I am currently in the 2nd year
of a 3 years Musical Theatre Diploma course at The Italia Conti Academy of
Theatre Arts. We cover all disciplines of dance such as ballet, tap, technical
jazz, Matt Mattox style jazz, Pas de Deux, Musical Theatre double work etc. As
well as studying acting and singing.
What type
of supplementary training do you do? What benefits have you seen from this
training?
Due to our contact hours being
around 45 hrs a week, it is very important to keep our bodies in their optimum
performance level. Therefore, nutrition is a big part of our training. It’s
important to eat the right foods to keep our carbohydrate stores full to
prevent injury as if the stores are not full this will limit the duration
and intensity of our performance. Our breaks between terms are long which is
important for recovery time, but, it is also important to keep our fitness
levels high throughout the holidays and due to this I am a member of a gym
which I regularly attend to maintain strength and stamina. In term time, I also
attend the gym to strengthen the muscles in my upper body to continue
to develop myself as a performer. Of an evening I try to roll out my muscles,
or stretch if we have had an intense day of dance to stop myself from
aching so much the next morning. I have noticed improvements by
just doing these two things alone, I am stronger which stops injury and I
do not feel as tired or stiff the next day which could hinder my
performance.
At what
age or stage in your dance career did you realise supplementary training was
necessary?
It was mainly when I went into
the 3-year diploma. Before this I attended their Theatre Arts Schools where we
studied half a day of vocational subjects and half a day academic studies. When
I went into the college department the intensity definitely increased and
therefore it was much more important to engage in supplementary training to
perform at my optimum performance daily.
Can you
summaries your own personal approach to supplementary training and nutrition?
I think the more supplementary
training I can put in the better my performance will be. It will also improve
my endurance and stamina, to keep up performance for longer.
What is
the support system like at your school for dancer’s health?
In our first year we have
weekly anatomy lesson where we learn how nutrition and hydration
has such a big impact on our performance and how important it is to
think about this. As well, we have a weekly physio who we can book
appointments if we get injured, in this session she will advise us on our
best course of action.
How do
you juggle all you do and make time for supplementary training?
It is difficult, but it is about
putting it into your daily routine and just finding time to put them in.
Nutrition wise, meal prep is important and properly planning what I will eat
for the week to ensure I get the correct calorie intake and sufficient amount
of protein.
What are
your future plans?
I want to pursue a career in
Musical Theatre and my dreams is to perform on the West End.
Find
Ryan on social media at:
Twitter
- @RyanLay2
Instagram
- @RyanLay2
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