Excessive Training

To go along with finding a balance with food, a dancer must also find the time to go to rehearsal, class, performances, and outside activities such as school and extra-curricular. It is too often that dancers push themselves into exhaustion by trying to juggle too many dedications. This is where the body of a dancer really breaks down.

Most often enough dancers get hurt in late-night, long rehearsals. Sleep-deprivation, dehydration, and poor nutrition make slips, falls, and drops hazardous. Slow-reaction time and muscle weakness mean that joints and ligaments are not thoroughly protected and are more prone to injury and misuse.

An example of this is how there always seems to be about four injuries that happen on FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance." The injuries usually happen around Vegas week, where the dancers are asked to rehearse and perform about twelve hours a day for an entire week. That kind force on the body allows for major mishaps...



What is needed is uninterrupted sleep. The kind of sleep that is for a solid eight hours, and not in increments of five and two hours. Dehydration should be eliminated and good quality food should be eaten. Proper warm-up is essential to each rehearsal and class to prevent injury.

Make sure to know your limits so you don't end up doing something stupid like this guy: