Tiny Tips: Adjust recipes to meet your nutritional needs

Do you ever come home from class feeling exhausted, knowing you need to eat, but not feeling hungry?  Or are you sometimes ravenous just an hour or two after your last meal?  Most athletes and dancers frequently experience both.  Knowing how to tailor your go-to meals and snacks can help you fuel your body and satisfy your cravings (or lack of cravings).

Think of a healthy meal, like cereal with fruit and almond milk.  If you aren't very hungry, but need calories, use a high-nutrient cereal like granola as the base, and add sprinklings of berries and nuts, and add milk.  Just ½ cup of granola contains the calories of about 1 cup of a larger-piece cereal, so you get everything you need without putting a large volume of food in your stomach.

If you're really hungry, but don't need a lot of calories, start by filling your bowl with fruit (like berries or grapes).  Use a little bit of cereal and nuts as a topping, and add a splash of milk to bring it all together.  Fruit is filling, but relatively low calorie in comparison to grain-based cereal.

You can do the same thing with dishes like soups and salads--up the high-calorie, nutrient-dense ingredients like brown rice, avocado, cheese, or nuts for energy-boosting small portions, and add more low-calorie ingredients like broth, salsa, or veggies for a filling portion with fewer calories.

Syllabi and styles within styles

Have you ever noticed that students who study dance at different schools and studios sometimes have different understandings of specific dance steps or use different words to describe them, even if they are learning the same overarching style (like ballet)?  Sometimes it's just studio culture, but many of these differences can be attributed to various syllabi or sub-types of dance styles.  In this post, I'll give you a simple overview of dance syllabi.  Note that this is a conceptual explanation, not a dictionary of dance syllabi, and I am never trying to insinuate that any syllabus is better than another.

Let's start with an analogy.  Let's say that a style of dance (I'll pick modern) is like a language (I'll pick English).  People who dance at school A perform their modern dance differently than those who dance at school B, though both can recognize each other's dancing as modern dance.  People who live in the US speak English differently than those who live in the UK, but both can recognize each other's speech as English.  School A teaches students to dance in the Graham technique, while school B teaches students Horton.  In the US, people speak and publications use a specific English called American English, and in the UK, people speak and publications use a specific English called British English.  American English and British English both have rules of usage, spelling, and grammar that guide the way they are used.  Oftentimes they are similar, but some spellings and grammar rules are different.  Graham technique and Horton technique share some basic steps, but the styles also have unique attributes.  Therefore, different sub-types of dance styles are like recognized variations of the same language.  We could say Vaganova ballet technique is like Spanish spoken in Spain, and Balanchine ballet technique is like Spanish spoken in Latin America.  The list goes on and on.

If a student grows up dancing at one studio and learning one particular syllabus, they will probably be very accustomed to that syllabus.  If the student attends a master class or visits another studio for a class in the same style of dance, but with a different syllabus or sub-type, they may end up a bit confused.  Arm positions, head positions, and quality of movement (smooth, sharp, etc.) are the most likely to differ among syllabi, so even an advanced student might get a lot of corrections on the basics when taking class in an unfamiliar sub-style.
Like dance schools, professional dance companies use different syllabi.  Martha Graham Dance Company uses (obviously) Graham style modern dance, and New York City Ballet uses Balanchine style ballet.  If a dancer is interested in auditioning for a company, they should know the company's preferred syllabus.  Sometimes a director will weigh talent and drive over syllabus knowledge, but often times dancers who use another syllabus's technical details in an audition will be seen as unprepared and/or making errors.

Another big thing when it comes to syllabi (especially Cecchetti ballet compared to almost any other ballet syllabus) is the time at which dancers learn different things.  In Cecchetti, young female students often get pointe shoes as young as age 7 or 8 because of the gentle barre-based teaching method.  Most other ballet syllabi reserve pointe for older students.  No syllabus is better than any other, and all move at their own rates to educate accomplished dancers.  It's not a good idea to compare your dance education to anyone else's if you are learning from different syllabi.

All established syllabi and sub-styles are created equal.  Some people may like one over another or find one more challenging than another, but as long as a syllabus is legitimate, it's good.  It's important for a student's dance education to come from an official syllabus (or a combination of several syllabi).  A studio's website or class description flyers should list any syllabi used for a class or style of dance (like Vaganova-based ballet training, or Davida bronze standard ballroom).  If it's not listed, ask a teacher or studio director what syllabi are used.  All quality dance educators should know what syllabus they are teaching, no matter what the syllabus is.

Tiny Tips: Plank Motivation

Are you having trouble increasing the time you hold a plank?  Is it super boring and painful to watch the clock?  This tip may help.

Advanced dancers should aim to plank about 3 minutes a day.  Most pop songs are 3-4 minutes long.  Choose a song or music video and play it on your phone or mobile device.  Try to plank for the whole song.  If you can't make it through the whole thing, the progress bar on the song will tell you how long you did manage to plank, and you will know how much you should aim to increase your time. 

Help! I didn't get the part I wanted!

As audition season heats up, some of you are sure to get happy surprises and some of you may be disappointed when you see the cast list.  Here are some things to help you deal if you don't get the part you want.  Note that this guide is geared toward students who perform with community dance companies.

1.       Initially, don't do anything.  Look at the list, and see who got what part.  Take in the information, then leave if you can.  Try not to cry or talk to other dancers or company staff.  While directors and choreographers are used to dancers feeling disappointed, it's still disrespectful to portray negative emotions to them.  If you can, go home and talk to your family or non-dance friends about what is going on. 

2.       Consider whether or not your expectations were realistic.  Is the part at your level?  If it's your first year en pointe, it's not likely you will be cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy.  If this is the case, you should embrace the part you got and keep training hard so you can achieve your goal role in the future.  Does the part suit you?  Sometimes directors see you as a "short dancer" or a "fast dancer," and they will cast you in roles that require these attributes and pass on you for other "tall" or "slow" parts.  Directors usually cast you in parts where they know you will succeed, so it can be better for your overall experience if you have a part you don't love, but you can perform it very well.

3.       If your expectations were realistic, try to think of logical reasons why another dancer was cast in that part instead of you.  Is that dancer older than you?  A graduating senior who will soon leave the company to attend college?  Has he or she been dancing with the studio or company longer than you have?  Does the role involve partnering, and do the dancers cast have an established partnership?  These may not seem like fair reasons (and really, they're not), but sometimes directors use them to make casting choices.  It won't change the situation, but it can make you feel a little better (and kinder toward the other person) if you can tell yourself that so-and-so was cast because of one of these reasons rather than because he or she is better or more favored than you.

4.       If you still can't come up with anything, try calmly talking to the director or a member of the studio or company staff.  Don't mention the dancer who was cast in your dream role, and never directly ask why so-and-so was cast.  Talk about yourself and how you want to improve.  Say something like, " I was really hoping to dance Clara this year.  Can you tell me what I can improve on so I can dance lead roles in the future?"  You will usually get honest feedback.  Thank the teacher or director for their help.

5.       If you got good advice on how to improve, put it to use immediately.  Work hard in class to incorporate the corrections, and practice performing when dancing in class.  Attend all your rehearsals and learn the part you were cast in for the performance.  Perform to the best of your ability.  Showing that you can work hard and take corrections helps your reputation.  The more you do this, the more you will be considered for larger roles in the future.

6.       If you feel like you are not being treated the same as other dancers and your teachers are not giving you honest feedback, it may be time to look for a new studio or company.  You are not obligated to stay somewhere if you do not feel comfortable.  Directors of small community companies expect some dancers to drop out within a few days of casting, so it's ok to do so if you don't feel like performing this part will benefit you (in your dance training or any other aspect of life).  If it's more than a week after casting went up, it's inconvenient to the company for you to drop out.  You may be better waiting until after the performance to change to a new studio so you don't harm any relationships.  If you do change to a new studio or company, be aware that you may be at the bottom of the totem pole again.  You may  have to build up seniority before you are considered for leading parts.