On Monday, 5th March dancers from balletLORENT attended the clinic as part of their training and rehearsals for their upcoming tour of Rumpelstiltskin.
Several of the dancers have visited the clinic during their training and it became apparent that they would benefit from some bespoke strength and conditioning exercises, we suggested this to the dancers and they were thrilled with the offer of a tailored workshop.
Prior to the dancers coming in to the clinic, our Rehabilitation Therapist, Jamie, watched numerous snippets of footage from previous performances. This gave an insight into structures that may be susceptible to injuries and weaknesses. Following this, he spent the morning working with the dancers, all of who play the part of sheep in the production, this role involves spending a lot of time on their hands and knees which can put strain on the knees, wrists, lower back and neck.
Taking into consideration any injuries the dancers were struggling with and listening to their concerns over areas of strength weakness, Jamie designed a 2-hour workshop which incorporated exercises tailored for each of their individual needs.
Encompassing a range of mobility, stability, strengthening and muscle activation exercises, Jamie was able to help the dancers understand where their weaker muscles were, how they were affecting their performance and what they can do to strengthen those to prevent injuries.
Due to the nature of their performances, it was crucial to insure the exercises are sport specific and individualised to the needs of each dancer. Each dancer was given an exercise list which Jamie worked through with them and gave specific advice to each dancer depending on how they found each one.
The dancers found the workshop very beneficial and gave the following feedback:
- Really helpful information and exercises
- Valuable exercises which can be incorporated into our choreography
- The information sheets provided are really helpful and allow us to practice the exercises away from the clinic
- We need to do more of these!
So much so that they have requested another one next week!
Following the workshop, Will, our osteopath was also on hand to discuss any particular issues, aches and pains, and carry out spinal screenings for those dancers who had identified areas of their body which felt they needed a little more attention. Some of them were feeling areas of stiffness and restriction when they were stretching and/or performing, others were getting varying degrees of aching or pain when they performed certain movements or put pressure through certain joints.
By observing their standing posture and how they moved, watching their flexibility and stability, Will was able to identify areas of tension and/ or imbalance in their bodies which needed more attention. The dancers could then use Jamie’s stretches to target these areas, or receive treatment in order to improve their function and performance.
We are looking forward to welcoming the balletLORENT sheep back into the clinic for their next workshop.
Information on balletLORENT and their productions can be found here.
A trailer of the performance of Rumpelstiltskin can be found here for those of you unable to see the performance live.
