Get To Know Ambassador Robbi Moore
DWC Ambassador Robbi Moore has always loved the dance community. Their extensive resume of works spans traveling all around the world with various companies and sharing stories to people in any way they can. We got the chance to speak with one of our DWC Ambassadors about what dance means to them and what inspired them to become an Ambassador! Read on to learn more about Robbi’s dancing journey and what they are looking forward to most about becoming an Ambassador!
By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor
Pronunciation: Rob-bee More| Pronouns: they/them
DWC Ambassador Robbi Moore has always loved the dance community. Their extensive resume of works spans traveling all around the world with various companies and sharing stories to people in any way they can. We got the chance to speak with one of our DWC Ambassadors about what dance means to them and what inspired them to become an Ambassador! Read on to learn more about Robbi’s dancing journey and what they are looking forward to most about becoming an Ambassador!
Robbi started dancing when they were five years old and was inspired to start dance by their older brother who was an actor. Robbi just wanted to be onstage, so their mom signed them up for ballet classes at New England Ballet because they were looking for dancers for their Nutcracker. When Robbi was seven, they moved onto Dee Dee’s Dance Center where they remained until they graduated high school. After graduation, Robbi participated in some summer intensives where they say they made lots of connections that they would later dance with in New York City. Before auditioning for the Alvin Ailey Fordham BFA Program, Robbi attended New Haven Ballet to further expand their ballet training.
After graduating the BFA program in 2015, Robbie danced in New York City with the STEPS Repertory Ensemble and during their senior year of college, they were involved with the Amanda Selwyn Dance Theater. They also danced with a bollywood company called AATMA Performing Arts and traveled with some of their shows. Robbi auditioned for Spectrum Dance Theater back in New York City and then moved to Seattle in 2016. Since then, Robbi has created an extensive resume with artists in Seattle from Khambatta Dance Company to Tacoma Urban Performing Arts.
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One thing that Robbi is looking forward to most about being an Ambassador is the Instagram takeovers. Robbi also is looking forward to the blog posts that they will be writing. They share that they really admire the people that are really good at writing about dance and hope that they can dive into that to become a responsible reporter.
We are so happy to have Robbi as one of our DWC Ambassadors! Be sure to check out the full interview on our YouTube channel to hear more about Robbi’s dancing journey!
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Encouragement for Dancers with Anxiety Disorders
One of the most common misconceptions about anxiety is that all people experience it in the same way. For those who do not have an anxiety disorder or do not believe anxiety disorders are legitimate health concerns, the assumption reigns that anxiety is a temporary and fixable cluster of symptoms brought on by isolated circumstances.
Trigger Warning: Anxiety, Mental Health
By Hannah Emory, DWC Blog Contributor
Photo from Shutterstock
My story with anxiety.
One of the most common misconceptions about anxiety is that all people experience it in the same way. For those who do not have an anxiety disorder or do not believe anxiety disorders are legitimate health concerns, the assumption reigns that anxiety is a temporary and fixable cluster of symptoms brought on by isolated circumstances.
I’m a dancer who copes with a chronically disordered form of anxiety called Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD. It means that I have anxiety at all times and can experience severe symptoms, even without an immediately evident or conventionally logical cause. I am grateful that I was diagnosed about five years ago and continue to learn about how my anxiety affects my everyday life.
My symptoms can vary from being deeply emotional to viscerally physical - from a background sense of coming doom or imminent failure to shaking, shortness of breath, digestive troubles, and mental fog. The severity and frequency of my anxiety symptoms can be reduced by self-care and the input of my support network, but the disorder itself never completely goes away.
Having an anxious body as a dancer provides an interesting challenge when it comes to performance time. There is this feeling of excited anticipation that works up once you’ve committed your blood, sweat, and tears to a creative endeavor and you’re about to present it to the world. Yet, an anxious body sometimes can’t tell the difference between joyful energy and anxiety-inducing stimuli, and the two can become muddled together or transform into each other.
When I was a child and teenager, I would experience these muddied waters all the time at performances. The number of people around me, rigorous schedules, interrupted self-care, and the anticipation of putting my heart and soul in front of audience members created an environment where I could thrive off the intensity, but sometimes struggled to stay grounded. That could put a damper on the joy of performing because I didn’t know how to deal with the stressors I was encountering effectively.
Throughout my university dance career, I’ve had many opportunities to learn about what helps me be successful amid my anxiety. Below are the top three things that have proven essential for me on a holistic level - these tips are important for any person, but can be easily forgotten in an athletic field like dancing. We need to intentionally make space in our lives for the internal and personal. As dancers, we use our minds, bodies, and hearts, and all three parts of ourselves require care so we can bring the best of ourselves to the studio and the stage.
Even in the off-season, have a routine.
After experiencing a year-long off-season in 2020, I realized that having a routine is key to avoiding anxiety flare-ups in the day-to-day as well as during performances. As an artistic person, routines can seem like the anchor weighing me down, but they can ultimately make or break navigating mental health struggles and a dancing career. I know that if I don’t stick to a routine, I quickly feel unmoored in my everyday life and have a greater sense of unpreparedness for performances.
Routines are best when they are individualized, realistic, holistic, and consistent. Your routine is the framework for having joy and maintaining movement forward in life - from nutrition to mundane tasks, from what barre exercises you need to do to what makes you feel ready for a performance night. Establishing a meaningful and effective routine will take troubleshooting and will shift over time as your needs change, but it’s a process that will be invaluable to your growth as a dancer.
A few warnings from my personal experience: don’t overload your off-days and don’t feel the need to run your life the way others do. Anxiety disorders can come with a robust perfectionism streak, but this is no competition and you are doing this for yourself and your craft. Your routine is about setting yourself up for success so that you are consistently improving as a dancer and avoiding anxiety spirals. Productivity and perfection are not the goals, consistency and stability are.
Find your own mindfulness practice.
Living life with GAD for me means that I don’t enjoy traditional silent meditation. I think many folks believe that to have a “real” mindfulness practice you must be skilled at silent meditation or try to be. I was in that boat and went on a journey to find a mindfulness practice that works for me consistently. I would say that if you are an anxious-bodied dancer, a mindfulness practice can be helpful, especially to ward off performance stress.
My mindfulness routine includes…
Using a set of meditation beads I made to center my mind on a power phrase or two
Journaling consistently to process my emotions and visualize my future
Improv dancing to a playlist of empowering tunes so I can connect my body, mind, and heart
Taking a walk outside where there is some green space and I can hear the birds singing
I like having a list of different activities that I know will center me and focus my attention, so that no matter where I am, I will be able to do some form of self-soothing when I’m having a flare-up or when the pressure is on. Some other forms of mindfulness and self-relaxation can include guided whole-body relaxation, scripted bodily tension-and-release exercises, utilizing your barre warm-up as meditation, and listening to some ASMR. While there is some trial and error to this suggestion, the time invested in being able to routinely quiet your mind and center your energy will pay back dividends your whole life long.
Seek out community.
Even though anxiety is a deeply personal experience, it does not mean that we have to go through it alone. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, about 20% of adults in the United States are affected by anxiety disorders. Sadly, most of those suffering do not receive the support they need, either from professional resources or from interpersonal support systems.
From my personal experience, anxiety results in a vicious cycle of convincing myself that I have to do it all on my own. I fear appearing annoying and needy and that if I reach out for help, others won’t understand how much GAD affects my life.
Yet, we are coming into a time where mental health is being destigmatized. Though there is still a lot of work to be done in normalizing and integrating mental health struggles into our societal conversations, there are a lot more doors open than there used to be. More people acknowledge mental health struggles as legitimate compared to a few decades ago. So the fear I feel is assuaged by the fact that people are struggling around me and would also like to have space held for them. Reaching out is easier when I remember that I am not the only one.
Lastly, some encouragement.
Ironically, it is anxiety-inducing to think of being vulnerable with others and doing the challenging personal work to grow when anxiety can feel like a constant uphill climb. As dancers, our bread and butter is using our whole selves to tell honest, moving, and human stories. There is little that’s more honest, life-changing, and human than learning how to live with intention in our mental health realities. There is a place to carve out in the dance world for telling the truth about mental health, demystifying it, and loving each other in the midst of it.
Ultimately, you have permission to start breaking the vicious cycles of loneliness and perfectionism that can come with having an anxiety disorder. I hope you know it is a sign of your power and strength to reach out to a mutually supportive community. I hope you know that you can move mountains with baby steps; that you are not alone. I hope you know your strength is shown through your struggle; your heart and your art are always worth the time of being loved, acknowledged, and cared for.
Much love to you, dear dancer.
The Story of a Studio Born Out of the Pandemic
It’s no secret that many small businesses suffered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and dance studios were no exception. Amid growing dance studio closures, those eager to move were left without a space to practice and without instructors to learn from. In the face of these challenges, local dance instructor and artistic director Mija Bishop founded Flight Feathers, a dance studio aimed at helping each individual dancer sore. Stay tuned to Flight Feathers’ Instagram for details about its June production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Mija Bishop on Helping Dancers Soar at Flight Feathers
By Madison Huizinga, Former DWC Blog Editor
Photo by Truman Buffett
It’s no secret that many small businesses suffered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and dance studios were no exception. Amid growing dance studio closures, those eager to move were left without a space to practice and without instructors to learn from. In the face of these challenges, local dance instructor and artistic director Mija Bishop founded Flight Feathers, a dance studio aimed at helping each individual dancer sore. Stay tuned to Flight Feathers’ Instagram for details about its June production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Influenced heavily by her family, Mija began dancing around age six. Her father was a ballet teacher as well as the owner of a ballet studio. “I was a little goof-off when I was little!” Mija laughs, sharing that she often got kicked out of class for being disruptive. It wasn’t until around age 13 that Mija began focusing on her dance training a bit more seriously. Throughout middle school and high school, she tried to get involved with as many ballet-related workshops, programs, and performances as she could.
Nonetheless, Mija shares that she eventually got burnt out and quit dance after high school for three years. “I kind of had this all-or-nothing mentality,” she says of how she viewed her involvement with dance. After three years, Mija found herself missing the dance scene. When she found an opportunity to get back involved, she jumped on it. “I’m really grateful for that chain of events that brought me back to dancing again,” she says. Today, she’s going on her tenth year of teaching dance, which has been a big part of what she’s loved about her dance journey.
“I've always enjoyed the movement,” Mija says, sharing her love for dancing to beautiful music. She appreciates the artistry behind dance and being able to feel so present with herself and her body. “There’s something really freeing about just being able to completely immerse yourself,” she says. Mija also appreciates her dance community, as well as the discipline and structure of ballet, particularly the ability to assess herself.
Photo by Thomas Hopkins
Mija shares that in her personal life, a challenge she’s faced in dance is grappling with the “perfect ballet body.” She never felt like she fit the ideal image of a ballerina, pointing out that she is shorter in stature and has shorter limbs. “People of Asian descent might relate,” she shares of people who share the same racial identity as herself. Mija says that growing up as a dancer she felt pressure and received comments about staying within a certain weight and not gaining “extra” muscle, as it would corrupt her lines. It wasn’t until after high school that she realized that cross-training and weight training were key to helping her gain strength as a dancer. “That’s something that I have been enjoying for myself and also been able to share with my students,” Mija says of cross-training, sharing that it can help dancers gain a better sense of ownership over their bodies and physical capabilities. Learning to train one’s body to gain strength rather than training to look a certain way is a healthier and more sustainable practice.
Flight Feathers was established in May of 2021 so that Mija could safely continue working with dancers during the COVID pandemic. “I was just really devastated having to say ‘good-bye’ to so many dance families,” she says of the studio she had taught at closing. She decided to take a “big leap of faith” to provide community members with access to dance classes amid COVID. Flight Feathers has mainly focused on ballet this year, but Mija is eager to expand the studio to offer jazz, hip hop, and contemporary.
“The intention behind both the name and the program is to create an environment where each student can grow and explore their own unique needs through ballet,” Mija says of the mission behind Flight Feathers. “I feel like there are just so many different ways to shine and soar,” Mija says, connecting the notion to a flock of birds. “I really hope to provide each student with [a] unique experience that will make them grow.”
Dance accessibility is something important to Mija. She shares that going into the second year of her program, she would love the chance to connect with people and find ways to make dance more accessible to people, particularly in the financial sense. Mija's vision is starting to take shape, as she has recently been connected with The Cobb Foundation Northwest Founder and President Margaret Cobb. The foundation currently funds and creates opportunities for underserved children, including music and tennis lessons, LEGO robotics workshops, and a book giveaway program. Margaret and Mija are in the process of adding ballet to one of the Foundation's offerings. She is excited about the opportunity to team up with Margaret and provide a positive dance experience to a wider range of kids through the organization.
Photo by Andrew Lucio
Excitingly, Mija has recently moved operations to a new studio space in Woodinville, Washington. “It’s still a little bit unreal!” she says, sharing that she’s incredibly grateful for the support she’s received from her husband and dance families
Follow Flight Feathers’ Instagram to stay up-to-date on all their upcoming shows and more!
Let's Talk About Dancers and Depression #mentalhealthawarenessmonth
May is Mental Health Awareness Month! In this series, we are giving the staff here at DWC a platform to talk about their personal mental health journeys. We believe in supporting the wellbeing of the whole dancer; both body and mind. We want you to know that you are not alone. We believe in the importance of talking about mental health openly, especially within the dance world. So let’s talk about it!
In this article, Cherie, Social Media Director here at DWC is sharing her experience with depression.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month! In this series, we are giving the staff here at DWC a platform to talk about their personal mental health journeys. We believe in supporting the wellbeing of the whole dancer; both body and mind. We want you to know that you are not alone. We believe in the importance of talking about mental health openly, especially within the dance world. So let’s talk about it!
Trigger Warning: Depression.
By En Avant Photography
Medical Disclosure: Dancewear Center does not claim to have any professional medical experience on the subjects discussed. This is Cherie’s personal experience and opinions. If you need help or are in a medical emergency, see the resources listed at the bottom of this post or call 911 for immediate medical attention.
Over the years, I have become very well acquainted with this feeling; my limbs are heavy and it feels like someone is sitting on my chest. I oversleep and lose my appetite. I get headaches, and the world around me feels dull and colorless. Sometimes it lasts a day, sometimes months. This is what depression looks like for me.
Talk to someone you trust. No one's meant to go through life alone.
For a long time I struggled with holding myself to an unrealistic standard. I had an ideal version of myself that I was constantly striving for. I was adamant about “fixing” myself; so I would isolate and try to fix all of the things I didn’t like, emerging on the other side as who I thought I should be. Not wanting to burden anyone else with my personal struggles, I drew further and further away from the people who cared about me. The first person I opened up to about what was going on was my Mom. That was the first step I took out of the little cave I dug myself. When I started going to therapy in high school, the very first exercise my therapist had me do was write out all of the people I had in my support system. These were the people I knew I could reach out to. When I first wrote this list, I think there were only two people I felt like I could talk to. If I were to write out that list now, there are at least a dozen people that come to mind. In reality, those people were ALWAYS THERE, the only thing that’s changed is my ability to ask for help when I need it. Look at the people you have in your life that you love and trust. Asking for help can be scary, and can be hard on our ego sometimes, but no one is meant to go through life alone. Whether it be a parent, a friend, a teacher, or mentor, find someone to talk to.
It’s important to take each moment as it comes and allow our body and mind to process these feelings. I often rely on the list below to help guide my actions when I feel stuck or in a particularly bad place.
Go for a walk. Something as simple as fresh air and movement help lift our spirits.
Take a shower. It’s the little things that count. Focusing on small tasks like taking a shower or brushing your teeth can help your brain kick into motion.
Practice circular breathing: inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, exhale for 4, hold for 4. This is helps get more oxygen to your brain and body, as well as grounding your brain in the present moment
Talk about it. I know it can be uncomfortable, but talking about how you are feeling to someone you trust can lift a huge weight off your shoulders.
Write a gratitude list. It’s easy to get caught up in a sense of lack or hopelessness. Take 3 minutes to write down the things in your life that bring you joy.
Here is an example of what I might write:
I’m grateful for my morning coffee
I’m grateful for my walk outside; the sun felt warm on my skin
I’m grateful for the time I get to spend on the phone with my mom
I’m grateful for lighting candles in the evening that make my home feel cozy.
I think especially as dancers, we place an unrealistic expectation on ourselves to be perfect. We must learn to enjoy the process, not the outcome. I think a lot of times we use our training to be overly critical of ourselves and our bodies. While we are constantly striving to push our limits, it’s important we take time to appreciate and thank our body for all it does for us in the moment. Dancing for me has always been the one aspect of my life where I could escape my brain. Even on the days I felt I couldn’t get out of bed, if I made it to dance class in the evening I would begin to feel better. As I write this, we are currently over two months into a stay-at-home order put in place due to COVID-19. Myself and countless others are having to grieve the loss of many aspects of our normal lives. Not being able to gather and dance with my peers has been the hardest to grieve. Rehearsals and classes have been such a vital aspect of my self care because they give me the space to reconnect with my body and quiet my brain from the outside world. I knew going into quarantine would trigger depressive responses. I experienced oversleeping and lack of appetite in the beginning. I have had to reintroduce movement back into my daily routine to help me cope with this difficult time. Wherever you are in your mental health journey, remember it’s a process.
Even writing this now brings up uncomfortable emotions and memories of the hard times in my life. If you are reading this and are in a similar situation, I want you to know that it’s okay not to be okay. You are worth living for, you are worthy of love, and it does get better. These things take time and it’s not easy, but it’s worth it. I promise you it’s worth it.
RESOURCES:
Mental health resources for Washington State :
https://www.rtor.org/directory/mental-health-washington/
If you are a parent who is wanting to help their children with COVID-19 related depression and anxiety, read this:
http://www.schoolmentalhealth.org/COVID-19-Resources/
If you have suicidal thoughts, click the link below:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/suicide-prevention/are-you-feeling-suicidal.htm
Or call 1-800-273-TALK in the US, or visit suicide.org to find a helpline in your country
How to Cultivate Inclusivity in Food and Dance Work
Perfectionism is a challenge that Mindy has experienced in the dance world as well. Her biggest challenge as a dancer has been countering those perfectionist ideals by accepting herself as she is each day. As a “recovering perfectionist,” Mindy shares that it’s a journey: some days it’s a lot harder, some days a lot easier, and other days it’s somewhere in between. She encourages others struggling with perfectionism to practice self-compassion, directing the kindness they offer to others towards themselves.
Certified Nutritionist Mindy Lu on Challenging Fatphobia in Dance Classrooms
By Madison Huizinga, Former DWC Blog Editor
Photo by AJ Ragasa
Similar to many mainstream dance spaces, the world of nutrition and eating disorder care has not been entirely welcoming to people from marginalized communities. This exclusivity, rooted in ideals of white supremacy and colonialism, can put up many barriers for people trying to receive eating disorder treatment and educate themselves on nutrition. At Sunrise Nutrition, nutritionists and therapists are cultivating a space that invites all people into food and body work, fostering a “nonjudgmental approach that celebrates the diversity of each individual.” Read on to learn more about Clinical Director, Therapist, & Certified Nutritionist Mindy Lu’s dance journey and the philosophy behind her work at Sunrise. And stay tuned to Sunrise Nutrition’s social media, as workshops will be coming up this summer, specifically for dancers.
Growing up, Mindy gravitated toward art, learning to play various instruments, but performance art always felt out of reach for her. After high school, a close friend of Mindy’s pushed her to take a drop-in dance class and she fell in love with it. “It’s never too late to start something that you’ve always wanted to do,” Mindy says to adults who want to try dance for the first time. She shares that she enjoys being able to perform and share the stage with others, as well as be a part of a choreographer’s vision. “One of my favorite things about performing is the energy,” Mindy gushes. She shares that she participated in a lot of local dance projects before getting more involved with teaching. Mindy loves being able to see the “sparkle” in students’ eyes when they feel engaged and proud of what they’re learning.
Mindy shares that teaching dance requires instructors to “give” so much of themselves to their students. After a while, feeling the need to focus on her own relationship with dance, she stepped away from teaching. This led to Mindy taking an extended break from dancing entirely. This year, she’s recently returned to dancing as a student and has been enjoying it immensely.
Mindy has always been interested in nutrition as well, specifically how to fuel and take care of her body. She points out that there is often a hyper fixation on the size and shape of dancers’ bodies in the dance world. “I really struggled with that for a lot of my 20s,” Mindy says. She decided that if she learned more about the science behind food, she could learn how to eat in a way that made her feel her best.
Mindy earned her MS in Nutrition & Clinical Health Psychology from Bastyr University. The more that Mindy learned about food, the more she learned that food is much more than something people eat. “It’s about the culture that we live in, the messages that we receive about food…and our bodies,” Mindy shares. “The reality of it is that we live in a really unkind culture that benefits off other peoples’ oppression.”
Following graduation, Mindy started working in eating disorder treatment. She voices that standard eating disorder care is “really rooted in white supremacy and colonialism,” sharing that the field is predominantly white-centered and heavily gendered and can promote harmful ideas regarding binaries and ultimatums. There’s an assumption, perpetuated by mainstream media, that white, thin, cisgender women are the only ones experiencing eating disorders. In reality, people of all races, genders, body sizes, religions, nationalities, and more experience eating disorders.
“I want to practice in a way that invites marginalized communities into this work,” Mindy shares of the idea behind Sunrise Nutrition. “Eating disorders don’t discriminate.”
Being a second-generation Taiwanese American in a white-dominated field, Mindy shares that she’s experienced a lot of racism in the realm of nutrition and eating disorders. She says that she’s had to do a lot of self-advocacy and advocate for her clients.
In addition, being a child of immigrants, Mindy shares that she feels a high drive to achieve, which can fester into perfectionism. This extreme level of perfectionism is something she’s constantly trying to challenge for herself and for her clients. She strives to promote autonomy and agency within those she works with, as those are attributes she values herself.
Perfectionism is a challenge that Mindy has experienced in the dance world as well. Her biggest challenge as a dancer has been countering those perfectionist ideals by accepting herself as she is each day. As a “recovering perfectionist,” Mindy shares that it’s a journey: some days it’s a lot harder, some days a lot easier, and other days it’s somewhere in between. She encourages others struggling with perfectionism to practice self-compassion, directing the kindness they offer to others towards themselves.
Something that Mindy hopes to see challenged in the dance world is weight stigma and fatphobia. “I think there needs to be more education around how we’ve constructed these messages about our bodies and how harmful it is when we internalize this idea that there are certain bodies that are more valuable than other bodies,” Mindy says. Creating more size-inclusive spaces in the dance world is an important part of bringing this change to fruition. This can start with building awareness and education about what fatphobia in the dance community looks like and acknowledging thin privilege, identifying what accountability may look like, and figuring out actionable steps community members can take to create size-inclusive spaces.
This summer, Sunrise Nutrition will be offering workshops specifically for dancers, including one dedicated to “creating a body positive dance classroom.” Dancers can check out Sunrise Nutrition’s social media, including Instagram and Facebook for updates.
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
The New Kid, Again
I arrived in Seattle, WA on September 2, 2016. I was supposed to get here on the 1st, but that is a story for another day. There were a lot of firsts that year. It was my first, and so far only, major full time dance company. My first time ever being on the West Coast at all. My first time living in a state where access to immediate family was physically inaccessible without a plane ticket. I was truly on my own.
Part 1
By Robbi Moore, DWC Ambassador
Pronunciation: Rob-bee More| Pronouns: they/them
I arrived in Seattle, WA on September 2, 2016. I was supposed to get here on the 1st, but that is a story for another day. There were a lot of firsts that year. It was my first, and so far only, major full time dance company. My first time ever being on the West Coast at all. My first time living in a state where access to immediate family was physically inaccessible without a plane ticket. I was truly on my own.
During my two years with Spectrum Dance Theater, most of the other dancers were like me in the sense that they had moved to Seattle for that specific job. Only a couple of people were from Washington. It was not until I left the company in 2018 and started freelancing that I began to interact with a wider range of local choreographers and dancers, many of whom were born and raised in Washington, and others like me who had moved from other places. There were artists who were more seasoned who were not from Seattle, but had been here so long that they had earned the right to say they were from here. In 2018, with most of my experiences in the first two years of living in Seattle being with one company, I felt like “The New Kid” all over again while navigating the freelance scene and the newfound interests of people who were meeting me for the first time.
I had auditioned for 3 other companies on the West Coast in Seattle, San Francisco, and L.A. respectively, as well as West Side Story at the 5th Avenue Theatre, after leaving Spectrum Dance Theater, and did not make it into any of them. I decided to stay in Seattle, with only one teaching position still at Spectrum Dance Theater and a plan to audition as a dancer for the Tint Festival. I had a day job working at the front desk at a fitness center, and I did not think there would be much else to my life outside of that going forward.
Luckily, I would be wrong.
The two pieces that I got into for the Tint Festival would turn into three after being invited to join PRICEarts as a guest artist. Whidbey Island Dance Theatre would reach out to me to play two demanding roles in their Nutcracker. It would be the first of a total of five times. Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center would reach out to me to play The Nutcracker in their first ever production of The Urban Nutcracker. This would be the first of four times. Cyrus Khambatta would reach out to me via email asking me to come to a rehearsal for an audition and the rest was history. I ended up dancing with Khambatta Dance Company for nearly four years, traveling to Germany, India, France, and Rhode Island, as well as working with International Artists.
In early 2019, Alex Ung, director of The Guild Dance Company would reach out to me to perform in “Immigration Stories'', a show I would do a second time that Fall, and choreograph on fellow dancers in the company, as well as a couple of essential pandemic dance videos. Four years later, I can call Alex a friend, and I am a supporter of The Guild. I auditioned for Karin Steven’s “Sea Change Within Us,” which would lead to four other dances with her company. I attended the Coriolis audition for their full-length version of “Danses des Cygnes” out of curiosity for the work, not thinking I would get into the piece. Not only would I be cast in the work, but I would go on to do a couple more performances with the company and as of recently, become a curator for one of their shows featuring Seattle based artists, Wielding Forms.
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I would attend a workshop for The Gray, not knowing if I would be selected for any projects. I would later be asked to perform twice that year. I filled an emergency role in International Ballet Theatre’s excerpt of “Sleeping Beauty” as Puss in Boots. I would be recommended to perform with Kinesis Project Dance Theatre, a New York based company that had recently become bi-coastal, a format that helped the company do very well during the pandemic when we were on Zoom. I would perform with Kinesis several times throughout the next 2 years.
This still does not sum up everything I have done as a freelance artist. Working for all of these companies created a game of Tetris that freelancers know all too well. It is a good problem to have, but that does not mean it did not come with some sacrifices and heartache. In January of 2019, I quit my job at the fitness center after it was highly suggested that I find other work after having to miss so much work to do two Nutcrackers during the holiday season at the end of 2018. In March of 2019, I was offered a regular dance teaching job that I thought would last through June, but I was abruptly let go after just one month. I invested in applying to two other teaching jobs, not knowing if I would get either. Those two schools were Exit Space School of Dance and Rainier Dance Center. I still teach at Rainier, four years later, and while my teaching position at Exit Space was cut short by the pandemic, I have maintained a relationship with the studio as a substitute, open class student, supporter, and performer in festivals curated and hosted there. Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Discover Dance program had also reached out to me, offering me a position as a Teaching Artist Apprentice. Add in another studio that I had substituted at who desperately needed a teacher that year, and I found myself in the Fall of 2019 teaching at four different studios, in two pieces for the Men in Dance Festival, rehearsing for two Nutcrackers, teaching for Discover Dance, and preparing for my second tour with Khambatta Dance Company to India.
It was the busiest I had ever been. I must admit that I really did not know how to take care of my mental health at the time. I had a lot of anxiety about not letting people down, and it did not help that I still had to prove myself to a whole bunch of new people who did not know me as an artist or as a person. My appeal relied on me adapting to what everyone wanted from me while seeming cool, calm, and collected, which is the complete opposite of what I was actually feeling. I was grateful for all these opportunities, but it was hard to keep imposter syndrome from creeping in. I had moved to Seattle in 2016 for Spectrum Dance Theater, and in 2019 I found myself doing work that I never planned on doing and had no clue where these new relationships would take me. I was truly winging it and had no plan whatsoever.
I am grateful for everything I was offered, but at that time, I was experiencing a lot of personal grief. The first was leaving Spectrum Dance Theater, and thus leaving a community of people that I had gotten to know and had seen every day for two years. I had invested so much in that job and it was the reason why I moved out here in the first place. It ended sooner than I had initially intended, but looking back, I cannot imagine it going any other way. A fresh twenty-three-year-old making the decision to move across the country for a famous dance company with no backup plan seems like an accurately young-minded thing to do.
I was also grieving the recent loss of my Nana after her long, difficult battle with dementia, and with it, the security and connection to the part of my childhood that included her, a part of my life that none of my new colleagues had ever witnessed. Those that knew were definitely supportive and sympathetic, but because no one out here really knows my family, my personal struggles with the fact that the entire structure of my personal life had shifted drastically in the background of my dance career were not factored into how people saw me. I knew so many people, but I did not know anyone well enough to feel comfortable confiding such personal feelings in people who I had just met professionally. I put a lot of pressure on myself to act like I was fine when I really was not. I was in high demand as a dancer and there were a lot of eyes on me. It made sense. I was and still am one of the few black male dancers in the concert dance scene in Seattle. I know I am a commodity in this community and I vow to never lose sight of that awareness.
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Getting To Know DWC Ambassador Kendall Hadley
Being a part of the dance community has been something that DWC Ambassador Kendall Hadley has loved with her ambassadorship. Earlier in her dance career she made this realization and knew that she wanted to apply to become an ambassador at DWC. We got a chance to speak with Kendall about what inspired her to become an ambassador and what dance means to her. Read on to learn more about Kendall’s dancing journey and what she’s looking forward to most about becoming a DWC Ambassador!
Pronunciation: Can-doll Had-lee | Pronouns: she/her
By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor
Being a part of the dance community has been something that DWC Ambassador Kendall Hadley has loved with her ambassadorship. Earlier in her dance career she made this realization and knew that she wanted to apply to become an ambassador at DWC. We got a chance to speak with Kendall about what inspired her to become an ambassador and what dance means to her. Read on to learn more about Kendall’s dancing journey and what she’s looking forward to most about becoming a DWC Ambassador!
Kendall started dancing when she was about five years old. She is currently a senior in high school and has been dancing at Fidalgo DanceWorks. Kendall also shares that she is hoping to dance in college as well.
When Kendall went into her first photoshoot as an ambassador, she was so excited to be around the community of dancers. She is also looking forward to expanding her knowledge of the dance community and talking about some of the hard topics that dancers go through. Kendall also shares that of course she is excited to open her PR boxes and see the results from the photoshoots with the other ambassadors.
We are so happy to have Kendall as one of our DWC Ambassadors! Watch the full interview below to hear more about Kendall’s dancing journey!
About the Author
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Bunions: Are They Preventable?
Bunion: word likely originated from the early 18th century from ‘bunny’ or ‘boni’ to describe a swelling or from the Greek word for turnip
There is still a lot of research that needs to be done to understand this complex condition. We know that dancers are prone to bunions. But we also know this condition has a strong genetic component.
By Colleen Bickel, PT, DPT, COMT
Colleen will be leading our Lunch & Learn this Wednesday at DWC Renton at 12:30PM, click here to register!
Hallux valgus (commonly known as bunions) are a frequent site in a dance class.
Hallux: big toe
Valgus: oblique displacement away from centerline
Bunion: word likely originated from the early 18th century from ‘bunny’ or ‘boni’ to describe a swelling or from the Greek word for turnip
There is still a lot of research that needs to be done to understand this complex condition. We know that dancers are prone to bunions. But we also know this condition has a strong genetic component.
How common are bunions?
Age 18-65: about one-third of the population
Twice as common in females
Dancers: a recent study showed 89% of professional ballet dancers have bunions
Things that likely DO NOT contribute:
Number of hours dancing per week
Hours of pointe work each week
Total years of pointe work
Age of starting pointe
Intensity (professional versus recreational)
Things that likely DO contribute:
Genetics
Faulty technique patterns
Plantarflexion hypermobility (pointed foot position): the average person has 50 degrees while the average female professional ballet dancer has 113 degrees
Muscle imbalances around the great toe
Things WE DON’T KNOW if they contribute:
Tight shoes (flats, pointe shoes or street shoes)
The main faulty technique patterns:
Forcing turnout out, end-range exaggerated turnout with hyper-pronation compensations, increased turnout from the leg rather than the hip
Winging while en pointe
Why should we care:
It’s a progressive condition: while a younger dancer may not have any issues now, it’s best to learn ways to limit the progression so their older body will thank them
Can lead to arthritis and pain in the big toe with walking, relevés, pointing and jumping
Can contribute to poor balance and proprioception
What dance-specific manual physical therapists do:
Check for muscle imbalances between extrinsics/intrinsics (muscles that start in the calf and travel to the foot versus muscles just in the foot)
Check for muscle imbalances between medial/lateral calf (inner and outer calf)
Improve joint mechanics in foot (make sure all the bones/joints are moving well)
Release tight muscles pulling on the great toe & teach dancer how to do that
Teach individual strengthening exercises based on dancer’s weaknesses
Help dancer find toe stretchers and spacers (there are a lot of options out there)
Help dancer identify optimal street shoes
Help dancer identify poor mechanics: walking, pointing, turnout, relevés, jumping
So, are bunions preventable? If you do not have the genetic propensity, then potentially yes. If you have the genetic propensity, then maybe not. Either way, we can make a lot of changes to reduce the risk factors and the progression. Happy Dancing!
Colleen will be leading our Lunch & Learn this Wednesday at DWC Renton at 12:30PM, click below to learn more!
By Colleen Bickel
Colleen Bickel was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM. After obtaining a BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah, she was able to tour as a professional dancer for many years. Colleen traveled all over the United States before settling in the concrete jungle of NYC. Living the artist’s life in NYC was a dream come true, but after a while she realized she was longing to reconnect with mountains and nature. Colleen graduated with my Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Washington and has called the gorgeous PNW home ever since.
Colleen's passion has always been to understand the inner mechanics of the body, whether for the everyday functions of life or for the more intense activities of the professional athlete or weekend warrior. She worked as a bookkeeper for many years (which helped pay the rent for her artistic life), and feels passionate about proper ergonomics and fitting physical activity into daily life. Colleen loves learning and is a certified Level 5 Romana’s Pilates Instructor and a MELT (Myofascial Energetic Lengthening Technique) Level 1 practitioner. She has taken classes in Ideokinesis, the Franklin method, Bartenieff Fundamentals, and other myofascial release systems. Additionally, Colleen is currently working towards her Certificate in Manual Physical Therapy and Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Health. Colleen believes in looking at the body as an entire system rather than piecemeal parts in order to treat the whole person.
How To Adjust Your Flexistretcher
Flexistretchers have been one of the top strength and flexibility training tool for dancers around the world. Using elastic resistance, this tool safely improves your flexibility while strengthening muscles at the same time! Here is the easiest way to adjust the straps to your flexistretcher!
By Nicole Barrett & Emma Neilson
Flexistretchers have been one of the top strength and flexibility training tool for dancers around the world. Using elastic resistance, this tool safely improves your flexibility while strengthening muscles at the same time! Here is the easiest way to adjust the straps to your flexistretcher!
Take the flexistretcher out of the mesh bag.
Fold the stretcher in half and lay it down on the floor.
Hold the loop of the strap and pull the slider towards the middle to your desired length.
Repeat on the other side.
Make sure to line everything up evenly and you have your adjusted flexistretcher!
This product can be found at Dancewear Center in store or online! Be sure to check out the video below for the full how-to!
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Analyzing and Improving Movement: The Benefits of Working with a Dance Physical Therapist
I grew up as a ballet dancer, majored in modern dance in college, danced professionally with 5 different dance companies in Utah and NYC… and I never saw a PT unless I was injured. Why is…
By Colleen Bickel
Colleen Bickel was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM. After obtaining a BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah, she was able to tour as a professional dancer for many years. Colleen traveled all over the United States before settling in the concrete jungle of NYC. Living the artist’s life in NYC was a dream come true, but after a while she realized she was longing to reconnect with mountains and nature. Colleen graduated with my Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Washington and has called the gorgeous PNW home ever since.
Colleen's passion has always been to understand the inner mechanics of the body, whether for the everyday functions of life or for the more intense activities of the professional athlete or weekend warrior. She worked as a bookkeeper for many years (which helped pay the rent for her artistic life), and feels passionate about proper ergonomics and fitting physical activity into daily life. Colleen loves learning and is a certified Level 5 Romana’s Pilates Instructor and a MELT (Myofascial Energetic Lengthening Technique) Level 1 practitioner. She has taken classes in Ideokinesis, the Franklin method, Bartenieff Fundamentals, and other myofascial release systems. Additionally, Colleen is currently working towards her Certificate in Manual Physical Therapy and Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Health. Colleen believes in looking at the body as an entire system rather than piecemeal parts in order to treat the whole person.
By Colleen Bickel
Dancers, I have a question for you.
Do you go see your doctor every year for a check-up?
Yes?
Why do you do that?
Is it to check to make sure that your heart, lungs, throat, lymph nodes, sinuses, abdominal organs, skin, etc. are healthy? Do you also bring any health concerns you are currently having to ask them?
Ok, here’s another question:
Do you go to your physical therapist (PT) for a yearly check in? Do you bring any muscle, tendon, and/or bone concerns you are currently having to ask them?
No? Hmmm. Neither did I. Until lately.
I grew up as a ballet dancer, majored in modern dance in college, danced professionally with 5 different dance companies in Utah and NYC… and I never saw a PT unless I was injured. Why is that? Well, part of it is because insurance company payments for physical therapy are structured around injuries, instead of prevention. Doctors are allowed to bill for “wellness or prevention visits,” but that principle has not been expanded to physical therapy yet. The APTA (American Physical Therapy Association) is trying to change that, so that injuries can be prevented. But, for now, if you wanted to see a PT without having a particular injury/pain/problem/discomfort, you would have to pay cash instead of using insurance (which a lot of dancers cannot afford), or find a PT who does pro bono work or has a sliding scale.
The other reason we do not seek out physical therapists is that it simply isn’t a habit. We don’t think to do it. We will seek out massage therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, trainers, Pilates & yoga classes and pay cash for those. So, why not PT?
After I retired from dancing, I knew I wanted to know even more about the body. I wanted answers to all the movement questions that had cropped up throughout my dance career. I knew how movement felt. I knew how to warm up, how to cross train and condition, how to rest and prevent catastrophic injuries, etc. But what if I was having issues with little cricks, little tweaks, or differences in my flexibility? What about my ability to balance on one leg versus the other? All I knew to do was stretch more, strengthen more, and focus on my form in the gym and in class. I never thought to ask my PT if she could help me figure out how to lift my left leg as high as my right. Or help me perform double pirouettes to the left, as they were so much harder for me than turning to the right.
So, here I was in my mid-30s, a dancer who had decided to retire. I was teaching Pilates while doing a variety of other odds and ends jobs, because that’s how you make ends meet in NYC. I thought about becoming a doctor or an orthopedic surgeon; but I still wanted to move and to watch movement. Who was I going to become after being a dancer?
One day, I asked a PT how they would describe what a PT did to someone who had never heard of a PT before. How would they define themselves? This PT told me, “I’m a musculoskeletal expert who analyzes movement and makes movement better.” At no point did they say they dealt only with injuries. Instantly I thought, “Well shoot! I’ve been analyzing movement all my life and I want to become a musculoskeletal expert!” The rest, as they say, is history.
A few years later, I find myself working with dancers daily as a part of my job at Innova Physical Therapy, and I love every minute of it.
So, here are my final questions for you:
Why, as a dancer, are you not working with a physical therapist who specializes in the performing arts to help you become an even better dancer? What things (beyond injuries) would you consider seeing your performing arts physical therapist for? Here are just a few:
Yearly Health Screenings for Joints, Muscles, Tendons, and Bones
Injury Prevention, Conditioning, and Home Programs
Pre-Pointe and Pointe Assessments
Body Asymmetries:
Do you have something that “looks different” between sides: like an ankle that wings more, or one side of your rib cage that sticks out more, or shoulders that are uneven?
Muscular Imbalances:
Do you feel stronger on one side rather than the other?
Do you feel crooked?
Is one calf or thigh bigger than the other?
Muscle or Joint Tightness:
Is one side tighter than the other?
Do you find you are standing on one leg more than the other?
Do you have a spot in your body that you stretch constantly but it always seems to be tight?
Do you have differences in turn out between legs (i.e. one side turns out much further than the other)?
Muscle Control:
Do you feel able to control all your movement?
Are you hypermobile?
I’m hopeful one day, every person in the United States will go to their PT for a yearly check in. For now, anyone can see a PT paying cash until we make changes to our medical system in order to use insurance. Now, keep in mind, you’ll probably want a specialist, and it may take some searching to find your perfect fit, but we are out there! I think dancers, who are so smart, in-touch, and thoughtful about their bodies, can start paving the way for others to follow. I’ve seen so many dancers (including myself) who have been able to increase their understanding of their bodies, and improve their strength, stamina, and technique by collaborating with a PT. Working strategically with a PT, may be a great way to improve your dancing, your health, and your longevity in the field for years to come.
If your studio is interested in a free workshop with one of our dance specialists please feel free to contact me. If you are uncertain if you should see a PT and whether it would be covered under insurance, feel free to send me an email as well!
Check out the links below to learn more about or contact Colleen, and check out DWC’s Local Dance Specialists page to find a dance specialist near you!
Interested in writing for the DWC Blog? Click below to fill out the DWC Contributor application!