Constructive Conversations: The Dance Family's Quick Guide to the Growing Dancer
At DANCEPREHAB, our time is most often dedicated to supporting the youth and adolescent dancer and family. How can you support? What are some things to be aware of?
Hi dance families!
Thank you for taking the time to drop by for this quick read!
As many of you know, the majority of the dancers we are grateful to support fall into the youth and adolescent age ranges (anywhere between 11-18 years of age). It’s a privilege and honor to share the spaces with these movers - not only are they going through pivotal moments as dancers, but as learning about themselves as growing humans with hopes and dreams.
In our current understanding of dance learning…
The dance learning and performance experience of the modern day youth and adolescent competitive dancer continues to be fueled by a “more is better” mentality.
On a community level, proper physical health care and support continues to be perceived as a “nice to have”, not a “need to have”
Information overload is real, and the health & wellness “trends” continue to permeate our spheres and networks. What is actually helpful and beneficial?
At DANCEPREHAB, we see the dancer, but we also see the young human who has chosen dance as their method of expression, their connection to themselves and their community, and their way of learning life’s lessons as they move through the world.
What are some constructive conversations that we can have?
The body changes, and that’s ok.
Growth is not linear. Everyone grows at their own pace - some mature earlier, some later. It’s possible that some dancers find connections faster than others, therefore see an increase in performance ability, while some dancers may feel more discombobulated and uncoordinated, all of which, to a certain extent, are a normal part of growth. It’s easy to compare ourselves to others, but always a good reminder to our dancers that everyone’s process and experiences is unique.
Bones grow faster than muscles. Changes in strength and flexibility are often experienced during these periods because as the bones grow, muscles often have to “catch up”. As bones grow they get heavier, however the muscles have yet to develop the strength accommodate for the increased growth. Before the muscles catch up, feelings of tightness may occur with movements that were not previously an issue, which there are safe ways to navigate.
Changes in body weight are normal. It means the body is adapting to its’ needs. Dancers can often become more self-conscious about their appearance and physical attributes, which can influence training or nutritional behaviors that negatively impact not just performance, but overall general health and growth.
PARENT TIP: A way that we’ve been able to communicate these ideas of growing to our dancers is drawing the analogy of “updating your phone”. Being able to talk about growth and maturation and being able to “update” your body, your balance, your strength, and your coordination as they experiences changes can help the dancer understand that it’s a process, not a problem.
*Yes I know they’re attached to their phones already, but hey, it drives home the idea ;)
Any thoughts or suggestions?
What does dance ask of the growing dancer?
Periods of significant growth and maturation often coincide with upticks in dance training, particularly in those who have vocational or professional aspirations. Not only are we asking dancers to train more technically, they’re often having to adjust on a fundamental human level as well. Nutrition and fueling properly isn’t only for dance - it’s so they can be a strong human too.
Dancers often feel pressure to fit into cultural expectations. We can’t ignore the energies in place that can affect our young dancers’ perceptions of self. Teacher expectations, mirrors in the classroom, and preconceived notions of “success” and “perfection” are constant. Being able to remind them of their unique human selves is an ongoing effort, and we’re happy to be providing with a healing and human movement experience that allows them to acknowledge themselves.
Do you know an educator that is interested in learning more about how to best elevate their teaching? Let me know about our virtual online resource!
Navigating, shifting, and pivoting with growth-related injuries and conditions.
Human-specific: There are several conditions related to growth, namely which involve the tendon connection to the bone - familiar conditions are Osgood Schlatters in the knee, Sever’s in the ankle, and Iselin’s on the outside of the foot.
These occur because the tendons (which are connected to muscles) pull on immature growth plates resulting in inflammation and pain. We often see these with repetitive impacts (jumps), or perhaps a significant increase in training activity in a short period of time.
Usually with conditions such as these, we’re focused on management and activity modification in the studio space, and providing good stress during PT so the body can learn to adapt to these stressors. Rest can be warranted however as performing arts PTs, we’re interested in how to body can adapt so your dancer can continue to be involved and participate.
Dance-specific: As mentioned, dance often asks more of our dancers as they grow. Muscle strains, tendinitis, and hip problems are often a result of significant increase in training, as most dance-related injuries are overuse in nature rather than acute (sudden). Additionally, to achieve the aesthetic qualities of dance many approaches we currently find (and often with increased visibility on social media) are implemented without respect of the growing human body.
Overall, much of the conversation isn’t always about weak vs strong, but rather, it’s about load management. With younger dancers, the important question to ask is, “Is my dancer able to handle the demand that dance is asking of them?”
PARENT TIP: Have a conversation with your local dance medicine specialist or youth sports doctor or PT. For example, knee pain can be varied across the board (and sometimes doesn’t even come from the knee). We’re here to provide clarity and peace of mind so you know how to best approach your child’s care with respect to their goals in dance and their changes as a person who has chosen dance.
The DANCE|PREHAB PERSPECTIVE
At DANCE|PREHAB, we understand that there are injuries and problems to be navigate and to shed light on, but as always, we’re here to emphasize the process and not just the problem. Every DANCEPREHAB healing and training experience is first and foremost a learning experience so you can continue on into our career smarter and stronger.
As dance families, we’re also part of the craziness that is our current
dance learning experience (and we’re right there with you!). We’re here to equip dancers, educators, and families with the tools to continue navigating our ever-changing dance environment and communities.
Citations:
Cook, J & MacSweeney, N. (2021). SciDance Podcast: Growth and maturation with Niall MacSweeney. [Audio Podcast].
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