Dancing Through the Adolescent Growth Spurt

          The body is the dancer’s instrument. Anytime that a musician purchases or plays a new or different instrument, there is time spent adjusting to the new instrument and adapting to its differences. As dancers, however, we take our bodies for granted and do not always acknowledge the physiological changes that occur. By not acknowledging these changes, we can become self-defeating and grow frustrated quickly when our bodies do not respond the way we are expecting.

          A major change that every dancer experiences is the growth spurt that occurs during the adolescent years. This period of rapid growth typically occurs between the ages of 11 and 14 and lasts between 1 and 2 years. Dancers who are in the midst of this growth spurt may experience difficulty balancing, a loss of flexibility and strength, and a lack of coordination.

          Any type of growth affects how the body moves through space and responds to the demands place upon it. Unfortunately, during the adolescent growth spurt, there seems to be no set pattern of growth. Quite often the arms and legs grow faster than the torso, which shifts the dancer’s center of gravity causing balance issues. In some cases, one arm or leg may even grow quicker than the other, completely undermining any sense of balance that the dancer may try to establish.

          In the body, bones grow quicker than the soft tissues of the body- the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Since the tendons, muscles and ligaments are attached to the bones, they are pulled taut as growth occurs. Because they are pulled so tightly, the dancers become less flexible and their muscles lose strength as well.

          As this rapid growth continues, the nervous system struggles to keep up with the skeletal and muscular systems. New nerve cells, or neurons, and nerve pathways are formed. Since these pathways are brand new,it takes time for movements that used to seem so easy to become natural once again. As a result, the dancer may seem and feel uncoordinated.

          With all of these changes occurring, the dancer may feel as if he or she is no longer in control of his or her body and may grow very frustrated. Progress in class may suddenly stop, or dancers may feel like they are regressing and may not understand why.

          It is important that dancers be patient with themselves during this period of time. They need to respect what is happening in their bodies and find other ways to work that will help their technique without causing frustration or predisposing them to injury. Dancers should adjust their expectations of themselves and the way they approach class. They should focus more on alignment and placement during this period of time than on range of motion.  The legs should not be held or lifted as high in exercises, but instead the dancers should think about the position of the legs. The growth spurt is also an ideal time for dancers to work on strengthening the core through Pilates and yoga exercises.

          Focusing on placement, alignment and core strengthening will challenge the dancer during the growth spurt without straining the body, frustrating the dancer, or setting the dancer up for an injury.

          The adolescent growth spurt is a challenging time for dancers, but it is only temporary. It need not be a setback if the dancers understand what is happening in their bodies and are educated about how to deal with all of the changes and work with their bodies to continue to be healthy dancers.

___________________________________________

More information about dancing through the adolescent growth spurt can be found on the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science website.

When Dance Training Gets in the Way of Being Healthy

            Dancing should look easy; like an optical illusion.  It should seem effortless.  – Bruce Marks

         A dancer’s job is to create a grand illusion for the audience.  The most difficult steps must look easy, and no one must ever guess that pointe shoes contain feet that are home to bunions, blisters and bleeding toes.  Like athletes, dancers need to perform with sore, and sometimes injured or overworked muscles, but unlike athletes, dancers must never show any sign of weakness.  Dancers must always be ready to push themselves to the next level to secure a role or a job, and there is no option for taking the easy way out.

 

            While all of these qualities are necessary in a field where performance is the ultimate goal, it is these same qualities that can be harmful to dancers when they begin cross-training or conditioning classes.

            Pilates and yoga instructors and personal trainers usually offer several variations of an exercise, ranging from beginner to advanced levels.  Most dancers, in spite of being new to this type of training, will choose the most advanced version simply because that is what they have been trained to do.  Although dance teachers might make statements like, “You may do a double turn if you want,” or “You may add beats to this exercise if you’d like,” dancers know that if they want to be noticed, an option does not truly exist.  They are expected to challenge themselves.  Unfortunately, since dancers’ muscles are specifically trained for dance exercises, the advanced version may be too difficult at first and strain the dancer’s body.

            As the conditioning class or session progresses and the trainer looks to the client to determine if he or she can handle a heavier weight, more repetitions or a more difficult exercise, the dancer will not portray an accurate picture.  If a dancer finds an exercise taxing or difficult, no one will ever know it.  Dancers are always performing, and they are trained to make the most difficult look the easiest.

            Lastly, since dancers are used to working with sore or tired muscles and have extremely high levels of pain tolerance, they may not always listen and respond to their bodies the way others do.  A pulling or burning sensation in the muscle may be ignored and classified as a slight twinge that must be worked through, and dancers may continue the exercise, assuming that they are feeling “good pain” when in fact they are feeling an injury occurring.  Dancers may not even realize they are injured until swelling or extreme pain occurs.

            When in a cross-training or conditioning program, dancers need to remember that starting to train at the beginner level is not a bad thing, it is okay to acknowledge tired muscles and to listen to their bodies in a different way, and trainers need to remember that dancers will push themselves to the absolute limit.  Cross training in dance is necessary and effective, but both dancers and trainers need to be aware of the psychological ramifications of dance training in order to keep the dancer healthy.