Advice for Dancers

From summer to fall: Heading back to school fresh

August 7, 2019Health & Wellness, Tips & AdviceLeave a Comment

It’s always a bit sad when we sense that summer is coming to an end. Perhaps you had an incredible experience at a multi-week dance intensive, or ventured to various workshops to learn new things, or maybe you had some down time with your friends and family. No matter how you spent your summer, it’s almost time for back to school, and back to dance. This time of year can feel bittersweet – you’re excited to start a new year of dance, but you’re also grieving over the soon-to-be-gone dog days of summer.

Well, these Broadway Dance Center teachers are here to help you start your new school year feeling fresh and inspired!

Continue reading ➞ From summer to fall: Heading back to school fresh

Summer sweat: How best to hydrate during the summer

August 6, 2019August 6, 2019Health & Wellness, Tips & AdviceLeave a Comment

Alex Gonzaga is a professional dancer with Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre and also a personal trainer to dancers and athletes with Proteus Fitness. “I still remember years ago when I took the Atlanta Ballet summer program,” he shares. “I was 18 years old and straight out of high school. The workload during that summer was a lot more intense than I had ever experienced. With my limited knowledge at the time, I did not think hydration would be a problem, but it was. Right around the second week of the program, I had an unusually hard day, and down I went. Due to dehydration, my body just completely shut down. I didn’t pass out, but I got extremely lightheaded and had to stop dancing for the day. An older company dancer at that time introduced me to this simple hydration drink where you mix sugar, salt and water together. That was my first experience with dehydration.”

Continue reading ➞ Summer sweat: How best to hydrate during the summer

Dancers stretching at Broadway Dance Center

Tips for summer stretching!

July 14, 2019July 28, 2019Health & Wellness, Tips & Advice2 Comments

Summer sunshine! A time for pools, hikes, ice cream, hangouts and sunscreen. Maybe you take time off, find an inspiring intensive or fill your weeks with workshops. Yet the one thing we pretty much all have, at least in the northern hemisphere, and especially in NYC, is heat! And I bet that if there is one thing you love about heat is that it helps with your warm-up and feeling stretchy!

You probably already intuitively knew that being warm is really important for getting more stretch out of our muscles, so you can totally take advantage of the warmer weather and get a jump start on sweating it out and getting your heart rate up to prepare for dance! But what are some other things to keep in mind to get the most out of your stretch? Here are a few things to think about for your best summer stretching!

Continue reading ➞ Tips for summer stretching!

Boost your creativity this summer

July 11, 2019July 11, 2019Health & Wellness, Tips & AdviceLeave a Comment

Aaah, summertime — it makes us think of the beach, barbeques, sunscreen and watermelon. For dancers, it’s often a slower time with fewer classes, rehearsals and performances. You may be eager for the break. You may instead wish you could keep the high-speed train going, continuing to refine your technique and artistry day-in and day-out. Yet there can be a way to grow as an artist as well as take a bit of a break — making your creativity flourish! Let’s look at some ways to boost creativity over the summer!

Continue reading ➞ Boost your creativity this summer

Earth Day: You can make a difference!

April 18, 2019May 9, 2019Health & Wellness, Tips & AdviceLeave a Comment

The past five years have been the warmest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Additionally, there are currently 150 million metric tons of plastic waste in the oceans that affect 700 species, with an additional eight million metric tons being added to the ocean every year, according to the Ocean Conservancy³. The plastic island in the ocean is real.

Young people and students are leading the charge to combat climate change and make the tough decisions that reduce negative human impact on the environment. Just this past March, an estimated 1.4 million students from 123 countries walked out of school and stormed the streets to demand action from global leaders^1,2. Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg had strong words for world leaders at the UN Summit on Climate Change.

Continue reading ➞ Earth Day: You can make a difference!

Self-care tips from ALMA NYC

February 7, 2019February 10, 2019Health & Wellness, Tips & AdviceLeave a Comment

On January 14, ALMA NYC hosted a wellness seminar at Broadway Dance Center. The seminar featured a five-person panel of nutrition, fitness, life-coaching and holistic living specialists. The afternoon focused on the meaning of self-care, a concept that has become a very trendy topic in today’s society.

Continue reading ➞ Self-care tips from ALMA NYC

4 ways to boost winter nutrition and immune function

January 25, 2019February 3, 2019Health & Wellness, Tips & AdviceLeave a Comment

During winter months, it’s more important than ever to maximize your nutrient intake to strengthen your protective immune defenses. You don’t have to go buy a bunch of expensive products to be your best.

Here are some tried and tested immune boosters perfect for a dancer’s budget.

Continue reading ➞ 4 ways to boost winter nutrition and immune function

Get warm and stay warm for healthy and stretchy dancing

January 8, 2019January 25, 2019Health & Wellness, Tips & AdviceLeave a Comment

Brrrr… baby, it’s cold outside! You’ve still got to get warm and stay warm before you really get moving, but it feels so much harder when it’s like Frosty and the elves had a little too much fun outside. Fortunately, it’s easy with a few tips, and you’ll be ready to burn up the studio!

First, though, what does it even mean to warm up? Is it just a few stretches and go? Nope. You need to literally warm up your body from the core out to your fingers and toes, and the way to do this is to move around enough to get your heart rate and your breathing rate to increase. If you’ve broken a sweat, you’ve hit gold. Here are some of our tips for getting warm and preventing injury.

Continue reading ➞ Get warm and stay warm for healthy and stretchy dancing

Breaking into Broadway

December 17, 2018December 17, 2018Tips & AdviceLeave a Comment

The lights are bright, the buzz and energy is so full of life. It’s full of song, dance, storytelling, exciting choreography, extravagant costumes and sets. It’s Broadway. It’s lovingly called The Great White Way – one of the first streets in the U.S. to be lit with electric lights. Its history and reputation and potential for amazing things make it a “bucket list” item for many dancers. But when so many dancers are vying for the same goal, how can you turn this dream into a reality? How can you break into Broadway?

Here, we turn to Stephanie Bissonnette, a 2010 graduate of Broadway Dance Center’s Summer Intern Program (now called the BDC Professional Semester), who made her Broadway debut in the musical Mean Girls last April. She knows all there is to know about what kinds of classes aspiring Broadway dancers should be taking, how to prepare for that singing audition and how you, too, can make it on The Great White Way, doing what you love.

Continue reading ➞ Breaking into Broadway