The first time I saw William Forsythe’s choreography I hated it. Passionately.
I’d just started at NYU and our choreography class was required to see Ballett Frankfurt out in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, my parents happened to be in town that weekend. But I brought them along, assuming anything called “ballet” would be safe.
You know what they say about assuming. N.N.N.N. consisted of four men walking around slapping the tops of each other’s heads. The women in Duo were wearing mesh tops THAT YOU COULD SEE THROUGH. One Flat Thing, Reproduced just had the dancers slinking around a bunch of tables. This was not what I called ballet. I was mortified.
From that point on, I avoided anything Forsythe. At ABT’s intensive the next summer I was forced to take a Forsythe-based improv class with one of his dancers, Jill Johnson. I was dreading it—until I got in the studio. Jill had us try out a simple exercise that was based on Forsythe’s process: Starting in first position, we could tendu in any direction in parallel or turnout, and use any classical ballet port de bras we wanted but one or both arms could be parallel, upside down or backwards. Exploring the infinite possibilities within this structure was thrilling. I felt in my body how movement that was completely weird and awkward actually related directly to ballet. At the end of class a couple of the students begged Jill to dance some Forsythe for us. Watching her move, I could see how the steps were based in classicism but took it to an entire other galaxy of possibility.
This week I saw Duo again. After many years of watching downtown dance, I’ve moved past my aversion to nudity onstage so I was actually able to see the dance this time. And it was so beautiful I almost cried. Sitting there I realized that seven years later, each piece of that Ballett Frankfurt performance I had hated so fervently still stuck in my mind, crystal clear. I can’t say the same about shows I saw last month. Even though it had blown my mind because I was unprepared for that type of dance, it had moved me and left an impression that has never gone away.
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Nov 24, 2020
xmb photography, Courtesy The Washington Ballet
The Washington Ballet's Sarah Steele on Her At-Home Workouts
Ballet at home: Since she's not preparing for any immediate performances, Steele takes ballet barre three to four times a week. "I'm working in more of a maintenance mode," she says, prioritizing her ankles and the intrinsic muscles in her feet. "If you don't work those muscles, they disappear really quickly. I've been focusing on a baseline level of ballet muscle memory."
What she's always working on: Strengthening her glute-hamstring connection (the "under-butt" area), which provides stability for actions like repetitive relevés and power for jumps. Bridges are her go-to move for conditioning those muscles. "Those 'basic food group'–type exercises are some of the best ones," she says.
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</div></blockquote></div><p><strong>Abs on Instagram: </strong>Back in April, Steele, who's also a certified Pilates instructor and personal trainer, moved her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/steelesculpt/" target="_blank">SteeleSculpt</a> classes online. Three to four times per week, she offers Pilates-inspired, low-impact workouts on Zoom and Instagram Live. "I think that low impact is important, especially while we're all in our living rooms. And they're equipment-free, too, because not everybody has access to dumbbells or even TheraBands or squishy balls."</p><p><strong>Bonus workouts: </strong>For Steele, planning her classes is also a form of exercise. "A lot of times I'll make myself really sore from coming up with a class before I teach it," she laughs.</p>
<p><strong>For cardio:</strong> "I jive with biking," says Steele, who enjoys riding around Washington, DC's monuments and the National Mall. "Biking outside, you can naturally get the intervals that you want," she says. As opposed to cycling indoors at a steady pace for 30 minutes, riding outdoors gives her a mix of hills and flat terrain, alternating periods of hard work with active recovery.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDgwMjEzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTI2Mzg0OX0.LAIy4pf8mIigZW0euBBZLGNFuNn7RigJkYRE69fn4B4/img.jpg?width=980" id="44ea9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="05d1fc135f8f96535d7b9676aadeff24" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Sarah Steele working out outdoors near the Washington Monument
Courtesy The Washington Ballet
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<p><strong>Her Don't-Quit Strategy:</strong> "I'm not that kind of person who can drop down to a plank and do my best job in complete silence. I need musical motivation." Her favorite workout track? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xJVJ0Ct8Zs" target="_blank">Niall Horan's "Slow Hands (Basic Tape Remix)</a>."</p><p><strong></strong><strong>Shutdown self-care tool: LURE Essentials' EDGE Cupping Therapy Kit</strong></p><p>"They're so great for when you have any tightness in your lower legs—from taking barre on an un-sprung floor or even taking too many long walks." Steele glides the handheld, <a href="https://lureessentials.com/products/edge-cupping-set?_pos=36&_sid=6d69526bc&_ss=r" target="_blank">silicone suction cups</a> up and down her calves for myofascial release.</p>
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Nov 23, 2020
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Hiding Injuries: Why Downplaying Pain Can Lead to Bigger Problems Down the Road
Sabrina Landa was thrilled to be offered a traineeship with Pennsylvania Ballet. "As a trainee, everything felt like a chance to prove myself as a professional," she says. Her training hours increased and she was dancing more than she ever had before. When Landa began experiencing pain in her metatarsals partway through the 2018 Nutcracker season, she notified the staff. "But in fear of losing my shows, I downplayed the severity of it," Landa says.
She notes that no one pushed her to keep dancing but herself. "I was 18 and was aiming to receive a contract by the end of the year," she says. "I felt so much anxiety over missing an opportunity that I was afraid to be honest about my pain." Pennsylvania Ballet's artistic staff were understanding and supportive, but Landa minimized her injury for the next few months, wanting to push through until the season ended and contracts were offered. But after months of pain and an onset of extreme weakness in her foot, Landa was diagnosed with two stress fractures in her second and third metatarsals. She spent the next three months on crutches and six months off dancing to allow for the fractures' delayed healing.
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDgwMjI1MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNDk0MDI2NX0.XMAJ9dlLcVK2jAmWabO01O4TTTQ87CjgrRo7JTGdUC8/img.png?width=980" id="e50cc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b223e42188a1418fbcfe99c75066f8da" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="The silhouette of ballerina standing backstage in the wings is shown from the waist up; she wears a long pink tutu and faces bright boom lights in the wings across the stage." />
Sabrina Landa, shown backstage as a trainee at Pennsylvania Ballet, downplayed the pain she was feeling in her foot during the company's Nutcracker run.
Courtesy Sabrina Landa
<p>Hiding injuries is a common occurrence among both students and professionals. Dancers are used to pushing themselves to extremes and frequently ignore cues from their bodies until they are in significant pain. They may fear missing the next performance or being deemed lazy or injury-prone, or think admitting pain shows weakness. But while you may feel the need to "tough it out," is pushing through an injury really the best choice?</p><p> "I think to ignore any injury, no matter how minor or major, is a mistake," says Dr. Donald Rose, orthopedic surgeon and director of the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at NYU Langone Health. "It's important that the dancer recognizes the injury—what it is, if it affects a ligament or a muscle—and know what is the best treatment for it." Those who treat their injuries early and seek medical guidance (working with a physical therapist, for example) will typically have quicker recoveries and heal more completely. In certain cases, dancing on an injury can actually have long-term consequences and result in chronic problems.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDgwMjI5Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNDExMTMzMn0.z9Xa_czIGPsQaIKpiSmVU5DRNcdir8mumEf5H1I9ZQc/img.jpg?width=980" id="847c3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a85247e4a8130a69943ccf206b0e1d3f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="A young woman sits on the ground with her left leg tucked underneath her and grabs her right bare foot with both hands." />
In certain cases, dancing on an injury can actually have long-term consequences and result in chronic problems.
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<p>Shin splints, tendinitis, stress reactions, and even stress fractures are common injuries that dancers may try cover up. Yet while you may believe you're successfully hiding your pain, technique and ability typically suffers. Jumps become lower and pointework more restrained as the body holds back as a means of self-protection, and eventually movement starts to lack attack and energy. Directors or teachers may even misinterpret why and assume a dancer isn't working hard in class.</p><p> "Depending on what type of pain or injury you are experiencing, if it is not addressed it may compromise your dance season," says Roberto Forleo, artistic director of the Florida Ballet. "Ballet is a competitive business, but hiding any injury in fear of missing an opportunity is not healthy. A good director cares for his dancer's health, and dancers should feel comfortable coming forward with any issues."</p><p>Pain will most often continue, and even intensify, the longer you ignore an injury. "If you continue to dance it can become much worse and sometimes need more aggressive treatments, even surgery, or extended time off," says Rose. "It may not have required that if it was treated properly and earlier, with the knowledge of what the injury is." Don't be afraid to consult a medical professional for advice on treating pain. Understanding your body and being able to navigate an injury are important skills a dancer needs in order to have a successful professional career.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDgwMjI5MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDM4OTYxMX0.8K8hbrRPRLCFZC0fppXQBIEnE02gj6gjJM2pms0sgvk/img.jpg?width=980" id="f9e76" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3749e87ba92042a62fa4dfd1e64b956c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="A young athletic man with a short, dark beard and white V-neck T-shirt clutches his right shoulder with his left hand and talks to a doctor." />
Don't be afraid to consult a medical professional for advice on treating pain.
Getty Images
<p>If you feel afraid to tell your teacher or director about your injury, consider why you feel this way and if your fears are merited. Addressing every ache and pain with staff is clearly not necessary, and there is a big difference between soreness and an injury. But remember that you know your tool better than anyone else. Being honest with yourself and your director will often lead to the quickest and most satisfying resolution. It also shows that you are responsible. "I would hope that a dancer wouldn't hide an injury from me, and would feel comfortable enough to talk to me about any issues they may have," says Forleo.</p><p> In fact, your director will likely feel better about being informed, especially considering a company's team dynamic. When you push through an injury and the pain spirals out of control, you risk being pulled from a ballet at the last minute. That leaves artistic staff scrambling to recast a piece—something that could have been avoided if handled responsibly. </p><p>If your teacher or director acts in an unsupportive way, consider if the studio or company is right for you—placing more value on a performance than on your health and well-being, or questioning your doctor's treatment plan, is a red flag. A dancer who is treated as a disposable body will never feel respected or thrive in such an environment.</p>
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<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDgwMjI5OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzI0MTIxMH0.38-fpF4jd7CBQ4yTdGYQoaFljFKmUYjAULVP0nR80vM/img.jpg?width=980" id="8649d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d7f6d3706d28a51e59c145cac8dd68bb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Wearing a short, flowered dress, Sabrina Landa poses in fourth position on pointe, bending her right knee. She stands on a plaza in front of a grand yellow building." />
After taking over a year off, Landa is dancing again and pain-free.
Luis Negron Photography, Courtesy Sabrina Landa
<p>When Landa finally addressed her stress fractures and took time to heal, she realized that being injured had taken a toll on more than just her body. "Hiding my injury showed me that I was not in a healthy state of mind," says Landa. She had to take over a year off, but she has since returned to dancing, most recently with United Ballet Theatre. "It took a lot of patience and self-forgiveness, but I finally get to dance pain-free again!"<br></p>
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Nov 18, 2020
Skjalg Bøhmer Vold, Courtesy Merritt Moore
How Quantum Physicist Ballerina Merritt Moore Learned to Dance With a Robot (Plus, Her Newest Film)
When the world went into lockdown last March, most dancers despaired. But not Merritt Moore. The Los Angeles native, who lives in London and has danced with Norwegian National Ballet, English National Ballet and Boston Ballet, holds a PhD in atomic and laser physics from the University of Oxford. A few weeks into the coronavirus pandemic, she came up with a solution for having to train and work alone: robots.
<p>Moore had just come out of a six-week residency at <a href="https://artlab.harvard.edu/" target="_blank">Harvard ArtLab</a> focused on the intersection between dance and robotics. "I knew I needed something to look forward to, and thought how bizarre I'd just been working with robots," she says. "Who knew they'd be my only potential dance partners for a really long time?" She reached out to Universal Robotics and asked them to collaborate, and they agreed to send her a robot to experiment with.</p><p>In August, the robot now known as "Baryshnibot," arrived at her London apartment. Since then, Moore has spent countless hours working in a studio space provided by <a href="https://thekoppelproject.com/" target="_blank">The Koppel Project</a>, choreographing duets for herself and Baryshnibot<strong> </strong>and posting recordings of them to social media. Moore's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/physicsonpointe/reels/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and TikTok videos have since yielded up to 15 million views, and starting in December she and Baryshnibot will be part of a two-month gallery show at The Koppel Project Exchange in central London. "It's just oddly a magical time during a very difficult period," she says of this unexpected success.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc4ODIzMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDUxNDM1MH0.TL7BoK_vY09vpgVLlivnH9esZiEyzexByF2V1ubMnlk/img.jpg?width=980" id="081f6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="00614b6cd1dc386b43a17e3f5489c656" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Merritt Moore drapes her upper body over the base of a robot and extends her right leg high in the air. The robot arm rests against her lifted leg." />
Alice Williamson, Courtesy Merritt Moore
<p>Baryshnibot is an industrial robot normally used for automation and manufacturing. "It does not look impressive at all," says Moore. "But there's so much potential for different movement." Creating dances for a robot, she says, is like an elaborate puzzle: "I have to figure out how to make this six-jointed rod emulate the dance moves of a head, two arms, a body and two legs."</p><p>Moore started with the basics. She'd learn a simple TikTok dance, and then map the movements into a computer pad attached to the robot. "The 15-second-routine will take me five-hours-plus to program," she says. Despite the arduous process, she's built up to more advanced choreography, and is trying on different dance styles, from ballet to hip hop to salsa. For her newest pas de deux, titled <em>Merritt + Robot</em>, Moore worked with director Conor Gorman and cinematographer Howard Mills to beautifully capture her work with Baryshnibot on film. (Check it out below!)</p>
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<p>Choreographing for a robot comes with unique challenges. "It's hard to program the smoothness of circular motions," say Moore. "That's when I'll go off to the techie side, and talk to scientists to figure out how to make it more interactive." When they dance together, the onus lies on Moore to keep up with Baryshnibot; unlike a human partner, it can't always respond in real time. But Moore believes that the years she's spent dancing in the corps have prepared her for the challenge. "When the dancers in front of you can't see you, it's up to you to be in line with them," she says. "It's like that—I end up taking cues from the robot." Baryshnibot's biggest strength as a dancer? "This thing never needs a coffee break," says Moore, laughing.</p><p>Moore has received amazing feedback about her videos. A <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CE1t36lge2h/" target="_blank">post crowdsourcing names</a> for the robot drew over 200 comments, with favorite suggestions including "Roboto Bolle" and "Robot Nureyev." (She happily settled on "Baryshnibot"). But Moore sees this project's success as part of her overall mission to break down boundaries between the arts and sciences. "I love putting a different image out there, so people see that you can be really into science and tech and also be super-creative and artsy and feminine," she says. "I like disrupting that stereotype."</p>
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