Good advice.

Moving Beyond “No  Pain, No Gain”

 By Nancy Wozny and Rosie Gaynor

When you get injured, not dancing can be the smartest move.

On opening night of Coppélia last June, the light, sprightly Pacific Northwest Ballet powerhouse Kaori Nakamura tore a calf muscle midway through Act I. “I couldn’t point my foot,” she says. “It was so painful and numb.” During a moment offstage, the company director asked Nakamura the fateful question: Do you want to stop?

Every dancer gets injured at some point in her career, and the decision to pull out of a performance can be wrenching. But while dancers may be tempted, pushing through the pain can lead to a more serious injury that requires weeks of time off, months of physical therapy, possible surgery and even cause permanent damage. It’s a roll of the dice—and the risks are huge.

Even though they are aware of the consequences, many dancers choose to power through anyway. Eight weeks pregnant, Nakamura knew her next performance was a year away. “Of course I wanted to finish! I had worked so hard for this,” she says. She made it through the next two acts, but when the curtain went down, so did Nakamura. “I couldn’t walk,” she says. “I couldn’t even touch my calf, it was so painful.”

Pain, as Dr. William Hamilton, orthopedic consultant for New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, points out, “is Mother Nature sending you the message that something is wrong, and that what you’re doing is keeping it from healing.”

But like any athlete, dancers deal with aches and pains almost daily. How do you recognize pain that is telling you to stop now? Traumatic pain like a snapped Achilles or ACL is obvious and impossible to ignore. “If you hear a pull, pop or the pain persists when you return to the activity, it needs to be evaluated,” says Dr. Patrick McCulloch, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with the Center for Performing Arts Medicine at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX. “Swelling and bruising are also signs that something is structurally wrong.” Slow-onset injuries are less startling, but can be just as dangerous to dance on. If it’s chronic pain that gradually worsens, “look for a certain sharpness and intensity of the symptoms that maybe you haven’t felt before,” says Boyd Bender, a physical therapist at PNB. “Another telltale sign is that this pain causes you to consciously compensate with another part of your body.”

Any pain that persists after 24 to 48 hours of rest, ice, compression, elevation and anti-inflammatories needs the help of a doctor. Dancers too often avoid seeking medical attention, afraid the doctor will put them on bed rest. But not getting a diagnosis is a dangerous choice. “Lower leg pain could just be shin splints—or it could be a stress fracture,” says McCulloch. Bender once worked with a dancer who refused to seek help for shin pains and eventually fractured his tibia, which required far more time off for surgery and healing. In a scary coda to the story, his tibia fractured again—onstage.

While talking to other dancers about symptoms and remedies can seem like a shortcut to a solution, your colleagues don’t necessarily have better information than you do. Plus, what works for someone else’s body might not work for yours. And dancers’ standard practices sometimes backfire. After consulting with a physical therapist on his back pain, for example, PNB principal Lucien Postlewaite discovered that the gently-stretch-it-when-it-hurts strategy “was actually the exact opposite of what I should have been doing; it was contributing to my injury!”

The paradox is that the very qualities it takes to be a dancer can turn against you here. The idea of persevering through pain is deeply ingrained in ballet culture—the show must go on, and self sacrifice is often romanticized, even considered heroic. Let’s face it: In order to gain the strength and flexibility needed to succeed in ballet, dancers endure tremendous discomfort, which they’re trained to ignore. But that same willingness to push yourself to the limit can end up affecting the longevity of your career.

To get back on your feet quickly, seek treatment as early as possible. “When you injure yourself, your body sort of turns on the healing switch,” says Hamilton. A change in your hormones results in “a great capacity for healing in the first month or so—if proper attention is given to the injury.” So, the sooner you rest up, the sooner you’ll be back onstage—and the longer you’re likely to be there.

A tip!

When to Foam Roll

 (Marissa Joseph, a personal trainer based in New York City and founder of Working Lines: Cross-Training for Professional Dancers (www.workinglines.org))

“There is almost no bad time to roll,” Joseph says. “If you had to pick one time for SMR*, however, I would tell you to roll out before class or rehearsal. SMR does a good job of promoting blood flow to the muscles you roll and irons out some of the kinks before a strenuous day’s work. Both effects are a vital part of preventing injury.”

Joseph adds that you should avoid SMR when your muscles are extremely sore. “Your muscles need time to heal when they are super sore, and foam rolling won’t help,” she says. “If your muscles are just a little sore, though, SMR is okay.”

*self-myofascial release (SMR)

Foam Rolling Works!

Joseph says she has had multiple success stories with clients who are dedicated with their foam rollers. Some have alleviated back, knee and foot pain.

Joseph says that foam rolling is imperative for athletes. And dancers are athletes! “It’s totally essential for health and should be done every day as part of your daily routine,” she says. “Even if you don’t feel you are particularly tight, I still recommend rolling. I couldn’t stress its importance enough.”

Read the article here.

Or read more on her personal blog here: www.workinglines.org

Rest

"We do this every night as a habitual activity – it gets dark, we go to sleep… usually.

Outside of “sleep” dancers/performers/movers seem to find the concept of rest relatively unimportant and seem to think that “pushing through it” will be fine.

First, lets change the word rest to recovery – this sounds a little more active and therefore more appealing/acceptable. The point of recovery is to allow your muscles, nervous, immune, mental systems to repaire and process the stresses that are constantly being placed on them by pushing your physical ability. As we all know, fatigue leads to injury – injury leads to no dancing.

You can start your recovery training (yes, view it as a part of you training) by taking 20 minutes out of your day to let your parasympathetic system come back into play, allowing you to become more ‘anabolic’ and repair any damage to your body.

This 20 minutes should be something really simple and relaxing – meditation in any of its forms being the most beneficial, but anything counts – reading a book, listening to your favorite music, enjoying a cup of tea etc. etc. just make sure that is all you are doing for 20 minutes. Let the stress fade away."

This is taken directly from the blog of Athletic Artist, a site well worth visiting. HERE!

Little tip

From Pointe Magazine:

Tip: Stretch Deeper 

Want to get a better stretch? Hop on the foam roller first. “Rolling helps to break up adhesions in the muscle,” says Sally Donaubauer, a physical therapist at the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries. “It can also help mobilize the fascia around the muscles.” When the fascia (the connective tissue that surrounds your muscles) is loosened up, you can go further, getting a more productive stretch.

Remember....

The most important thing I can say to you:

Stretching

This is the link to a well written (and not too long) article about stretching- static verus dynamic.

Static vs. Dynamic stretching by Taylor Tollison.
Recommended reading :)

Summary

Current research work detailed in Medicine & Science in Sport and Exercise 33(3), pp354-358 and Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol 15 (1): 98-101 suggests that the use of dynamic stretches - slow controlled movements through the full range of motion - are the most appropriate exercises for warming up. By contrast, static stretches are more appropriate for the cool down at the end of the session. 

New shoes

Here is an article from a dance magazine about new pointe shoes released recently  - just so you know what's going on  out there. If you are looking for new shoes, please try to go to a professional fitter.

Pointe shoe picks from Dance Spirit Magazine:

Whether it’s your first pair or your 50th, picking out the right pointe shoes can be difficult. Dance Spirit talked to Victoria Lyman, owner of Allegro Dance Boutique in Evanston and Barrington, IL—the Joffrey Academy of Dance’s shop of choice—to get the lowdown on the latest shoes. These picks are comfortable, flexible and quieter than ever before. Finding your perfect pointe shoe just got a little bit easier!

Lyman says: “Your feet are always changing, so it’s important to make sure you’re fitted for shoes regularly.”

Grishko—Nova

Box narrows slightly, making it a good choice for dancers with tapered toes

Made with a new glue that reduces sound

Bloch Inc.—Hanna, S0109L

Lower heel means less bunched-up fabric on pointe

Soft shank helps you get all the way over your box

Gaynor Minden—Standard Pink Satin Sleek Heel

Elastic drawstring ties on the side of the foot, so it’s easy to hide

Lining wicks moisture and helps keep your shoes smelling fresh

Sleek heel and profile show off your pretty arches

Só Dança—Claudia, SD09

Softer shank lets you roll through demi-pointe more easily

Supportive wings

Wide platform helps with balance

Sansha—La Pointe No.3

Pre-darned platform—the work’s done for you!

High vamps, high sides and medium support make this shoe a good fit for feet of moderate strength and flexibility.

Hard shank will last through countless relevés

Mirella —Whisper, MS140

Plush lining + built-in toe pad = super-comfortable

Lightweight and quiet

Capezio —Studio Pointe, 1122

Available with a super-hard shank that’s good for dancers with strong feet

Elastic drawstrings and binding keep the shoe from slipping off your heel

Fascia and flexibility

(Remember rolling out with a foam roller, rolling pin (for baking), glass bottle, etc, is an excellent form of self myofascial release. - Lindsey).

The key to your best dancing body is right under your skin.

Dancers understand the importance of flexibility and alignment. Most have established practices for limbering up and spend each class carefully correcting their body positioning, working toward that magical day when muscle memory takes over and they achieve ideal posture. But many students—and their teachers—fail to consider an important anatomical player beyond muscle and bone: fascia. Learning to manipulate fascia, in addition to regular class work and stretching practices, can help dancers correct persistent alignment issues and reach unexplored levels of flexibility.

Fascia is a system of soft tissue that encases muscles, organs, nerves and more. It connects seemingly unrelated body parts along extensive, web-like lines, many of which run from the tips of the toes to the top of the head.

Superficial back line

Like muscles, fascia can be tight. To test this on your own body, try touching your toes before and after rolling out your feet on a tennis ball. Because the plantar fascia at the bottom of the foot is connected to fascia that runs up the backs of the legs (and up the spine and over the skull), releasing fascia in the feet can increase flexibility in the hamstrings.

Deborah Vogel, an Oberlin College faculty member, neuromuscular educator and co-founder of the Center for Dance Medicine in NYC, found that teaching students to stretch their fascia in addition to their muscles helped them progress more efficiently. If fascia is chronically tight, she says, dancers may stretch all they want without results. “It’s not that their efforts are incorrect, but there could be something else holding them back.” Similarly, the same alignment correction applied over and over again in class has limited long-term effect if a student’s fascia is restricting her body position.

Here, Vogel shares a few of her favorite dynamic exercises for stretching fascia. You’ll know you’ve achieved a fascial—and not just muscular—stretch, she says, when you feel a long line of sensation instead of a targeted point. You also may feel the stretch somewhere unexpected. A fascial stretch targeting tightness in the hamstring, for example, might be felt more along the calf, depending on the dancer’s body.

Stretches should be held for 30–40 seconds in a steady, strong pull. Vogel also warns that you should extend to just 70–80 percent of your flexibility to avoid overstretching or tearing the muscle. 

Fascial Turnout Stretch

Releasing fascia in this area can soothe tightness in the hips and improve turnout.

1. Sitting in a chair, cross one leg over the other so the ankle crosses at the thigh.

2. Clasp hands together and wrap them around the top knee. Press the knee down into the hands, while sitting up as straight as possible.

3. Slowly lean forward over the leg, bending at the hip joint and keeping the back flat. Keep pressing the knee into the hands to keep the working leg’s muscles activated.

• Depending on where you are tight, you may feel this stretch in the hamstring or deep in the hip’s piriformis area. Try rotating the spine to face toward and then away from the knee to change the stretch.

Fascial Latissimus Stretch

This is an exercise for dancers with tight shoulders who get the correction, “Keep your ribs down,” when raising arms to fifth position.

1. Standing in a comfortable parallel position, bring the hands above the head and grasp the left wrist with the right hand.

3. Gently pull the elbows away from each other, activating the muscles in your shoulders and arms.

4. Bend the torso to the right, so you feel a stretch along the left side of the body.

5. Rotate the elbows so you’re looking at the floor. The stretch will shift to include the lower back.

• Try bumping the weight into the left hip and rounding your lower back for a different feeling. Vogel suggests gently playing around with positioning to find the                                                                        tightest areas.

Fascial Hamstring Stretch

This stretches fascia surrounding the lateral hamstring, frequently tight in dancers.

1. Place the heel on a chair or low barre, with square hips and the knee pointing toward the ceiling.

2. Keeping the foot flexed, sickle it slightly, turning the bottom of the foot inward.

3. Rotate the entire leg inward, turning in from the hip.

4. Send the sit bone of the working side back so it almost feels like you’re sticking your butt out.

5. Strongly contract the front quad muscle.

• If your flexibility allows, lean forward to increase the stretch.

From Dance Teacher Magazine, Andrea Marks.

Blisters

 “A blister is a sign from your body that it’s time to take a step back,” says Monara Dini, a podiatrist and assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco. “Ignoring it for too long can lead to infection, and a breakdown of the skin and wounds that ultimately take a long time to heal.” Fortunately, the right foot care can help dancers speed healing, minimize pain and even avoid blisters in the first place.

Find the Right Fit
Blisters are caused by a combination of friction, pressure and moisture. When the skin is subjected to repeated force, it creates tears in the second and third layers of the skin, while the uppermost layer remains intact. A serum-like fluid flows in to fill the space. 

The culprit can be too-big or too-small shoes that create unnecessary friction and aggravate “hot spots,” such as bunions and hammertoes, says Diana Werner, also a podiatrist and assistant clinical professor at UCSF. Proper fit is essential. Keep in mind that feet evolve over time, sometimes growing in size or developing new pressure points. “Chronic blisters are a sign that your feet have changed,” says Werner. If blisters suddenly become a problem, consider getting refitted.

Avoid Chafing
Slightly damp skin blisters more easily than either very wet or very dry skin. A little petroleum jelly dabbed onto vulnerable spots just before dancing (and reapplied as frequently as possible during long rehearsals) can reduce friction to minimize chafing. 
To keep skin dry, Werner recommends sprinkling foot powder inside pointe shoes just before dancing. Also, wear tights made of synthetic, “wicking” materials, such as polyester or microfibers; cotton tends to absorb sweat and exacerbate chafing. When it comes to padding, Werner says old-fashioned lambswool is still the best at wicking moisture away from skin. 

And smokers, take note: Studies suggest blisters are more likely to develop among cigarette users, possibly because tobacco damages the skin and constricts blood vessels in a way that weakens the skin’s friction defenses.

Tape the Trouble Spots
For extra protection, Dini recommends taping any spots where your shoes rub. Look for a high-quality adhesive bandage that can survive sweat. Using a stretch of tape that’s about twice as long as the diameter of the toe you want to protect, fold one end of the tape so that you have a nonstick surface to place over the “danger zone,” and then wrap the rest around your toe. Keep in mind that your feet will likely swell throughout the day, so avoid wrapping too tightly.

Drain the Fluid
When a blister appears, Turkel lances it with a sterile needle as soon as possible. “You don’t want it to pop in your shoe,” she says. Lancing right away will help relieve pressure and pain. But the procedure—and the potential for infection—should not be taken lightly. It is only safe to lance if the fluid inside the blister is clear, says Werner. 

First prepare your skin by washing it with soap and water or swabbing it with rubbing alcohol. (If it’s the end of the day, experts recommend soaking your feet in warm water and Epsom salts for 15 minutes beforehand.) Next, sterilize a needle by holding it in a flame until the tip turns red. Allow the needle to cool, then use it to gently make one small hole anywhere on the blister.

After draining the fluid, air the blister out overnight. Dress it with antibiotic ointment before wearing shoes in the morning. To relieve pressure, Werner recommends using a moleskin pad cut in the shape of a doughnut. (You can boost the pad’s adhesive power with a solution called compound tincture of benzoin, sold in medical supply stores.) Beware of any signs of infection: redness and pain extending up the ankle and leg, or pus in the blister.

There’s no need to drain a blister if you have some time off. “Blisters will heal on their own,” says Werner. But, “If you must dance and perform the next day, lance it.” 
     
Rest and Pamper
Don’t forget the healing power of timely rest. “It’s hard to find time in a demanding schedule,” Werner admits, “but it can work miracles.” She advises dancers to soak their feet in warm water and Epsom salts every night before bed—or at least on the weekend. Even when your feet are feeling fine, this can help reduce swelling. During very busy periods, it’s also a good idea to minimize walking as much as possible after a long day of dancing.

Taking such precaution is worth it. As Turkel says, “You can’t take a day off because your feet hurt. It’s part of your job.”

TIP: X Marks the Spot
San Francisco Ballet corps member Alexandra McCullagh discovered a smart way to relieve pressure when a painful blister formed on her bunion during Nutcracker season. She cut an “x” with a box cutter on the bunion of her pointe shoe. She says, “This allows the satin to stretch and relieves pressure from the area. And no one can tell from the audience.”

From Pointe magazine.

Demi plié.

The Demi-plié is the most important movement in the dance repertoire, preceeding at least 50% of all movements. Also responsible for protecting the body and joints in both relevés and jumps. One of the most important things to remember is that it is a MOVEMENT, and not a position. Today I want to take that thought one step forward.

A common problem when jumping is what we call "bucking" were the body jerks forward as the dancer jumps upwards. This has commonly been blamed on weakness in the core muscles but is actually down to a lack of co-ordination and the intention of the movement.

When we learn the correct classical stance, we work out from what is called "tripod foot". Where the three

pink spots represent where we divide the weight placement of the body over the foot. We can adapt this idea further by making this into a dynamic picture rather than a static one. We send the force of the plié into the foot, but the point at the back, in the heel, instead of going downwards is sent down and back (at a 30 degree angle).

By doing so we engage long muscle chains (particulaly the hamstrings) and improve dynamic alignment throughout the movement. RESULT: smoother, better jump! The goal is to create the illusion of ballon, were the dancer appears to float in the air (what basketball players call hang time). We are improving the foots biomechanics and the body's muscular co-ordination; giving less wasted energy (bucking) and assisting in injury prevention/reduction. Win-Win :)

NOTE: This isn't an easy concept to embrace and you do need to start slowly, with a conscious change in how you perform this movement before a jump. Like any movement in dance it will take thousands of conscious repetitions before it becomes natural and automated. Always ask if you are unsure, there is no such thing as a stupid question.



Tips
Start by standing in parallel and use your finger tips to feel the top of the hamstrings engaging as you plié.
Think of practicing just 1/4 of a plié. It will feel less deep than usual, as respect for the plantar vault maintains more pull on the calf muscles.
Think of the heel bone acting like a ship leaving the port, slowly pulling back before starting the plié. This mental imagery can produce a slow, powerful, yet microscopic sensation of movement.


This article is written by Peter Lewton-Brain, published by IADMS.

Quote

" Plié is the first thing you learn and the last thing you master."

                                                                                           Suzanne Farrell, ballerina, company founder.

Important.

Dancers are well known for their "dance bags", here is one of the many important things you should have in that bag.

Fluid

Exercise increases heat production by muscles. Cooling the body depends on evaporation of sweat from the skin. Sweat losses during a hard class or long rehearsal can be substantial-up to 2 liters/hour. Fluid loss results in dehydration that can impair performance and mental functioning, such as the ability to quickly pick up complicated choreographic combinations and execute them effectively.

A cup (8 ounces or 250 ml) of fluid every 15 minutes is recommended. Whenever there is a break in class or rehearsal, the dancer should have ready access to fluid, and they should be encouraged to drink because the thirst mechanism does not keep up with the body's need for fluid. A water bottle or sport drink should be part of a dancer's "gear," and, if possible, the dancer should be able to bring the bottle into the studio for frequent drinks. Following class and rehearsal, dancers should continue to increase fluid consumption for the next few hours. Avoid carbonated drinks and large quantities of fruit juice.

A simple way to monitor hydration is to check urine color: clear to light yellow is hydrated; yellow to dark yellow means dehydrated. One caveat, vitamin B supplements will result in yellow urine and make this dehydration "test" inaccurate.

All dancers need to ingest sufficient energy to meet the rigors of hard training. Consuming the right amounts and types of food and fluid will provide the body with "high performance fuel” necessary to achieve optimal training benefits and peak performance.

---

Written by Priscilla Clarkson, PhD, under the auspices of the Education Committee of IADMS. 

International Association for Dance Medicine and Science

Dancer problems

World Dance Movement

Good advice

Good advice from Ballet Fondation:

" Technical Specifics: A trained eye can tell from watching a variation performed how well the dancer attends technique classes. Dancers that have formed habits of good technique in regular class look more at ease doing things correctly because for them it is a trained natural muscle memory. Your body needs thousands of repetitions to do things correct without thinking. Put in the time to develop that technical base and your dance future will be longer and more successful. Bad habits are very difficult to break and even more difficult to replace with a good habit! "

Photo: Walnut Hill School for the Arts

When you're performing on stage you shouldn't be thinking about technique, it should be second nature. To achieve this you need to do many thousands of good repititions in class. This means knowing the what, how, and why, for every repitition. You can't learn on autopilot. Dance isn't all the amazing tricks you see people perform on stage, it is the ability to perform all the small steps inbetween.

Bones..........

Watch the video below, but literally replace the word "squat" with the word "turnout". Then click through to the original article he wrote.

   Dr. Ryan DeBell

The pictures in the article should highlight the skeletal differences we are born with, but his main message is that few of us work at the extremes of our motion range. So don't give upon the exercises for hip mobility and stability :)

High extensions

Increase Extension:

Every dancer dreams of floating her leg up to her ear, but time spent in the splits isn’t enough to make it a reality. “Someone who can put their leg up there with their hand isn’t necessarily able to développé it there,” points out Richardson*. “Extension requires both flexibility and strength.”

And it’s not just about the working leg: The primary area you need to strengthen is actually your core. “The first muscle to activate when we move our legs is the transverse abdominis (the deep abdominal muscle),” explains Richardson. To strengthen it, Richardson says, lie on your back with your pelvis in neutral position, knees bent, feet on the floor. Keeping your pelvis and ribs still, draw your stomach down to the floor and up toward your chest—think of drawing the pelvic bones together and scooping the abdomen into a “bowl.” Holding this position, lift one shin up to tabletop position, then the other. Dip one foot down to the floor (moving your leg from the hip, not the knee). Return to tabletop, and repeat on the other side. Then place one leg at a time back down on the floor in starting position. Repeat that entire sequence, performing a total of two to three sets of ten.

Even if your extension doesn’t reach much past 90 degrees, proper execution can still make it look striking. Bresnahan says to be sure you’re really stretching the leg to its maximum from the hip to the end of your shoe. “Most important,” she says, “especially if the leg isn’t as high, is that the line of the foot is beautiful.”

* Megan Richardson - certified trainer and clinical specialist.

                                                                                                                        From Pointe Magazine.

Quote

What advice do you have for students wanting to be professional dancers?

Explore other forms of art, and absorb as much as you can—it will always find its way onto the stage. Sometimes I discover new things in me, and I realize it comes from films or performances I’ve seen, even if they didn’t strike me at the time.

                                                                                                                                              The Bolshoi’s Evgenia Obraztsova
                                                                                                                                        Pointe magaine

This is from Pointe magazine online, an advice column published this week by Amy Brandt. Seems like a good time to post this with everyone currently trying to master "the bun" for classical classes. The important thing is that your hair is up before you come into class, and you shouldn't need to touch it at all as long as you are in the studio.



Ask Amy:
My bun is such a disaster in rehearsals that when I finish dancing, my hair is in my face. Please help! —Marcela

A secure bun isn’t just born that way—it needs a little help from the right tools, hair products and styling techniques. First, use a spray bottle to dampen your hair with water. Then, you may want to rub a little gel or hair paste in so that your hair brushes back easily (my favorite is KMS Hair Play molding paste, available at most drugstores). Use a flat brush with lots of softer bristles to help smooth your hair into a ponytail. When it comes to hair elastics, the thicker, metal-free versions tend to hold ponytails more firmly in place—otherwise try doubling up two thin ones.

Once your ponytail is finished, it may seem logical to wind your hair tightly around its base; but a tiny, ball-shaped knot is actually harder to pin firmly in place. It’s better to loosely twist the hair around to make more of a flat shape. I sometimes use my fingers to lightly backcomb my ponytail, which helps make my fine, thin hair less slippery to pin in. If you need extra help holding the bun’s shape, try winding a hairnet around it before you pin it. Then, make sure you have the right type of pin—you want U-shaped hairpins, not flat bobby pins, which don’t hold large amounts of hair as well and tend to pop out. Catch the edge of your bun with the prongs going away from the center, then twist the pin and push it down into the bun (you’ll want to feel the pin against your head, although it shouldn’t dig into it). Hairspray and bobby pin any flyaways, and give your head a good shake. If you feel your bun sliding around, you may need to start over.

(Try to place the bun as low down as possible - Lindsey).

  Eeeeek! A hair net!

Just as an added bonus, here was her advice to dancers struggling to look after their hair through a long performance season (or for those of you taking daily classes).

Nutcracker Hair Care
This year, don’t let the Waltz of the Flowers cause an Attack of the Frizzies. Even when you’re slicking your hair back into a performance-worthy bun night after night, you can keep your locks strong and healthy. All it takes is a little extra TLC. Elizabeth Cunnane Phillips, a trichologist (hair and scalp expert) who works with several dancers in New York City, offers her top tips.
1. Start from the inside out: Eat protein regularly, particularly at breakfast and lunch, and be sure your iron levels are optimal, so that you grow strong strands.
2. Give yourself a scalp massage once a week to increase circulation. “That helps bring nutrients to the follicles,” says Phillips. “Just like with your muscles, massaging the scalp helps it stay fit.”
3. Forget what you heard about only shampooing every other day. Wash after each performance to remove product residue. But avoid “deep cleansing” shampoos—they will dry out your hair. Using a regular-strength shampoo twice in a row in the shower will do the trick. 
4. Once a week, apply a deep conditioner with an elasticizing agent to keep your hair hydrated.
5. Before coating your strands with hair spray, apply a heat protector or conditioning/hydrating base. “Not only will it shield your hair from dryness,” says Phillips, “but you won’t have as many flyaways, so you’ll end up needing less spray.


For those needing further help, here are step by step Instructions for a ballet bun.