What Is Dancer Wellness, Anyways?

I talk a lot about ‘dancer wellness’; especially this year, in 2020, the term ‘wellness’ has started cropping up a lot more. It’s easy to understand why - humans are under a lot of stress these days, so learning and implementing coping skills to keep us well during this pandemic has become vital.

But as I was creating my new membership program, StudioZen, I realized I needed to clarify what dancer wellness was; both for myself, and for the folx I’m working with in this program.

For you visual learners, check out this graphic, as it sums up at a glance what I mean when I say dancer wellness.

There’s some of the obvious things at the top of the iceberg, things like nutrition, strength training and positivity, but really, dancer wellness is so much more than the surface level things we can see.

If we dig a little deeper, we realize that ‘wellness’ is about a holistic, 365 degree perspective of a dancer. These are the things that will help a dancer find success, in the dance industry, and beyond, and these elements all play an important role in keeping a dancer healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

Kathryn Morgan’s recent YouTube video about her decision to leave Miami City Ballet is a perfect example of why dancer wellness is so crucial. Several other dancers have also now come forward sharing similar stories and experiences, and while it’s heartbreaking to hear how these dancers have been treated, it’s also not surprising. (In fact, a poll I did on Instagram showed that 90% of you weren’t surprised by these stories.)

Imagine the shift that would occur in the dance industry if we prioritized the dancer before the dancing. Not only would dancers be happier and healthier, they’d have longer careers, less injuries, go on to choreograph and serve on boards and admin in dance companies and bring the values of dancer wellness with them. Not to mention dance would become more inclusive, diverse and exponentially expand its reach, finding footholds and support in communities across the globe!

Dancers are more than bodies that do the bidding of a choreographer. They are more than executors of a role or performance, and they are more than one half of a partnership and more than one more bun in the corps or company.

If you want your dancers to know this, if you want them to be successful in the dance industry, and beyond, dancer wellness skills are what you need to be teaching alongside technique, artistry and performance. We all know these changes need to happen. If none of us are surprised that body shaming and mental abuse are alive and well in the dance world, then more of us need to step up and do something about it.

How will you start? What changes will you make? Tell me in the comments below, or check out more on StudioZen to see if it’s a good fit for you. Let’s do this - the change starts with us.