When you’re working toward a dance degree, you are almost always moving and doing a lot of physical activity. To make sure your body stays healthy and strong, you want to be sure you are consuming enough calories. With class and rehearsals, a dancer wants to replenish the nutrients they lost throughout the day.
Some good foods to look at are complex carbs such as whole-grain bread and pasta, and brown rice. In addition, protein from foods like tofu and poultry help repair frequently used muscle tissue. You want to make sure you eat from all of the major food groups; eating a variety of foods every day is important. Here’s a look at the recommended number of servings per food group:1
- Grains – Women: nine servings; men: 11 servings
- Vegetables – Women: four servings; men: five servings
- Fruits – Women: three servings; men: four servings
- Milk, yogurt and cheese – Women: two or three servings; men: two or three servings
- Meat, beans, eggs and nuts – Women: six ounces; men: seven ounces
However, if your doctor recommends a specific diet for you, you should defer to your physician’s guidance.
Calorie Needs
Dancers need to be well fueled for classes, rehearsals and performances. As a dancer, it can be challenging to consume an adequate amount of food to meet your energy needs and the demand on your dancer’s body. Consuming too few calories may compromise a dancer’s energy availability and may hinder the artist’s performance. In addition, low-calorie diets come with a lack of macronutrients that alter growth, performance and overall health. Every individual has a different caloric need based on a variety of different factors, but you should always aim to consume enough macronutrients daily for proper nutrition and a long-lasting professional dance career. If you aren’t sure what your daily caloric needs are, consider talking to a healthcare professional or nutritionist for personalized guidance.
Carbohydrates
One of the greatest and quickest sources of energy for a dancer is by consumption of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates break down into glucose to quickly fuel muscles. Without glucose, a dancer’s body, skills and strength could be compromised and muscle fatigue could compromise their performance. A diet rich in whole grains and complex carbohydrates can help a dancer last through prolonged periods of training. In addition to meals, dancers should also incorporate some form of carbohydrates into their diet before, during and after classes, rehearsals or performances. Before and during training, dancers should ingest quick energy carbohydrates (simple carbohydrates) such as fruit, and after rehearsal they should focus on refueling their energy stores with healthy sources of carbohydrates like rice, beans and whole-grain pasta. Carbohydrates are essential for a dancer to perform at their very best, and without proper intake of carbohydrates, dancers may experience fatigue.
Fats
When many people hear the word “fats,” they automatically assume that those foods are bad for you. However, certain fats are essential in a dancer’s diet. Good fats provide structure for our cells, insulate our nerves and are the base of many of our hormones. Muscles and adipose (fat) tissue store fats as triglycerides and when dancing, these fat stores are broken down into different fatty acids that produce energy for our bodies. Healthy fats are needed to fuel the muscles for energy, as well as to allow for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. In endurance activities like dance, fats become a very important part of our diet to provide lasting energy. Some healthy fats that dancers can incorporate into their diet are nuts, olive oil and avocados.
Protein
For all dancers, and in particular, developing dancers, protein is vital regardless of whether the goal is to build muscle or not. Without protein, our muscles would not be able to support our goals of increased performance and a prolonged professional dance career. Our muscles are constantly being used in dance, therefore, protein is needed for building and repairing muscle tissue. Some healthy sources of protein include chicken, fish, turkey, beans, quinoa, nuts and tofu. Protein is essential to maintain and build strength for a dancer’s body; therefore, it is important to consume an adequate amount of protein every day to help ensure a long, healthy dance career.
Micronutrients
Sometimes, dancers become so focused on making sure they get in the essential macronutrients that they forget that micronutrients are just as important in the healthy lifestyle of an artist. The two micronutrients necessary for human functioning are vitamins and minerals. For instance, B vitamins play an important role in energy production and while they do not directly supply energy for the body, they are used in the body to help make carbohydrates, fats, proteins and red blood cells. Other vitamins essential for health are vitamins A, C, E, D and K that help repair damaged muscles that are overstressed/overused and play key roles in bone metabolism. Two of the most essential minerals for a dancer are calcium and iron. Calcium is needed for bone growth. Calcium can also decrease the risk of stress fractures. Iron is what dancers’ bodies use to carry oxygen to the blood and is needed to produce energy. Being mindful of proper nutrition as an adolescent and young adult is important for sustaining a long and healthy professional dance career. Without proper nutrition, you are putting your body at risk of injury, lack of strength and nutrient deficiencies, as dance is a very demanding art form on the body. Focus on creating a well-balanced diet with fruits and vegetables and honoring when your body needs fuel so you can perform at your absolute best.
