Last year’s Netflix hit “America’s Sweethearts,” a docuseries about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, displayed some maddeningly contradictory attitudes toward dancer health. One moment, performers were body shamed for failing to meet the team’s punishingly narrow standards; the next, they were scolded for not properly “fueling” themselves during practice. For many dancers, those scenes were all […]

Processed foods get a bad rap—the most common concerns being that they’re full of chemicals or packed with sugar. Processing is nothing more than transforming ingredients, such as vegetables, beans or meat, from their original state into another form—bagged baby carrots and tofu are processed foods, as is frozen pizza. Processing food can do things […]

Growing up in Miami, Step Afrika! dancer Misha Michel often helped out in her family’s soul food restaurant, Freedom Wingz. She was in college when she first started cooking herself. “Mostly because I wanted to try new dishes and find different ways to have tasty, healthy meals,” she says.  Today, her favorite way to mix […]

One of Sarah Chisholm’s best sellers is an almond-flour pancake mix, based off of what she used to make for herself in the mornings when she was dancing.

Even if you’ve never heard of flow, you’ve undoubtedly experienced it. According to psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihalyi, who coined the term, flow is the blissed-out state of being fully absorbed in a rewarding task that’s challenging yet doable. In flow, self-consciousness disappears, as does the sense of time passing. If you’re like many dance-world professionals, flow […]

Fatphobia can negatively impact a dancer’s view of themselves—and their treatment of others.

Here’s how five dancers across styles approach their veganism, and the plant-based rehearsal snacks, sweet treats and meals that they love.

High-impact activity, like dancing, is associated with pelvic floor dysfunction, says Brooke Winder, a physical therapist in Southern California dually trained in orthopedic and pelvic floor physical therapy.