FEBRUARY 2014 AUD $6.99
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the stars on the hit TV show
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Brooke and Paige Hyland are sisters, who are 2 years apart. Brooke is 16 and Paige is 13. Their mum is Kelly who is often fighting with the teacher of the dance school, Abby. Both Brooke and Paige are strongest in acrobatics. Sometimes they do duos together but they mostly do solos, however both of them don’t get as many chances to compete because of conflict within the school. Brooke also takes singing lessons at Abby Lee Dance Company.
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Nia Frazier was born on June 20th, 2001 and is one of the weakest dancers in the competition class through Abby’s eyes. She is strongest in acrobatics.
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Maddie Ziegler was born on September 20th, 2002 and is 11 years old. Mackenzie Ziegler was born on June 4th, 2004 and is 9 years old. Their mum is Melissa. On the show, she is shown to be treated differently and is Abby’s favourite. However, she does take private lessons too. Maddie’s strongest styles are tap and lyrical. One day she hopes to be on Broadway as either a performer or choreographer. Mackenzie’s best style is acrobatics.
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Chloe Lukasiak was born on May 25th, 2001. She has a 4 year old sister too! She is 12 years old and her mother’s name is Christi. Chloe is Maddie’s main competition on Dance Moms. She is often compared to Maddie and treated unfairly, so she doubts herself a lot. She also seems sweet, innocent and modest – quite different to Maddie in comparison. Her favourite styles of dancing are lyrical and musical theatre.
Performance anxiety can be that monster hiding under your bed or nestled between the racks of your clothes, but there are ways to overcome it!
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Those butterflies you feel fluttering in your stomach, the shaky knees and sweaty palms can all be signs that you are anxious, but here are some tips to cope with it and turn it into confidence! Many athletes, dancers, singers, actors, public speakers and ordinary people experience anxiety before something important, commonly a performance. They start to doubt themselves and start to worry. What exactly is performance anxiety? What causes it? Performance anxiety is when someone is scared or nervous to perform in front of people or their routine. This can be because of many factors. Criticism, previous experiences, injuries, pressure, expectations and even costumes can all contribute.
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What can happen when dancers become anxious? For dancers, anxiety can shake them. They are known to control their bodies but their bodies can take over control, instead. The bodies response to these feelings is both physical and mental reactions. If you want to overcome anxiety, you have to understand that the dizziness or rapid breathing is normal! The more we panic, the more adrenaline enters our body and the more we lose control. What if you experience before or during a performance? Remember to breathe! You need oxygen to be to dance and think. Take deep long breaths. If the audience is daunting, imagine them doing something silly. If you are nervous about the choreography, go over it in your head or hum the music in your head. If you forget a move, improvise! Pick it up later on if you can. Never run off stage. It is better to keep dancing than not to at all!
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• Organise transport to and from the performance • Allocate a time slot each week to rehearse • Leave a copy of the music with your teacher or another dancer
• For snacks, eat from the big chunk in the food pyramid (fresh fruit and vegetables) • The night before and morning of, eat a wholesome dinner and breakfast with carbs! Perhaps pasta and egg and bacon English muffin in the morning? • Don’t forget to bring lollies for energy! • Get a good night’s rest so you and your body is prepared and refreshed for the performance
• If you can, practise in the space before you go • Go through the dance in your head • Listen to music or read a book beforehand: whatever makes you relax • Receive feedback about your performance
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ON SCREEN
In Dance Academy, Tara (4th from the left) goes through many hardships. Injuries and criticism are among those but she talks to her friends who support her and help her face the music.
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In Dance Moms, all of the girls face anxiety sometime throughout the show and their time at Abby Lee Dance. All of the girls forget a part of their dance but can overcome this by rehearsing, relaxing and getting support from their teachers and peers. Costumes malfunction, music cuts out, pressure is put on them by their parents, their competitors or their teachers and harsh criticism is delivered. However, there are always ways to pull through and still do your very best!
‌ AND CUT!
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The respiratory system is vital in anyone’s body! It helps waste exit the body and clean, crisp and fresh oxygen to enter our bodies and fuel our bodies so we can dance.
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Although for many dancers, their training regime is intense enough, however it has been advised that dancers should try other types of exercise that will help benefit and nourish their physical condition. Different sports can target different areas on the body. For example, your core is an essential and important part of dance, therefore Pilates can strengthen that area. Another example is doing cardio for short amounts at a time, and then slowly building it up. This can improve your cardiovascular health. Even exercising with therabands can make a huge difference to your technique, especially your feet and arches. Being healthy on the inside reflects on the outside, so think happy thoughts and put good foods into your body! Keeping your skin, organs and mind healthy is key!
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so what can I do?
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It’s incredibly important to stay healthy mentally as well as physically. You can boost your wellbeing, be able to seize opportunities as they come and embrace what life has to offer. Usually a person through trial and error discovers what makes them happy and shine bright but here are some tips to start with.
Go gadget free for an hour. A day. A week. Turn off the distractions and breathe the fresh outdoors.
Make a time to socialise with friends and spend time with family. This will help strengthen and maintain these relationships and have balance between work, sport and school.
Cook a meal from scratch. You would have made it all yourself and you’ll be glowing on the outside!
Share your interests with others and most importantly, with yourself. Doing things that you love and enjoy will greatly benefit your wellbeing.
Volunteer at the op shop, at a soup kitchen or at a child care centre. This will make you feel accomplished and will help out your community.
Ease into a good sleeping routine that reenergises yourself. Go to sleep early and wake up with the sun.
Make time to relax. Do some yoga or meditate. Read a book or go for a walk. Take time to breathe.
Being in control and mentally prepared Is vital, to overcome any stress or anxiety before a competition or performance. Knowing your opponents, knowing your environment and knowing how to adapt and react to any problems during your performance can help you feel like you are dictating the outcome. These points are strongly related to dealing with stress and anxiety. There are many things you can do in order to be prepared.
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five, six, seven, eight!
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how to create a warm up Warm up is essential, for dancers especially, to prevent injury and to warm up the joints and muscles. A wicked warm up incorporates both cardio and stretching, and should usually go for at least 15 minutes all up. Also, by regularly stretching, your flexibility improves and you will be able to kick higher and dance to your full potential.
body ≈ / 39 Pick an upbeat song for cardio. This is important as it needs to be fast. Cardio is usually things like running and star jumps. Try to pick a song that is 4 or 5 minutes long and challenge yourself to do the whole song!
Stretch your muscles in a logical order. This will ensure that you don’t forget any major muscles, as all of them need to be stretched to prevent injury.
See how super simple it is to practice safe dance? Your body will definitely thank you in the long run!
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what to eat, how much + recipes
Balance is the key for an ideal, healthy lifestyle. Don’t use the word diet! It provokes the wrong way to perceive your food intake and makes it seem like a chore. One way to make it easier for yourself is to make it fun, tasty and particularly tailored for your schedule! Dancers typically need carbohydrates for energy, fruit and vegetables for all the good vitamins and nutrients, dairy for calcium and strong bones, proteins and good fats and sugar! Roughly, your diet should make up 30% carbs/ whole grains, 30% fruits and vegetables, 20% protein, 15% diary and 5% sugar. Always alter this to suit your lifestyle though! Dancers tend to be busy with classes, rehearsals, school and even a job, too! Struggling to fit in a healthy lifestyle and find the time? Here are some quick and easy recipe and snack ideas!
• 1 frozen banana (break up into chunks beforehand) • A blender • THAT’S ALL Pop the frozen banana into the blender and pulse until the desired texture.
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approx. 1 tablespoon lsa meal handful of kale/spinach sprinkle of chia seeds one banana handful of berries almond milk/milk/juice yoghurt (optional) ice
what is lsa meal? Linseed, sunflower + almond meal
Pop all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth or until the desired consistency. You can substitute or add any fruits or “boosters” you like (such as protein powder etc.) according to you! Even vegetables to help you reach the 2 fruit 5 veggies goal.
PITA CHIPS WITH PAPRIKA
• pita wraps • olive oil cooking spray • paprika
Preheat oven to 200°. Spray 1 side of the pita wrap with oil, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of paprika and season with salt and pepper. Cut into desired shape and lay1 layer on a baking tray. Bake for 8 minutes until crisp.
ROSEMARY AND SEA SALT KALE CHIPS • • • • •
bunch (approx. 250g) of kale 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan ½ teaspoon dried rosemary sea salt, to serve
Preheat oven to 180° (or 160° fan forced). Remove stems from kale. In a large bowl, combine olive oil, parmesan and rosemary. Toss kale to coat. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until crisp. Serve with sea salt.
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the benefits of eating kale, lsa meal and chia seeds
body ≈ / 48 SUPER low c a l o r i e count! Less than most fruits and vegetables
Packed w i t h Vitamin A a n d C ! W o o !
heaps of protein a n d fibre!
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rich source of protein = s u g a r cravings g o n e !
h e a l t h y Omega - 3 fats = healthy heart and b r a i n function
boosting w i t h vitamins + minerals. also helps cleanse!
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Plenty of phosphorus to maintain h e a l t h y teeth and b o n e s !
h e l p s regulate appetite, sleep and your mood!