Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | D | Dance Magazine

The art of the warm-up: five dancers share their daily rituals.

Article Excerpt
[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

Warming up and cooling down are part of a dancer's daily schedule. You stretch before class and massage your back or rub tender muscles. Then you stretch again. What about during show time?

The excitement of rehearsing, doing your hair and makeup, getting into your costume and finally performing can sometimes cause so much of a rush that dancers don't always do right by their bodies. And after your breathtaking performance, do you change quickly and head out to meet friends, or do you take care of your body? (See more on cooling down on pages 72-73.)

Warm-up exercises prepare the body for larger, more taxing movements and decrease tension in the muscles so you can move without stress and strain. Your goal is to limber up and gradually increase your body temperature to optimal working level--and to avoid injuries. Dance Magazine spoke to five dancers about what works for them.

Holley Farmer, a Bessie-award winning dancer with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, approaches her warm-up methodically. "Being calm and being able to concentrate is essential." She starts on the floor with ab work, Pilates-based back exercises, and external rotator cuff and abductor exercises. "I need to feel centered and balanced. A lot of us use Merce's center warm-up to prepare. I'll do leg circles on the floor and in the air. You have to have your spine fully articulated as well as your legs to perform Merce's choreography. I'll also do small jumps and go...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!