Isabella Grosso knows firsthand how dance can help heal survivors of sexual abuse. And it became her mission to share this gift with other survivors through her L.A.-based organization, She-Is. The nonprofit is dedicated to providing a supportive environment for young female survivors of sexual abuse and sex trafficking, inspiring them to regain control of […]
Physical discomfort is inevitable when you’re spending tons of hours in the studio every day, but some pain shouldn’t be suffered through. “Dancing through pain can make an injury worse and lead to more time away from dance,” says Dr. Joel Brenner, medical director of dance medicine at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in […]
Let’s face it, no matter how many precautions you take in the dance studio each day, your feet are inevitably going to get trashed. Between pointe shoes, petit/grand allegro, and stretching beyond what is natural, those puppies take a genuine beating. All that impact may tempt you to ask, “Is there any hope for performers […]
The stage was spinning. The whole theater was swirling before my eyes, and nothing made sense. I forced myself to push through the familiar choreography, which by then was in my muscle memory, feeling entirely disoriented. Up was down and down was up. Something was very wrong. The curtain closed on the final night of […]
Dancers need more than balance at the barre to be successful—they need it in life, too. That’s where Jessica Spinner’s online program The Whole Dancer comes in, making professional nutrition and wellness counseling available to dancers everywhere. “There’s only so much your teachers can impart on you in the studio, and they’re mostly focused on […]
It’s finally farmers’ market season! Every table is full of produce that looks perfectly delectable. But before grabbing one of everything, it’s important to know that even at farmer’s markets, certain fruits and veggies are fresher this time of year than others. We took the guesswork out of it and rounded up some of the […]
Podiatrist Thomas Novella remembers one of his first interactions with dancer feet. Fresh out of podiatry school, he saw a patient from The Joffrey Ballet and assumed he knew the clear way to help her out. “I thought I was doing her a favor by trimming her calluses off, just like I’d been trained to […]
Dancers are rightfully proud of the battle wounds on their feet! But not all bad-looking things are good. Case in point: ingrown toenails, which can be debilitating for dancers. DS spoke with podiatrist Dr. Bryan Hersh, DPM, of the Center for Podiatric Medicine in Chicago, IL, about this all-too-common condition. What are ingrown toenails? An […]