Most of the popular self-care practices we think of are passive: meditation, taking a bath, zoning out watching Netflix. But according to psychotherapist and former Royal Ballet dancer Terry Hyde, a more active, tactile approach can feel more natural for dancers. “What you see in rehearsals is a lot of dancers hugging and holding each […]

In the heat of the women’s team gymnastics final, a shaken Simone Biles withdrew from the Olympic event last week to protect herself and her teammates. Her courageous decision to prioritize her health was met with overwhelming support, including from former U.S. Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug, who competed through extreme injury at the 1996 Olympic […]

In the heat of the women’s team gymnastics final, a shaken Simone Biles withdrew from the Olympic event last week to protect herself and her teammates. Her courageous decision to prioritize her health was met with overwhelming support, including from former U.S. Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug, who competed through extreme injury at the 1996 Olympic […]

When Bobbi Jene Smith, then a freshman at The Juilliard School, first saw the Batsheva Dance Company perform at Lincoln Center, she was blown away by the freedom the dancers seemed to experience onstage. “There was power and vulnerability at the same time,” she says. “I had never seen people given permission to be all […]

Self-care isn’t so easy these days. Many of our go-to sources of R&R—seeing friends, taking vacations, booking spa days—aren’t quite as feasible during a pandemic. Yet looking after our mental health has never been more essential. “Especially for dancers right now, with their particular tragedy where their identity is linked to their artistic life that’s […]

Losing yourself in a pint of ice cream after a frustrating audition. Stress baking during the COVID-19 lockdown. Most of us have experience with “emotional eating,” using food to process or distract from stress. There are scientific reasons why we turn to food for emotional support, says Marie Scioscia, a registered dietitian who works with […]

Health, as a state of balanced being, encompasses the physical, mental and emotional realms of our livelihood. As a dietitian for dancers, my expertise focuses on using food as a tool to enhance performance and health. And while most dancers work with me to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle, what is healthy for one […]

Crystal Nicholls had been dancing in the same musical on London’s West End for four years. In the show’s most challenging number, she says, there was a turn that led directly into a jump. One night, Nicholls made a minor mistake, falling out of the turn. Though she quickly salvaged things and still made the […]