Interview | Dance Student Zoe Norbury

Tell us about yourself

Hello!! My name is Zoe, I’m 20 years old and I study BA (Hons) Dance at De Montfort University in Leicester. As well as being a lover for contemporary dance, I also live for being active, whether that be throwing weights in the gym and doing circuits, playing sports (I play Netball at uni) or just getting outdoors, I must be up and doing something. I also have my own little blog on Instagram and Wordpress where I share all things food, fitness and life-related, spreading positivity and self-love every day. I am a huge chocoholic and peanut butter addict so expect to see many pictures featuring the two!

What type of supplementary training do you do? What benefits have you seen from this training?

I find myself in the gym quite regularly, aiming to be there 3-4 times a week and ensuring I get in some rest days. I vary my training in each workout, so one day I will focus on just weights for strength training, slowly increasing the weights when I feel is needed. I will also do some circuit training, adding in a mixture of weight, body-weight/plyometric exercises to keep up my fitness and I just love feeling like a ninja.

Since beginning supplementary training, I’ve noticed a variety of benefits. My strength has increased majorly – I’ve noticed that my balance has improved and I’m able to control movements much more. Another benefit is that my fitness feels are at a high, meaning that I am able to take part in class without being out of breath easily and so can fully focus.

At what age or stage in your dance career did you realise supplementary training was necessary?

I realised that it felt necessary when I was in my final year of sixth form - pretty much when I started my whole journey into fitness and healthy eating. I started with HIIT training and then was encouraged by Youtubers/bloggers, my dad (who was a personal trainer) and my older brother to start introducing weights into my training. As the year went by I noticed how much stronger and confident I was in my dance training. I was able to maintain a good level of fitness, control my movements and balance, and I was able to perform with more power.

Can you summarise your own personal approach to supplementary training and nutrition?

My approach is to be balanced, and I am constantly preaching this. I started my training the wrong way: overtraining, eating way too little and restricting myself from foods if they weren’t ‘clean’. It took me a long time to realise how wrong this was and I began to research more into how I should train and rekindle my love for fitness and food. I now train at least 3-4 times (sometimes 2 if I am busy) a week and if I feel like I am too tired or injured, I listen to my body and make sure I rest. It is so crucial to allow our bodies to recover! As with nutrition, I learnt that food is fuel and to not categorise into ‘good’ or ‘bad’ which completely changed my mindset. I now make sure I am eating enough food every day, ensuring that I eat plenty of carbs (the beauty that gives us energy), protein and fats, as well as lots of veggies and chocolate, of course. Everything in moderation and it’s all about finding your own balance.

From your blog and Instagram it’s clear that you love food! Can you tell us your favourite snack to nibble on between classes?

I love food!! It makes me happy and fuels my body! Most of my technique classes are early morning so I always have breakfast which is a huge feature on my Instagram – zoats (oats with courgette). I will have this with a scoop of protein, berries, peanut butter and some form of chocolate (I find that starting my day with some chocolate stops me from wanting to eat all of it at the end of the day). If I have an afternoon class, I make sure I have some carbs beforehand and I love bananas! Sweet, tasty and gives me energy for the class.

How do you juggle your studies and make time for supplementary training?

I always organise my weeks with my weekly planner. I write down my timetabled classes and work the gym into it, making sure that I have enough rest time but also time to let off steam in the gym. I aim to have gym sessions on days when the technique class isn’t too intense otherwise my body will be exhausted and injuries could occur.

As a student dancer do you feel you are sufficiently educated and supported in injury care/management and methods to reduce injury? 

In all honesty, no. These topics aren’t sufficiently covered on my course and it is down to us to research these topics if we wish to do so (I tend to take out a couple of books from the library when I feel like I need more information). We do learn about anatomy and physiology on my course, however, it is more about the Alexander Technique and how we should direct ourselves in order to be more at a mechanical advantage. I feel that learning about injury care and safe dance practice should be enforced more onto any dance course as not many student dancers (or even some professional dancers) are entirely educated on how to reduce the risk of injury or how to treat them. I would love to be able to have a career in this sector, I want to help others take care of themselves.

Do you have a favourite exercise you’d like to share? 

Oh this is a tough one! I enjoy doing squats with the bar because I love seeing my strength slowly increase, it amazes me how strong our bodies are! However, I am a big lover of plyometric training and do love different variations of burpees (e.g. regular, to the floor, with a sandbag) and also lunge jumps! Call me crazy, but I love seeing how much endurance I have and how powerful I am when jumping. It’s great for the legs and glutes, and as dancers we need to have a strong base.

Thanks to Zoe for a great insight into her life as a Dance degree student! So glad to hear of such a positive attitude to dancer health. But it certainly sounds like there is a need for better education on degree courses...

Find Zoe on social media here and here. 

Guest interview – Musical Theatre Student Ryan Lay

Tell us about yourself

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

The Banana Thief

So I am all for sharing and giving to others, however if someone takes one of my precious bananas from the fruit bowl without my permission then I am going to go mad!

Today did not start well…. My boyfriend’s brother was visiting and (I was warned by my partner) he likes to think he owns everything. In the past he has claimed the use of our protein, eggs, clothing (my boyfriends I am happy to say), my peanut butter (this was almost as bad) and the last of my bananas. So this morning when I woke up to the fire alarm going off, I knew this brother was  in the kitchen making toast (via the oven may I add  - we have a toaster!!) and was soon to use one of my last and precious bananas. If I do not have at least two bananas a day the world is going to end! Yes I do spend a good portion of my wages on bunches of bananas but it could be a lot worse! So what do you do when your partner’s brother nick things? It’s pretty hard to say anything, especially when you hate confrontation like I do. In the past when he has done this and he has asked if there is anything I need from the shops, I have tried to make it obvious and ask for a bunch of bananas. Unfortunately, I never got these… This morning I was down from 4-2 bananas!!!! The shops close at 4, am I going to make it there with everything else I have to do!? Luckily today I was still able to enjoy my addiction with a bowl of beautifully made porridge by moi. However, I am terribly frustrated and so glad that I shall soon be moving away from incidents of this nature. I am plotting revenge and shall be locking away any future bananas I buy… Wish me luck!

-E

42 juice

I recently visited Brighton and whilst there I stumbled across 42 Juice on Market Street. This raw juice bar was founded in 2013 by Coral and Natalie following their own personal journeys where they discovered the health benefits of juicing.

 

 

The juice bar offers a range of Raw Juices, Smoothies, Nut Mylks (not a miss-spell, this is their spelling), Hot drinks, Shots and various waters (some of which I definitely think are fads and a waste of money). A few of their drinks I had to research… I mean what on earth are activated almonds?! Well I am no nutritionist but apparently they are soaked almonds which cause the nuts to sprout producing nutrients which are more easily absorbed by the body…interesting…! This shops almond mylk supposedly contains roughly 40% more almonds than shop bought milk and is raw, thus containing all the natural nutrients and vitamins which almonds give making it a 'super mylk'!

 

 

On my visit I tried the Green Matcha almond mylk (£4.50) containing activated almonds, alkaline water, green matcha, dates, vanilla, coconut nectar and Himalayan sea salt. The initial taste was peculiar and I developed no super powers after drinking it but following the initial taste the drink was very enjoyable.

I loved the design of the store which is bright and fresh. Additionally, the staff were really friendly and ready to advice on what juice would suit you. Next time I am trying the Raw Juices!

Go grab a drink and see what you think!

-ellieee x