lesion.
Treatment:
010 Questions With…Dalia Rawson
I’m always amazed at the things I learn about dancers when I read these interviews, and today is no exception. Meet Dalia Rawson. Read her story. Be amazed. She’s one impressive lady…
Dalia Rawson in "Graduation Ball", Photo by Marty Sohl
1. How did you become involved with dance?
The first time I ever moved might be considered dancing. I had been either very small or very still while my mother was pregnant with me. She says that late in the pregnancy she had never felt me move or kick. My parents had a season subscription to the Joffrey Ballet in NYC, and while watching the performance in the theater, my mother felt me move, apparently reacting to the music by kicking and rolling, for the first time. When I was a baby they called me twinkle toes, because I couldn’t keep still if there was any music playing. I was in local dance class by age two, a more serious ballet school at age six or seven, and San Francisco Ballet School at age nine.
2. What are you currently doing in the field?
Currently I choreograph and set ballets and I teach. I am the Artistic Director of The Rawson Project Contemporary Ballet, a small company I founded in 2010 for which I have created a small repertory of original works. I am also the Ballet Mistress of Ballet San Jose School where I teach all levels of the professional division, and Rehearsal Assistant for Ballet San Jose, for whom I run rehearsals and re-stage works.
3. Would you share a special moment from your career with readers?
3“The Perfect Arch” by Dr. Sinkoe
Today we bring you the first in a series of articles for 4dancers by Dr. Sinkoe, a podiatrist from Georgia who works with the Atlanta Ballet. He was kind enough to share some thoughts on the best ways to help strengthen and improve your arch. Look for additional information from Dr. Sinkoe this month and next month on subjects such as warts and bruised toenails...
Dancers are always looking for ways to obtain that “perfect arch”. Every foot is genetically designed differently and not everybody will be able to achieve that “perfect arch”. Stretching and flexibility exercises are always helpful. However, I caution those that are attempting to achieve this position with the use of spring-loaded devices or placing their foot under the couch or other furniture to try to stretch the ligaments at the top of the foot. The midfoot joints are supported by strong ligaments and will allow the bones of the midfoot to only glide up and down. Attempting to make the midfoot joints act as hinge joints will injure the ligaments. If the ligaments are overstressed they can become weakened which can result in a sprained ligament or a subluxed joint.
The most effective method to strengthen the arch is to strengthen the foot muscles which stabilize the toes. These muscles are located on the bottom of the foot. Exercises to contract these muscles will flex the arch, giving you a dome appearance, thus the name “doming exercises”. Strong foot muscles will also reduce the incidence of tendonitis and metatarsal stress fractures. Experienced dancers will learn to use these muscles to stabilize themselves on pointe rather than depending on the pointe shoe to do the work.
Exercises for foot strength:
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