No matter how many times you’ve rehearsed a dance in the studio, getting onstage can feel like the air has suddenly become thinner. Between the nerves and adrenaline likely boosting your heart rate and the size of the stage demanding you to travel further than you’re used to, it’s normal to find yourself huffing and puffing by the time the curtain closes.

As the world returns to something like normalcy, dancers are feeling two intense emotions: “Enthusiasm and fear,” says Dr. Lucie Clements, a dance psychologist based in England. “Most are excited about coming back to the studio full-time, and many are anxious.” If you’re more conflicted than you might have expected about coming back to the […]

Sometimes you’re thrown a big opportunity mid-season—but aren’t always given all the rehearsal you need to fully prep for it. At Houston Ballet, for instance, there are often 12 casts of Sugar Plum, according to ballet master Amy Fote. That means some dancers might only get one full run before performing the role. But not […]

Struggling to make it through a marathon variation? Give your body a boost of stamina by adding beet juice to your daily diet. The latest study to tout the endurance benefits of beet juice found that after healthy men drank it for 15 days, they had more-dilated blood vessels and lower blood pressure. Those two […]