Providing Nutritional Education for Dancers
Kristin Koskinen on Promoting Balanced Nutrition and Debunking Myths in the Dance World
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Photo by Brittney Kluse Photography
Ensuring that you can dance at your best for the longest amount of time possible involves much more than what happens in the studio. Making sure dancers take care of their bodies and fuel themselves in a sustainable and accessible fashion is crucial. However, myths and toxic misconceptions about nutrition abound within the dance world. People like Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Kristin Koskinen of Eat Well, Live Well are helping make the dance world a better place by providing nutrition and educational services to the dance community.
Like many, Kristin began dancing around age three or four, growing up training in tap, jazz, ballet, and musical theater. Eventually, she realized that ballet was where her heart was and she got wholeheartedly involved with a pre-professional company. Kristin ended up dancing with Mid-Columbia Ballet in Richland, WA. When she went to college, she took some dance classes here and there but dedicated most of her time to being a part of the cheer staff at her university. Admittedly, it was a big transition for her to make, as the dance style was more hip-hop-oriented.
Kristin had plans of attending medical school because she “wanted to learn more about the human body and nutrition.” In one of her pre-med courses, her professor suggested that she shift her focus towards getting a master’s degree in nutrition, as it was clear that her interests lay more in that realm.
Being heavily involved in the dance industry at a young age, Kristin had come face to face with diet culture early in her life. She grew up training in a supportive environment where comments about her body or shape were never made and where her artistic director made fairly sound nutrition recommendations. Nevertheless, the more toxic aspects of dance and diet culture managed to permeate through her wall of support. “It has a really big impact on me,” she says.
Kristin says that there can be specific aspects of the dance world that can trigger disordered eating, sharing that it’s often the “elephant in the room” when it comes to dancing. When Kristin’s daughters began taking dance classes, it became clear to her that few things had changed in the dance world since her time as a student, particularly in regard to nutrition. She realized that this space is where her nutrition expertise could be put to its best use. “This is where I was needed to bring [my] body of knowledge and understanding to dancers and their parents and teachers…whoever was really interested in the health and well-being and longevity of dancers,” Kristin says.
Kristin says that a major part of her mission is being the person she needed when she was a young dancer. “I see these kids who struggle and I get it,” she says, sharing the challenges that come with navigating “diet talk.” “There are adults who are perpetuating this stuff and continue to project it when frankly there’s no excuse for it,” she says, insisting that using “tradition” as an explanation for promoting disordered eating is unacceptable. “It’s time to come in with some sledgehammers and knock those walls down,” Kristin says.
Kristin shares that a major misconception about dancers is that they are all supposed to be skinny. She recognizes that some genres of dance are slowly becoming more inclusive and accepting of different types of bodies, but there is still an underlying assumption that dancers are supposed to be thin and on a restrictive diet to maintain a particular body size. And contrary to predominant beliefs in the past, there is also a growing assumption that dancers ought to be “ripped, cut, [and] shredded” to be the best performers. Kristin says that these standards are “frankly unnecessary.”
“Form should follow function,” Kristin says. She strives to help make these assumptions about what a dancer should look like and what they should eat go away. The concept that dancers must be at a “healthy weight” to perform at a certain level is also a myth. Aiming for dancers to fit a certain aesthetics as opposed to cultivating their craft is an adverse practice.
Eat Well, Live Well is Kristin’s private practice where she works with dancers and other artistic athletes. Kristin had been working in clinical settings prior to beginning her private practice and recognized a distinct need to bring another voice and resource to dancers to help them meet their specific needs and enhance their careers and longevity within the dance field. She works with private clients and also guest lectures at universities and with professional companies and studios.
Kristin shares that her work at Eat Well, Live Well is all individualized. Some people have medical needs that require a specialized nutrition plan, such as dancers who are hyper-mobile or have digestive issues. Some are recovering from eating disorders and injuries and are in need of additional nutritional support and guidance on their journey. And some dancers learn to debunk myths about nutrition that they learn within the mainstream industry to move towards a more balanced nutrition plan. “Dancers have unique needs,” Kristin acknowledges, sharing that she helps address dancers’ needs on a personal level, taking their individual schedules into account.
Kristin also runs a blog that covers topics like performance nutrition, recipes, and more. In addition, she collaborates with dance organizations like The Bridge Dance Project, DanseMedica, Bendy Bodies, and Apolla Performance, and has contributed to more mainstream media outlets, including Healthline, NBC News, The Today Show, and The Oprah Magazine. She’s a regular contributor to Dance Magazine, Pointe, Dance Teacher, and Dance Spirit. She speaks internationally about dance nutrition and is frequently asked to lecture at universities across the US. She recently spoke to the Washington State Dance Studio Owners Coalition over Zoom, sharing that it was great to chat with studio owners about how they can create a positive influence on their dancers and help create waves of change. Kristin and the studio owners discussed how to bolster mental health and stay in their lane of expertise when it comes to nutrition. “Studio owners can have a phenomenally positive impact on a dancer’s life. It can be outstanding,” Kristin emphasizes, adding that she also works closely with the Dance Educators Association of Washington from time to time.
Kristin believes that one of the biggest mentalities that needs to be changed in the dance world is the idea that everyone is replaceable. The idea that dancers are interchangeable and that positions can easily be refilled when injuries pop up promotes the idea that dancers are mere bodies, rather than human beings with unique life experiences and offerings to bring to the stage. “If we would look at the dancers as human beings first as opposed to commodities, I think that would be a phenomenal change,” Kristin says.
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