There are a lot of myths that go around about dancers and dancing.

This presentation is to help everyone learn more of the truth.

Dance is HARD There is no dancer that is able to be successful only from their naturally born talents. Dancers are artists and athletes. The world of dance and being a dancer is just like that of extreme sport. To get anywhere dancers must work their very hardest and always be persevering. Dancers give years if not most of there lives, including their sweat, tears and sometimes blood just to have the honor and pleasure of performing on stage.

There may not be a tomorrow. Dancers will never know when their dance career will suddenly disappear. It could vanish with a company failing or closing, a career ending injury, a car accident, death.

Ballerinas could start training as early as the age of 3 or 4 years old

As the girls grow older into adolescents they will start to see a lot of changes in themselves; physically and emotionally.
Some of the normal things about growing up, are seen as bad in the dance world. One of the things that is seen as a problem for a ballerina, is that her breasts will grow too large. This would upset the figure of the perfect small ballerina. Females will also start to fill out there hips and the "ballet bum" begins to lose its shape.

Every one in dance always sees that all of the famous and really good ballerinas/ dancer are the thin ones, with no breasts, no hips and no stomachs.

The damages done to a dancer are not only on the out side, but are also on the inside.

Being a ballet dancer especially, on point can do severe damage to dancers feet.

80% of dancers have at least one injury a year that affects their ability to perform. They say at 5 feet tall a ballerinas should weigh 85 lbs., and for each inch taller add 5 lbs. The average weight required to be a female dancer at the height of 5 feet 4 inches is 105 lbs. Dance companies use to have weight limits for their dancers, but recently most have either removed the limit, or relaxed how strict it is. A study on 29 professional and college ballet dancers found that 7% of the dancers met the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa A much higher rate than the 4% estimated to be suffering from anorexia among the general population.

1. Neck Strain: Choreography that calls for excessive head movement can easily strain dancers neck muscles, especially if dancers do not properly use the full spine when arching the head/neck. 2. Rotator Cuff Tendonitis and Impingement: Extensive use of the arms (overhead lifts and falls) can lead to tears in upper-arm tendons or even impingement, painful pressure felt in the shoulder when the rotator cuff and scapula rub together as arms are lifted.

3. Lower-Back Strain and Muscle Spasms: Lifting, arching and improper technique can all overwork and strain the lower-back extensor-erector muscles. Dancers with lordosis (a swayed back or lower-back curve) are more prone to spasms 4. Snapping Hip Syndrome: IT band tightness, weakness along the outside of the hip and lordosis can cause this syndrome. Dancers will experience a snapping rubber-bandlike sound in the frontal hip joint, as the IT band glides over the upper-leg bone during battement or dvelopp

5. Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: This syndrome stems from tight hamstrings and calf muscles, weak quadriceps and repetitive force from normal movement putting pressure on the patella (kneecap), causing the knee-protecting cartilage to lose its shock-absorbing ability. Dancers with high-arched or flat fleet, wide hips and knees that turn in or out are more likely to experience this pain. 6. Meniscus Knee Tear: Twisting knees during movement, forcing feet in turnout or losing control when landing a jump can tear the cushioning knee cartilage. 7. Posterior Tibial Tendonitis: Dropping the medial arch during warm-ups or basic barre exercises overworks the tibial tendon. This type of tendonitis also coincides with shin splints or can be the result of chronic ankle rolling.

8. Achilles Tendonitis: An overuse injury caused by training extensively during a short period of time, dancing on a hard floor or putting pressure on a tightened calf muscle. Weight pressure or unbalanced range of motion will predispose dancers to this type of tendonitis. 9. Lateral Ankle Sprain: A ligament tear that happens when the outside of the ankle rolls inward after loss of balance from landing a jump. 10. Posterior Ankle Impingement Syndrome: A pinching sensation felt during repeated floor or barre work, as the heel bone comes into contact with the talus bone and tissues at the back of the ankle compress. Reaching a full range of motion when pointing the feet or in relev will be difficult. Dancers born with an extra bone in place are more prone to this syndrome.