Category Archives: Life Management
Performance Nervousness Part 1
Intermission-during one of my pre-performance rituals.
Through my extensive career as a professional dancer, I have observed some pretty strange pre-performance rituals. I have seen it all, and tried it all. So what works?
The truth is, not everyone is the same. There is no magic cure for nervousness, but there are things that you can do to calm yourself in the wings.
In Part 1 of Performance Nervousness, we will take the first step. Identifying the type of nervousness you are feeling.
Here are the categories of nervousness that I have defined through my years of dancing. See which category you best fit into or have felt in the past.
Prepared Nervousness- You feel well rehearsed, excited, pumped up. Maybe your family is out in the audience. You have a positive outlook on the upcoming performance.
Unprepared Nervousness- It feels like you are going into unfamiliar territory. You are doubtful, almost fearful. Maybe you were thrown into a role last-minute or were an understudy.
Combination of both- You are prepared but doubting yourself and your abilities. Even though you feel ready to perform a role, you are worried about uncontrollable factors.
Over-Prepared- You have rehearsed perfectly every day. Maybe you have even performed this role consecutive years. You are not nervous. After the performance you may even feel let down, although your performance went well.
Competitive Nervousness- You feel pressure. If you can perform well you will get a promotion. You want to outshine other dancers. Maybe your director or teacher watches the show from the wings.
Now that you have identified the type of nervousness you are feeling or have felt, we will move on to the solution. Stay posted for Part 2 of my Performance Nervousness series! As always your comments are greatly appreciated.
Stay tuned…
Nikol Klein, Professional Ballet Dancer/ Author
Falling off Pointe
I’m hearing a lot about retirement lately from a lot of my young dancer friends. There is a common question whispered throughout the ballet community; How do you know when to retire?
I had a conversation with an old friend of mine, Matthew, who dances with Kansas City Ballet a few weeks ago and he brought up a few valid points concerning retirement. Would you rather go out with a bang, at the height of your career? Or be caught “falling off pointe” at 40?
When he said the “falling off pointe” I completely lost it in laughter. How many of us have seen this exact thing. A dancer hanging on to her career by a thread (or toenail), all the while doing the audience a huge disservice. How does an Artistic Director go about telling this once magnificent dancer that it’s time to hang it up?
Is your company’s principal dancer holding the rest of the company back? There is a company here in Southern California that has a dancer like this, and I could name about ten other companies with the same problem. While this forty-something Principal Dancer may have artistic qualities to add to roles, she needs to channel her passion in another way…perhaps through coaching.
Although dance is an illusion, when ticket sales start to plummet, you know that your loyal ballet-goers have seen through the illusion. Does anyone even realize that Darci Kistler is still dancing, for example? (I’m not knocking Darci in any way, just stating a fact)
On the flip side of the coin, dancers are retiring a lot younger than they used to. For many, the economy has made it so that ballet companies are having to make cutbacks. This is making the job search hard for young dancers and even for dancers who are experienced. Principal and soloist caliber dancers are being turned down by companies because they can use young, inexperienced dancers for free.
I don’t really know where I’m going with this post other than asking one question;
Do you want to be caught on stage falling off pointe?
Happy Dancing,
Nikol Klein, Professional Ballet Dancer/ Certified Personal Trainer
Author of The Ballet Audition Preparation Guide
How to Prevent Ballet Injuries
Ballet injuries are common career ending catastrophes for dancers of all ages. What may seem like a small ache or pain could turn into a serious injury if you are not making the proper adjustments to your technique. There are a lot of solutions offered that just mask the pain. If you do not get to the bottom of the issue that is causing the injury, it could be a life long struggle.
The following are a list of steps you can take to ensure you are doing the right things to prevent career ending injuries.
1.) See a Doctor- I know this may seem like a no brainer, but going to a doctor is one of the most important things you can do if you are experiencing abnormal pain. If you are attending a good ballet school, they should be affiliated with a Sports Medicine department or physical therapist in your city.
2.) Rest- You’ve heard this one before too. If you are experiencing abnormal pain, you need to stop dancing until you have the issue identified by a physical therapist. I know, you’re afraid that you will lose your part to your understudy, but how would if feel if you kept dancing and tore or broke something? Do your career a favor and take a much needed rest.
3.) Therapy- Once you have seen a physical therapist and they have diagnosed the problem, you need to follow through with your treatments. Your physical therapist may have you doing some strange exercises, but if you don’t follow through with them the injury will come back.
4.) Investigate- After you are finished with physical therapy and your injury seems to have healed, start investigating your ballet technique. Are you rolling in on your ankles? Are you gripping your hips? You might even want to see a Ballet Strength & Conditioning Coach like myself to help you work on technical weaknesses based on your anatomy and body mechanics. (Keep in mind that these are things that most ballet teachers are not qualified to recommend)
Sometimes your Ballet instructors, though they have your best interest in mind, will continue to tell you to force your turnout, etc. so that your body looks aesthetically correct for ballet. While this may look good, it may be doing disastrous things for your body and your career.
Take these simple precautions to prevent long lasting injuries and never be afraid to ask questions. You can try out one of my Ballet Strength programs HERE.
Nikol Klein, Certified Personal Trainer/ Professional Ballet Dancer/ Certified Nutritionist
5 Healthy Tips for Dancers
You may not realize this, but Ballet Dancers have some of the most unhealthy dietary and lifestyle habits. These bad habits effect dancers from daily class all the way to auditions. We’ve all read the famous Ballerina’s books like Gelsey Kirkland’s Dancing on my Grave and hopefully have learned a lot from their mistakes.
What can you do to improve your health so that you can reach peak performance? Follow a few of these simple guidelines to boost your energy in everyday class all the way to performance time.
1.) Don’t skip out on Breakfast- After 8 or more hours of fasting overnight, your body desperately needs food fuel in the morning. Make sure you are eating a balanced breakfast before heading out to class in the morning.
2.) Stay Hydrated- I cannot stress this enough. If you are not drinking water or an electrolyte enriched beverage before and during class, your strength will suffer.
3.) Eat- The skinny, emaciated look is so 1970. Artistic Directors are looking for strong bodies these days.
4.) Soak and Stroke- A hot bath at the end of a long day of rehearsing is just what your body needs to relax and prepare for tomorrow.
5.) Take a day off- Sometimes you need a mental day of rest. On your days off, participate in functions or activites that do not involve dancing. You will feel a lot fresher when the work week begins again.
I hope you have enjoyed these 5 healthy tips for Ballet Dancers! If you’re feeling a little low on energy, chances are you are missing one of the above components.
Happy Dancing!
Nikol Klein, Professional Ballet Dancer, Author of The Ballet Audition Preparation Guide
Career Transitions for Dancers
I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to one of the Career Transition for Dancers workshops here in San Diego last weekend. I thought it would be nice for me to share my thoughts and opinions of the ideas that they introduced for those of you who do not have the luxury of living in a city that their workshop visits.
There were about 25 dancers in the room of all kinds; Flamenco, Ballet, Hip-Hop, Ballroom, and even Vegas show dancers. Everyone was brought together in hopes of finding answers or getting suggestions as to what their next chosen career path should be.
Out of the 3 hour long meeting, which felt a bit like “Alcoholics Anonymous,” there were a few great things that happened. 1.) They talked to us about finding affordable Health Insurance 2.) They gave everyone a list of things that Dancers are good at naturally, other than dancing 3.) They helped everyone identify skills that they are most interested in learning.
Unfortunately, there were also some negative aspects to the workshop as one would expect. First off, one of the main presenters was never even a Dancer! The other main focus was Grants and Financial Aid. While this is a wonderful thing to offer to Dancers who qualify, (qualification consists of being a paid dancer for 7 years, having made at least $56k, and 100 weeks or more of paid employment as a dancer) what about those dancers out there who never had the luxury of being paid appropriately? Even more discouraging was when I learned that Dancers who qualified for the Grant would only recieve $2000!
It seemed that if anyone had questions, they were given a “technical support” number to call to speak with a Woman whom i will leave nameless. Most of us were in that meeting because we wanted to talk to a human being in person and address our concerns at that time, not over the phone. I think something valuable for them to add to their website would be a Forum where dancers can interact with eachother and talk about their experiences in transitioning from dance.
Luckily this Workshop was free…I felt sorry for some of the young dancers who were in the room that were looking for answers. Bottom line, if you were looking to be found you probably left this meeting even more lost. The good thing, having found a group of people just as lost as you!
If you are looking for someone to talk to and consult about your career transition out of Dancing this is a wonderful organization. They offer FREE unlimited phone consultations! Don’t take my word for it, find out for yourself!
Give Career Transition a call; (212)764-0172 or Visit them on the web, www.careertransition.org.
Effects of the Recession on the Dance Community
It’s all you hear about in the news, and it has effected the Dance Community.
It is hard to stay optimistic when you hear about companies such as New York City Ballet cutting as many as 11 dancers from their rosters. If NYCB, a company who I would consider top notch, is having financial issues, imagine how the small regional Dance Companies are struggling. (link to article)
Sarcamento Ballet cancelled the rest of it’s season. (link to article)
Even worse yet, no companies are hiring for the 2009-2010 season discouraging potential professional dancers from persuing their talents.
What do you do when this happens to you? How do you survive when you are laid off and have no place to dance? I have experienced this first hand as the company that I dance for had to cancel it’s February show of Coppelia due to lack of ticket sales. Instead of complaining about something I couldn’t control, I decided that I needed to do what was in my best interest.
You can look at these periods of layoff as blessings in disguise. Come on, you know you can’t dance forever, so this is the perfect opportunity to discover your other talents. Take this time off to enroll in a college class, pass on your knowledge by teaching dance, or think about heading off to a new company.
I have taken this wonderful opportunity to continue to develop my Personal Training business. Over the two months that I have been laid off from ballet, I have been able to sign on 10 new clients, create videos, and work on my marketing campaigns.
Be proactive. Don’t let these hard economic times get you down! Develop your other interests and begin paving a path to your career transition after dance.
-Nikol Klein, ISSA CPT/SPN and Professional Ballet Dancer
Learn More at www.nikolklein.com
Dancer Rehabilitation and Maintenance
What are you doing to ensure that your body is in top form every morning when you step into the studio?
There are many factors that contribute to injuries in dancers that could have easily been prevented. Muscle fatigue, lack of proper rest and recovery are essential to keep your body in top form. Here are a few simple maintenance routines to get you on the right track.
Get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Without proper rest your body will not have proper time to recover from the day before. Plus you won’t be alert in class and rehearsal making it hard not only on yourself, but also your co-workers!
Don’t forget to stretch. It seems like something so simple, but it is also something that is easily forgotten. Tight muscles are more suseptible to injury.
Supplement. No, don’t take Advil. Try a natural approach. Did you know that Bromelain is a natural anti-inflammatory? Also, try a Calcium/Magnesium complex to relax the muscles while supporting healthy bones.
Drink Water. Enough said.
Soak in the tub. Soaking sore muscles in a few cups of Epsom Salt and hot water can make a world of a difference. Try stretching after the hot bath too!
Seek massage and chiropractic work. Let’s face it, we’d like to have all the answers ourselves, but sometimes we must rely on the help of others. A weekly visit to the chiroprator or masseuse will fine tune you…at least until you have to rehearse some overhead lifts in a pas de deux.
Practice these simple techniques to help promote an injury free career. Your body will thank you for it!
As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
-Nikol Klein, Certified Personal Trainer/ Professional Ballet Dancer
Decreasing Stress
Simple ways to decrease stress and revitalize your body.
All of us know that stress can take a huge toll on the body. Whether it be mental stress or physical stress, it can truly break us down if we do not take the right steps to change our attitude and outlook. The mind is a powerful tool and we can use it to turn that negative stress into a positive.
Here are a few tips to help you refresh and rejuvenate during a stressful time;
Exercise- Whether it be a long walk or a session in the gym, exercise is the best thing you can do to recharge your body. If you aren’t motivated enough to do it yourself, sign-up for a gym membership or hire a Personal Trainer.
Spend some time outdoors- Ever heard the phrase, “Stop and take a breath of fresh air?” That’s exactly what you need to do! With all the time spent in cars, the average person is only outdoors 17 minutes per day.
Eat Healthy- Ever notice how miserable you feel after over-indulging in a fattening meal?
Stretch- Take 15 minutes to stretch out your tired muscles each night before bed.
Engage socially with friends- We all tend to get caught up in ourselves and the stress of day to day life. Give a friend a call and meet for a healthy dinner…or better yet, become workout partners! Sometimes hearing about a friends problems can help you solve your own! Talking about it always helps.
Play with your furry friends- Play with your cat or take your dog for a walk. Animals can light up our lives. In fact, pet owners typically live linger and have fewer stress symptoms.
-Nikol Klein
Certified Personal Trainer
Professional Ballet Dancer
Ballet Audition Tips
