Hamstrings

The trouble with hamstrings… It’s the age old story… you have worked hard on your stretching, you feel that you are finally getting somewhere, when

Visualisation

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” Images are powerful. We see them everywhere – on T.V. advertising, in magazines, on the sides of buses,

Practice For Progress

Tip from Simone Goldsmith The more work you put in before the big day, whether it be an exam or a performance, the more confident

Fight Versus Flow

By Josef Brown Working smarter, not harder I responded recently to a post on a teachers Facebook page that had suggested that every dancer needs

Dealing With Performance Nerves

Tip from Simone Goldsmith Feeling anxious of nervous before a performance is absolutely normal, it is just the adrenalin running through your body in excitement

Controlling Hyperextension

Lesson One: Hyperextended knees& how to control them. Here’s the deal: the term ‘flexibility’ refers to muscles while the term ‘hypermobility’ refers to ligaments.  Muscles and ligaments are two distinct

Intrinsic Muscles Of The Feet

Training the foot muscles is as important as developing the muscles in the rest of a dancer’s body. Well-developed feet are important for all dancers,

How To Approach Auditions

Tip from Simone Goldsmith Auditions are a very important part of a dancers’ life, at an audition dancers need to show versatility, technical skill and

Dancing Through Pain

“Pain has an important function” Pain is the body’s way to force you to pay attention to something that is not right, something that is

Heal Yourself And Move Series

Heal Yourself and Move A former dancer with Queensland Ballet, with experience as a strength and conditioning coach for The Australian Ballet School, Zac has

Top Tips For Winter

OUR TOP 4 TIPS FOR STAYING HEALTHY THROUGH WINTER Eat balanced meals While reaching for a sugary quick-fix is tempting – and might provide a

Posterior Ankle Pain

Pain at the back of the ankle is one of the most common complaints I see in dancers. The position of full plantar flexion (plantar

Exploring Flexibility With Lisa Howell

Training with Lisa Howell  Episode Four: Exploring Flexibility In this episode Lisa Howell discusses flexibility issues and how each person’s individual restrictions alter the way

Stress, Dance And The Body

Talk to anyone and you will be hard pressed to find someone who does not think their life is, to some extent, stressful. We live

Foot Stretching With Lisa Howell

Training with Lisa Howell  Episode One: Foot Stretching Lately there has been a lot of discussion about foot stretchers and whether dancers should use them

Upper Body Strength In Dancers

What is the most common correction that you get in ballet class or on your competition critique? Chances are, it has something to do with

Finding Your Turnout With Lisa Howell

Training with Lisa Howell  Episode Five: Finding your turnout In this episode, Lisa Howell discusses how muscle tightness could actually be restricting your range when

Releasing Your Psoas With Lisa Howell

Training with Lisa Howell Episode Six: Releasing your psoas. In this episode, Lisa explains the most effective ways of releasing your psoas and addresses some

Mind Body Dancer®

Have you heard about this progressive approach to health and wellbeing for the dance community? We think it should be a requirement at all major

For The Love Of Competition

“The winner takes it all. The loser standing small. Beside the victory. That’s her destiny.” ABBA (from the song, The Winner Takes It All) And

Thank You

“Someday you’ll look back and understand why it all happened the way it did…” Dear Ms. Sam I can’t express to you how truly grateful

Past, Present, Future

When considering revolutions in footwear for dance it would be difficult not to hail the early work of Marie Anne de Cupuis de Camargo, known simply

Dancing To Elevate Your Self Esteem

Dancing to Elevate your Self Esteem From the youngest dancers to professional company members, dance practice is built on a system of challenge, correction and

Wisdom From A Dance

VALUE OF DANCE What a ride!  After 19 years of ballet shoes, tap shoes, jazz shoes, chorus shoes, pointe shoes, hair pins, stockings, ladders, make

The Dancers Paradox

By Josef Brown How many times have you heard a dancer say what they most love about dancing is that they, ‘feel free’ or that

Your Ideal Performance Shoe

A thought experiment. With all we now know about materials, technique training, the importance of injury prevention, the science of anatomy and physiology, comfort and

Following The Inspiration

 By Josef Brown The benefits of positive male role models in the classroom “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire

Are Dancers Athletes?

Are Dancers Athletes? I didn’t grow up in dance. Not starting until I was almost 16, I grew up instead immersed in the common language

What They’re Learning

“A teacher affects eternity: they can never tell where their influence stops.”  Henry Adams At MDM we know how much you and your child invest

To Teach Or Not To Teach

A teacher is one who makes himself progressively           unnecessary – Thomas Carruthers What qualities and attributes make for a good dance

Traditions We Love

By Josef Brown Traditions we love. and the questions we need to ask. Merde and whistling while you work. For as long as I’ve been a

The Stretch Ballet Shoe

“Not all stretch shoes are created equal”  – MDM Dancewear The stretch ballet shoe is all the rage and why not. It’s easy to fit

Dance In Competitions

With competition season well upon us, a kind reminder that it’s not the result, but the process of such performances that will enhance your experience.

Why Boys Must Dance

By Josef Brown “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as it it were a

“This unique and innovatively designed shoe gives an aesthetically pleasing line and is an ideal shoe for a young dancer’s “growing” foot. It provides anatomical support while improving alignment of the lower leg.”

Janne Blanch, Teacher of Ballet & Allied Studies VCASS.
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