I’m super-excited about our special section this month, “Training the Healthy Dancer.” I think you’ll love the straightforward advice of our experts. But as I’m writing this, it occurs to me that the first step in training a healthy dancer is to be a healthy teacher: centered and strong. Teacher self-care is an evergreen topic in Dance Teacher.
Take nutrition, for instance. “I can’t tell you how unhealthily I used to eat,” Kim McSwain told DT in 2011. “Red Bull to start my day, followed by Jack in the Box cheeseburgers. I used to hear people talk about eating healthy and think, ‘That sounds awful; go eat a hamburger and get a life.’” But McSwain, who is now on our Dance Teacher Summit faculty, eventually changed her health outlook and has no regrets. “I would never go back to eating the way I did or not working out. I carry myself differently now, and my energy level has gone up. Taking an hour or two a day to go for that walk or go to the gym, it’s worth it.”
This month in “Lunchtime Lecturer,” you’ll meet another popular teacher—Caroline Lewis-Jones—who brings a message of smart nutrition and positive body image to convention dancers.
And in “Let It Go,” we identify activities that a dance studio owner can easily outsource. Perhaps after you delegate a few tasks, you’ll be able to create a time-out for yourself. May I suggest listening to a brief mini-practice in mountain pose created by Susan Kraft, the author of “Find Your Center With Yoga”? Taking a moment to quiet your busy brain and center yourself before class can help both you and your students. You’ll find the mini practice audio at dance-teacher.com.
Here’s to your health and well-being.
Photo by Matthew Murphy
