Plantar Plate Injuries In Dancers
Plantar plate injuries are common dance issues that many performers push through without seeking professional advice. What is a plantar plate injury and how does its functionality affect dancers?
Why dancers are more susceptible to ingrown toenails
An ingrown toenail is a common problem if you are a dancer, especially a ballet dancer, because your toes are pushed into tights, squeezed into firm fitting dance, ballet or pointe shoes and then worked for hours repeatedly—jumping, spinning and pointing your feet. While you are dancing, your feet get very hot and sweaty, creating the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.
Body Acousmonium – a powerful and touching performance
Created by Slow Twitch Collective, Body Acousmonium is an innovative, 55-minute work making its debut at the 2019 ‘Melbourne Fringe Festival’. Aiming to provoke thoughts amongst audience members in relation to sound and its presence in space, the work consists of two performers fulfilling the role of artists as they express a story of personal interpretation through the simultaneous inclusion of electronic media (sound/lighting) and movement.
Spark Youth Company’s ‘Snow and Rose’ transcends worlds
Alex Dellaportas and her team at Spark Productions Australia cleverly built a strong social media vibe in the lead-up to the premiere of their new production Snow and Rose. Two sisters whose bond transcends worlds reveal an intriguing glimpse of the creativity in lighting, set and choreography to be expected from a Spark Youth Dance Company creation.
Wakakirri – the story-dance challenge giving Australia’s youth a voice
Wakakirri, established in 1992, is Australia’s largest performing arts event for schools. Competitors perform an original three-to-seven minute ‘story dance’ that expresses an issue or story, often relating directly to the assortment of controversial topics that youth face within their communities. This year 20,000 students from over 280 primary and secondary schools attended heats throughout the country.
Flexibility in dance. What’s the fascia-nation?
If you’ve ever worn a cast or moon boot to recover from an injury, you’ll remember the stiffness you felt when the brace was removed. During immobilisation, fibrous connective tissue (fascia) bundles form and stick together, like a stiff web. Once healed, you would have been prescribed exercises to ‘melt’ these bundles, and restore mobility and movement to the joint.
Eating for success: 10 simple ways to support your dancing with a healthy diet
Awareness and preparation are the key to eating a healthy diet that supports an active lifestyle. While we all know the importance of eating well, it’s so easy to grab a bar of chocolate or skip a meal when we’re busy or exhausted – but this isn’t doing us any favours!
It’s all in the feet: Intrinsic foot strength in dancers
Did you know there are four extremely important layers of muscle on the bottom of the foot?
Donnie Dimase presents Cheap Luxuries and Expired Dreams
Eagerly expectant, an excited buzz fills the iconic Melbourne venue, Prahran’s Chapel Off Chapel as Donnie Dimase, one of Melbourne’s leading choreographers and dancers, prepares to showcase his first commercial dance production Cheap Luxuries and Expired Dreams.
Participation awards. Who are we kidding?
Excited groups of kids sit cross-legged on the gymnasium floor, faces expectant as the coach gives their end of season speech. Hopeful dancers stand demurely on stage, nervously awaiting competition adjudication. Some will win, some will lose. At that moment, they await the onslaught of emotion. Will they feel happiness and pride or frustration and disappointment?