Physically Returning to Dance: Tips on Handling Load Tolerance and DOMS

It’s an exciting time of the year: the leaves are just starting to change colors, there is a crispness to the morning air, and most importantly, we are returning to the studio to dance!

While dancers usually stay very active in the summer, it’s not usually the same intensity or type of training as during the school year. You might have been swimming, hiking, biking, playing beach volleyball, etc. You might have been dancing but the daily dance classes and training were probably less intense or more intermittent. And the classes might have been virtual.

How has your identity affected you in the dance world?

I am Anna Ricketts, a sixteen-year-old dancer at Fidalgo Dance Works. I currently identify as a cisgender, omnisexual woman. If you don’t know what that means, it means that I am attracted to people of all genders and orientations. Fortunately, my dance studio is very accepting of people in the LGBTQ+ community. Overall, I feel very loved and accepted there. Although I feel accepted at my studio, the journey to feeling careless about what others think about my orientation took a long time.

Thriving in Dance College

Becoming a good artist requires a lot of time and is a highly individual process. True art, in its various forms, comes from observing the world, coming to know yourself, and the synthesis between the two. There is no substitute for the hours of training, studying, and absorbing that need to be done in order to hone your craft and distinguish your voice as an individual.

Encouragement for Dancers with Anxiety Disorders

One of the most common misconceptions about anxiety is that all people experience it in the same way. For those who do not have an anxiety disorder or do not believe anxiety disorders are legitimate health concerns, the assumption reigns that anxiety is a temporary and fixable cluster of symptoms brought on by isolated circumstances.

What It’s Like Being a DWC Ambassador

At Dancewear Center, the fundamental mission that underpins all of our work is “to support and empower our dance community through quality, integrity, and education.” A large part of how Dancewear Center strives to support local dancers is by finding unique ways to connect dance artists and forge community. The DWC Ambassador program is one of the ways we’re creating those connections and conceiving that community. As ambassadors, individuals get the chance to create original content for the DWC Blog, take over the DWC Instagram, receive free products, get professional photos taken, and much more.