Nutrition For Dancers

Dancers are top performance athletes on stage – to keep fit and healthy proper nutrition is an integral part of an optimal dance training. Nutrition for Dancers provides the principles of nutrition for dancers of all genres. Authors Liane Simmel and Eva- Maria Kraft clarify widespread nutritional mistakes and give advice on how a healthy diet can be incorporated into the everyday life of dancers.

The first diet book based on research with dancers, this guide provides information about proper dietary procedures that will enable people to reach and/or maintain their optimal body weight for dancing. Areas discussed include weight control, individual differences in metabolism, and body composition.

The tremendous physical mastery of a 21st century dancer undoubtedly rivals that of an athlete, but the importance and significance of nutrition could not be any more different. However, merely likening the strength, Agility and physicality of a dancer to that of an athlete overlooks the very nature of dance, embodying the vigour and sublime beauty of the dancer's physique as a visual expression of art. The author trained as a professional dancer, and is thus fully aware of the extraordinary demands placed on students and professional dancers. As a nutritionist, she now recognises that so many talented dancers forfeit their health, their skill and ultimately their career solely because they are unaware of the importance behind good nutrition. The misconception that health be surrendered for the lean silhouette has emanated in dance schools and professional companies around the world. Dance scientists today know this does not have to be the case. Nutrition for the Dancer is a complete guide to nutrition. From calculating individual calorie requirements, reducing body fat, performance preparation, nutrition for a young dancer, recovery from injury, recipes and stock cupboard ideas, this book provides invaluable snippets of advice to dancers.

Dancer Wellness, created by the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, offers guidance on the foundations, mental components, and physical aspects of dancer wellness. Readers will learn concepts and strategies to develop as dancers and to create their own dancer wellness plan.

Ballet dancers have the strongest, most beautiful, probably the most envied bodies in the world. How do they stay slender and willowy while maintaining the extraordinary energy it takes to perform night after night? Can a nondancer or an amateur attain a dancer's figure and a dancer's vitality? And keep it? Here, in The Dancers' Body Book, the legendary ballerina Allegra Kent discloses the health, weight-watching, and relaxation secrets of some of the world's greatest ballet dancers -- from Suzanne Farrell and Fernando Bujones to Darci Kistler and Madame Alexandra Danilova. Combining them with two well-balanced diets -- one to lose weight by and one to live by -- and an exercise regimen that can be tailored to the individual, she provides a fabulous fitness program for everyone who longs to be slimmer, healthier, and more energetic. Fourteen varied menus incorporate delicious recipes from the dancers themselves (such as Jacques D'Amboise's Wonderful Dinner Salad and Dierdre Carberry's Almond Meringue Kisses), along with calorie guides and advice on how to create additional menus using your own favorite dishes. Helpful discussions on sports and exercise systems -- ranging from jogging and swimming to the sophisticated "Pilates" workout -- are also included, and in a special chapter entitled "A Healthy Outlook," the dancers talk candidly on such issues as smoking, anorexia, vitamins, doctors, massage, junk foods, fad diets, and injuries. Dancers take meticulous care of all their equipment because training and performance depend on it. Of course, the most essential piece of equipment, the body, needs the most care of all, and that is what this book is about: how to take care of the world's greatest machine. Allegra Kent joined the New York City Ballet at the age of fifteen and was a principal dancer with the company for thirty years, during which time she created a number of starring roles in ballets by Balanchine and Robbins. The mother of two daughters and a son, she is also the author of Allegra Kent's Water Beauty Book.

In the current dance scene, performers contend with choreography that involves extreme dance, multiple techniques, and acrobatic moves, exemplified in the popular reality television show, "So You Think You Can Dance." The dilemma for aspiring professionals is that dance class no longer provides sufficient preparation for performing at this level. Dancers who want to achieve their best, avoid injury, and perform at their peak will welcome the insight and advice in the pages of The Dancer's Way. The world-renowned New York City Ballet developed their proven wellness program to help dancers reach their potential without compromising their health. As one of the key designers of this program, former dancer and clinical psychologist Linda Hamilton, Ph.D. provides the essential principles of wellness that will help you achieve your goals in all levels and forms of dance. These include keeping yourself physically healthy, nutritionally sound, and mentally prepared as a dancer. New York City Ballet's celebrated program, here for the first time in book form, highlights every tool you'll need to stay in great shape.

Practical Sports Nutrition provides detailed, sport-specific advice that enables you to approach individual athletes and teams with an understanding of their sport and unique nutritional needs.