Women with dance backgrounds - advice please...?

[SofaGeorge]

My "daughter" is a 17 year old exchange student from Germany. She has been very sports active this year, first volleyball, then water polo, and now swim team and dance. She has made many good friends amongst the different sports teams, and because I go to as many of her games as possible I've met many of the parents.

I recently got phoned by the mother of one of the school's top dancers. It is an "arts" high school... and their dance program is phenomenal... some of the girls are professional quality already... and one of them is a brilliant choreographer.

The girls have decided they want to add weight training to their dance program. They have lower body strength - they feel they need more upper body strength. (I'm not sure if they wouldn't also benefit from increased lower body strength.)

I'm going to meet with about a dozen of them at the gym tomorrow afternoon for the first time to begin their program. I've never worked with teenage girl dancers before and would very much appreciate any training thought, program ideas, insights any of you can provide.

 

[Gladiola]

Hm, well I'm kinda in between - I'm an aerobics instructor! he he

I don't think I would train them much differently - they need to strengthen biceps & triceps just like anyone else.

The only things I might do are to use rubberized resistance --- it may set their minds at ease making them associate the workouts more with Pilates reformer exercises than what strongmen do I would think you would face a lot of resistance & the ever persistant fear of 'bulk'. For some reason the rubber tubing (www.spriproducts.com) set people at ease. Physiologically speaking, it's still GREAT resistance with the added bonus of being variable plus being able to work through multiple planes in a group environment (i.e. basically replacing cables for the things that are difficult to hit with free weights, like lats).

Otherwise, I would ahve good music (ya know, pop like JLO & brittney or disco is always good) & you could teach a sort of 'class'.
www.turnstep.com has a GREAT board & there are lots of Moms & lots of instructors with extensive dance backgrounds - so you could check that out too.

 

[spatts]

I hit ya on the training thread, SG.

 

[c3bodybuilding]

Good luck Sofa, you will do great.

 

[Pink Space Biscuit]

Shiva Bagheri is a dance instructor and fitness competitor, gymnast and has been weight training since the age of 10. She's up in the Hollywood area.

http://www.shivasworld.com/

 

[SofaGeorge]

Shiva Bagheri is a dance instructor and fitness competitor, gymnast and has been weight training since the age of 10. She's up in the Hollywood area.

http://www.shivasworld.com/

Oh my God, Shiva is a friend of mine. How do you know her?

 

[buffedmama]

shanni, a member here, teaches ballet...

she may have some ideas if you give here PM!

 

[SofaGeorge]

shanni, a member here, teaches ballet...

she may have some ideas if you give here PM!

Thank you. That's EXACTLY the type of lead I need.

 

[buffedmama]

Thank you. That's EXACTLY the type of lead I need.

No problem... She works with all different ages, plus she's been "pumping iron", and from what I hear is a WICKED AWESOME dancer.

Good Luck!

 

[shanni]

Did someone call my name?

I am a certified RAD Ballet Teacher as well as a dancer. I have taught all age groups and I still take class so I have both perspectives.

Firstly most ballet dancers are concerned with becoming bulky. I would put their minds at ease about that right away. Dancers are familiar with therabands, pilates and yoga, as well as pushups, sit ups etc... What they aren't educated in is the basics of weight lifting. If I were working with my advanced group of girls I would firstly explain how a routine is set up. All the basics that one needs to know. I would also explain to them that weightlifting can lead to a lower body fat percentage and that it is bodyfat that is what determines how defined you are. Many dancers are SO concerned with the number on the scale and don't even realize they can be well underweight with zero muscle definition.

Next you can set up some sort of program for them to strengthen their upper bodies. You are the expert there so I will leave that to you. What you definitly need to keep in mind is that dancers cannot have over developed upper traps. Stay away from any exercises that might lead to development there. Dancers also need strong backs... you can tell them that a strong back = a great arabesque!

As Gladiola said you can use rubber tubing... but I think this would a great oppurunity to introduce them to "body sculpting." Perhaps you could type out some informative sheets with vocab, tips etc...

Dancers are great at remember routines that go with music. So if you set up a program that went with specific songs they might like that. The great thing about music is that you can then control the speed of the lifting.

Finally... a large group of teenaged girls can be challenging. It really depends on the class dynamic. They may be eager and attentive and hardworking, or you may need to win them over.

I hope that gives you some ideas. If you have any questions I would love to help out.