By Stephanie Wolf.

Ambitious, self-motivated, earnest work ethic – these are all attributes of a successful ballet dancer. These are also adjectives used to describe a successful entrepreneur. So, it’s not so surprising to hear of individuals who triumph in both professional realms.

Meet Julia Erickson and Aaron Ingley. Both have illustrious careers with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT), though Aaron no longer performs with the company. In 2010 they used their business know-how and gumption, gained from the University of Pittsburgh, to start their own venture. From a grassroots at-home project to a nationally sold product, Erickson and Ingley are making leaps and bounds in both the dance and business worlds.

Dancers and entrepreneurs Julia Erickson and Aaron Ingley. Photo by Nicholas Coppula.

The inspiration

Erickson became fed up with snack options during rehearsals for Odette/Odile. She needed something that wouldn’t fill her up, but would keep her body and mind alert enough to dance the demanding role. Wary of turning to protein/energy bars because of their “nary resemblance to real food,” Erickson turned to her kitchen and began to experiment with some “esoteric health foods, such as hemp seed and flax.” Eventually, she developed her own “chunk of yummy goodness.”

The resulting concoction was exactly what she needed. “It was like rocket fuel for my rehearsals—it gave me amazing energy, yet I didn’t feel overly full or weighed down.” Happy with her new go-to snack, Erickson shared it with her PBT colleagues, who gobbled the treats up enthusiastically. “I kept supplying it, people were asking for it, asking to buy it from me, and [Ingley] took that thought to its natural next juncture and said ‘why don’t we start a little business?’” Thus began the journey of the little nutrition bar that could.

Julia Erickson performs in Swan Lake. Photo by Rich Sofranko.

Real ingredients you can pronounce

Dreamed up by dancers and made by dancers, Erickson and Ingley insist Barre is great for any active individual. “Barre is specially formulated to contain the perfect mix of slow and fast burning carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, fiber, and naturally occurring electrolytes to help dancers and others who demand exceptional nutrition perform their best.” Erickson assures the product will “satisfy and sustain you without weighing you down,” thus, making it an ideal on-the-go snack.

Names like Ballerina Spirulina, Pirouette Cinnamon Pecan, and Black Swan Chocolate Berry effectively convey the thoroughness, creativity, and of course, grace that goes into making each nutrient-packed treat. Every Barre contains natural, wholesome ingredients like agave nectar, dried fruit, nuts, cocoa, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, and more, that are free of allergens like soy and wheat and are sourced from a “vetted list of farms and other suppliers in the United States.” Devised to provide a powerful boost of energy in every bite, Barre is packed with electrolytes, Omega-3s, and zero refined sugars to give your body and brain the extra boost they need.

So, who gets to name each new flavor? “The both of us,” says Erickson. “And sometimes a few trusted advisors are allowed to weigh in as well. Sometimes a Barre names itself. What else rhymes with Spirulina?” And, fortunately, fans of Barre can expect new flavors in the near future, including a nut-free bar for those with nut allergies.

Entrepreneurship 101

“We didn’t really know where to begin,” says Erickson of those initial years. At first, they thought they could adopt the Yumiko leotard model, having dancer liaisons sell Barre at their respective ballet companies. “Then we realized the scope of the market was really much larger.” From young dance students, to their parents, to professionals, and really to any active individual in “today’s harried world,” many could benefit from this healthy snack.

With the help of friends and family, they began to make and sell Barre. But, as the demand grew, they knew they had to take the business to the next level. They employed the expertise of their fathers, who are both veteran entrepreneurs/businessmen. “Having advisors that you trust and ask stupid questions are invaluable.”

Now, Ingley tackles the day-to-day operations, while Erickson—who miraculously juggles dancing fulltime with PBT—focuses more on the bigger strategic and marketing picture. The fulfillment and customer support aspects are delegated to their other employees. But, Erickson expresses, “there are many people, not just our immediate team, that do big and small things to help spread our message about Barre.”

As for other dancers debating about starting their own business, Erickson and Ingley encourage them to take that leap of faith. “Take time to hone your vision and your strategy (to the best of your ability), then go for it, even if you don’t really know where to begin. One of the coolest parts about entrepreneurism is the continued learning. As in life, nothing about it is static, nor would you ever want it to be. It’s a crazy fun journey.”

Erickson and Ingley share some of the entrepreneurial lessons they learned along the way:

• “You cannot do it alone. Seek advice.
• Don’t be shy.
• Every day is a new learning experience.
• You will make mistakes along the way, most of which will cost you money. It’s all part of the learning process. Being honest with yourself and your advisers may not keep you from making a $5K mistake, but it can save you from making a $100K mistake!”

Barre’s national presence, at both dance institutions and local food markets, grows more every day and Erickson and Ingley are always looking for ways to evolve their business. “We hope to increase our flavor selection, diversify our product line, and continue to be receptive to the needs of dancers and other active people,” says Erickson in regards to Barre in the coming years. But she expresses that it “takes a village” to sustain any new endeavor. If you want to help spread the love and nutritional goodness of Barre, download a Barre Request Form by visiting http://realfoodbarre.com/media/files/BarreRequestForm.pdf. Then bring it into your favorite market or dance studio/store.

www.realfoodbarre.com

Stress, dance and diet.

By Paul Vander Straaten

What is stress?

According to Dr. Tamara Hunter*, “stress is the emotional, mental and physical state resulting from an imbalance between your perception of the demands being placed on you and your perception of your own abilities to cope with the demands.” (Juice Plus Health Education Series, Stress Less Live Longer 2007). In this regard stress is different for everyone and the way we handle our stress is very significant in terms of how it impacts on our health.

Not all stress is bad. Dr Tamara Hunter believes there are three main types of stress.

1. Eustress is the good stress such as getting a new job, getting married or beginning a sporting event. This is the type of stress that prompts us to succeed in task performance.
2. Hypo stress is the type of stress that gives us low levels of arousal and manifests in poor performance and / or procrastination.
3. Distress or being ‘stressed out’ is when our negative emotional state has us believe that our ability to cope with a given situation is inept. This is the bad stress in which most of the time we melt down and fail in task performance.

Some of the physical responses to stress include:

• Muscle tension increases
• Immune responsiveness decreases
• Respiration, circulation and perspiration increase
• Blood pressure, blood fats and blood sugars increase
• Gastro intestinal function decreases
• Saliva production decreases

As a dancer, if your muscles are over tense and your circulation is too high, you just won’t achieve peak performance and can injure more easily. If you find yourself in this state then it is fair to assume that your mental state is not ideal either.

When your immune system is not functioning adequately your risk of sickness is increased. In turn your risk of missed dance opportunities or poor performance also increases.

It’s sometimes hard to know whether stress is responsible for immune suppression or whether it is the actions we take when we are stressed that are responsible. Dr Tamara Hunter has theorised the COPS behaviours (Caffeine, Overeating, Pick me ups, Smoking). These are things we do in times of stress that are bad for us and only challenge our long term health.

Hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer’s are just some of the long term negative effects of today’s stressful lifestyles. When we are stressed our body’s cellular oxidation increases. In fact, stress actually increases free radical damage to brain cells and a life time of stress can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

To combat cellular oxidation we need to load our body up with antioxidants. Antioxidants slow down cellular ageing and prevent disease. We find antioxidants in fruits and vegetables. Oxidative stress conquers and leads to disease when we do not have enough antioxidants in our body to offset the cellular rusting.

Fruits and vegetables are nutrient dense and contain thousands of phytochemicals. Good sources of antioxidants include tomatoes and watermelon which contain lycopene (a powerful antioxidant for the brain and for the prevention of prostate and cervical cancer). Sweet potato, carrots and pumpkin are good sources of beta-carotene. Blueberries, broccoli, apples and onions are all rich in flavonoids. It is the wide selection of plant food colours that give our immune system a fighting chance.

The reality is that in the western world we are all too busy. Although we all have different things going on in our lives the one thing we have in common is stress and a lack of time. To help reduce your stress you may consider yoga or breathing exercises (see our article on Yoga for Dancers). Also set aside some time for the things you love doing. And, of course, feed your body with what it needs to grow and perform.

Don’t let stress be the cause of your poor health and rob you of your love for dancing. Be sure to make the most of every meal and incorporate lots of fruits and vegetables into your daily nutritional plan. If you want to take a simple, convenient and affordable step towards improving your base line nutrition please visit www.fruitandvegwithjuiceplus.com to get started on Juice Plus whole food based nutritional support.

Give your body what it needs to be stress free and dancing with ease.

By Paul Vander Straaten
Health & Fitness Consultant
Director of Healthaddiction Personal Fitness Training

Paul has been working in the fitness industry for 9 years. His focus for the last 6 years has been on nutrition and how important it is in achieving optimal health. He believes that nutrition is vitally important when it comes to good health and that a plant based diet must rule our daily nutritional plan if we are to live long and strong. Good health is easy and Juice Plus just makes it even easier.

* Dr. Tamara Hunter is an Exercise Physiologist and Registrar in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Sort after speaker in the areas of stress management nutrition, women’s health, body image and exercise physiology.

Dance Informa online magazine and website are produced by Dance Informa Pty Ltd and Dance News International LLC. Any opinions presented in any of these media are not necessarily the opinions held by Dance Informa Pty Ltd or Dance News International LLC and its employees or directors. Dance Informa does not take responsibility for any information deemed to be incorrect.

Top photo: © Andystjohn | Dreamstime.com

By Paul Vander Straaten

I am the proud father of two beautiful little boys. Watching them grow really is a joy and I think most parents would agree that it happens so fast. Even before they are walking they are falling off chairs, tumbling down stairs and running into walls. Kids seem to injure themselves in the most peculiar ways. Many of these injuries are preventable, however some are just a part of growing up.

Similarly, a dancer is just as vulnerable. Injury and muscle soreness can result from repetitive strain and impact. Sore back muscles could be due to over training, or from slipping and falling in rehearsal. Could either have been prevented? Being in top physical, mental and emotional condition will help prevent injuries, however often it’s just the nature of the business. And the more you dance the higher your risk.

Regardless of how injuries occur, managing the loss of shattered dreams and years of hard work is psychologically challenging and highly stressful. The emotional devastation from being put out of action is huge, especially if dancing is your life. Good nutrition plays a significant role in prevention and management of injuries and will also assist in a speedy recovery, should an injury occur.

Have you ever experienced sore leg muscles a day or two after you have danced? This is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and is that tight and tender sensation experienced 24-48 hours post exercise. This is damage to the muscle which causes inflammation. The inflammation forms toxins which create that sensation of pain. These toxins attract white blood cells to the site of pain which in turn generate free radicals.

When we sustain an impact injury our physiology is much the same. We experience inflammation from muscle damage which forms toxins (pain), and these toxins attract white blood cells which generate free radicals.

Free radicals are responsible for cellular ageing and impairing cellular function. This includes all the cells that make up our muscles, ligaments and tendons. So ideally we want to reduce the volume of free radicals in our body. Antioxidants are what do this by neutralizing harmful free radicals.

We get the bulk of our antioxidants from fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately this is a food source that the human body is built on, yet rarely receives on a daily basis. Instead, processed foods are what we reach for in times of hunger and our baseline nutrition doesn’t support our lifestyle choices.

A 1995 Nation Nutritional Survey reported that time, cost, convenience and availability were the main reasons we fail to eat 2 fruits and 5 vegetables every day. Throwing a handful of mixed frozen berries (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries) onto your cereal or into a smoothie for breakfast doesn’t take much time. They can be conveniently stored in your freezer and they are readily available at your local grocery store.

To boost your lunch with antioxidants simply add 2-3 vegetables when making your ham and cheese sandwich. It doesn’t take much time to slice up some red onion, tomato and mushroom or throw on some lettuce, cucumber and grated carrot. It’s even easier if you are buying one from the sandwich bar because it’s done for you. The cost really isn’t great and if you are prepared at home with a fridge full of veggies, or you’re buying lunch from the shop, it couldn’t be any more convenient. Fruit and vegetables are available all year round.

Life is busy. It’s up to the individual dancer to decide how important dancing really is to them and what commitment they are prepared to make on a nutritional level to reach their peak health and fitness. We are bombarded with and buy into the brilliant marketing campaigns promoting junk foods that are nutritionally void but fashionable to consume.

Consider whether you want to make excuses or take charge of your daily nutrition. When you practice regularly your dancing improves and when you don’t your progress suffers. Nutrition is much the same. Good nutrition will result in good health, and a healthier body allows you to be a stronger dancer.

Give yourself the best chance by building a strong machine. Be prepared for the health challenges that the dance life throws at you. Nutritious food is your friend and partner. Invest in your health and the returns will be well worth it.

Give your body what it needs to stay young and keep on dancing!

Don’t let time, cost, convenience and availability be the excuse for your poor health. If like most people you find it hard to be consistent on a daily basis and would like to boost your fruit and vegetable intake please visit www.fruitandvegwithjuiceplus.com

Paul Vander Straaten
Health & Fitness Consultant
Director of Healthaddiction Personal Fitness Training
Certificate IV Personal Trainer
Paul has been working in the fitness industry for 9 years. His focus for the last 6 years has been on nutrition and how important it is in achieving optimal health. He believes that nutrition is vitally important when it comes to good health and that a plant based diet must rule our daily nutritional plan if we are to live long and strong. Good health is easy and Juice Plus just makes it even easier.

Dance Informa online magazine and website are produced by Dance Informa Pty Ltd and Dance News International LLC. Any opinions presented in any of these media are not necessarily the opinions held by Dance Informa Pty Ltd or Dance News International LLC and its employees or directors. Dance Informa does not take responsibility for any information deemed to be incorrect.

Photo: © Mauhorng | Dreamstime.com

By Paul Vander Straaten

Did you know that dancing and physical activity actually ages your body? This concept is hard to grasp as dancing keeps us fit and active, but we must understand what ageing actually is. As every day, week, month and year passes we age. However, ageing is not just about time versus wrinkles.

Ageing is the breakdown of cellular function and free radicals are responsible. They are highly charged molecules which run around the body burning everything they touch. They damage healthy cells (skin cells, muscle cells, heart cells, liver cells, etc) and in turn compromise healthy cellular function.

We breathe about 23,000 times a day. From this, oxygen goes into every cell in our body to give it energy. About 3-5% of this oxygen escapes in the form of free radicals (from ‘Health & Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life’ by *Dr Russell Blaylock). This is cellular oxidation and is the natural ageing process.

From breathing alone, each cell takes 10,000 free radical hits per day. This is called oxidative stress. We never stop breathing, so free radicals are constantly being generated in our body, even when we sleep.

So how does dancing fit into the ageing process? The lifestyle choices we make have a huge impact on our rate of ageing because they increase the number of free radicals in our body. When you are dancing your heart pumps faster and you breathe more. The harder and faster you breathe the more free radicals you are generating. It’s likely that dancing regularly and intensely could increase free radicals by 20% or more which directly increases the speed at which you age.

But we love to dance ! It brings us happiness and purpose, and most of us will never stop dancing in one form or another, and neither should we. Dancing and regular exercise helps to keep us healthy and fit, and we need to keep active, but we must understand this activity does place stress on our bodies and increases the rate of our ageing.

So the question is what can we do about this ageing? How do we slow down the ageing process to improve and extend our dancing life? The answer is antioxidants. They neutralize free radicals and slow the ageing process. We find antioxidants in fruits and vegetables. Slowing down the ageing effects of dancing is as simple as having a daily nutritional plan that is rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.

It is said that almost 90% of people don’t eat the daily recommendation of 2 fruits and 5 vegetables every day. This means there are a lot of dancers that are not giving their bodies what they need, and as a result are ageing faster than they need to. We are all getting older, but we don’t have to speed up the process!

If you truly love to dance, then an antioxidant rich diet is paramount. Let fruits and vegetables rule your diet. Simply add a piece of fruit (different each time) to breakfast, lunch and dinner. Try frying up a tomato, some garlic, onions and mushrooms when having your bacon and eggs. Use avocado instead of margarine on your sandwich. Simply eat a carrot for a snack. Throw in some broccoli, squash, zucchini and capsicum when making your spaghetti rather than just meat and tomato. There are so many opportunities in a day to enjoy more fruits and vegetables. It just takes a little planning and munching.

Give your body what it needs to stay young and keep on dancing!

If you are one of the 90% of people that fail to consume enough fruits and vegetables then I recommend supporting your diet with Juice Plus. It has all the thousands of antioxidants found in 17 different fruits and vegetables. If you would like to boost your antioxidant intake please visit www.fruitandvegwithjuiceplus.com

Paul Vander Straaten
Health & Fitness Consultant
Director of Healthaddiction Personal Fitness Training
Certificate IV Personal Trainer
Paul has been working in the fitness industry for 9 years. His focus for the last 6 years has been on nutrition and how important it is in achieving optimal health. He believes that nutrition is vitally important when it comes to good health and that a plant based diet must rule our daily nutritional plan if we are to live long and strong. Good health is easy and Juice Plus just makes it even easier.

* Russell L. Blaylock, MD is a retired neurosurgeon and author. He is a former clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and is a visiting professor in the biology department at Belhaven University.  He is the author of a number of books and papers, including Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills (1994), Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life (2002), and Natural Strategies for Cancer Patients (2003), and writes a monthly newsletter, the Blaylock Wellness Report. (Biography from Wikipedia)

Dance Informa online magazine and website are produced by Dance Informa Pty Ltd and Dance News International LLC. Any opinions presented in any of these media are not necessarily the opinions held by Dance Informa Pty Ltd or Dance News International LLC and its employees or directors.  Dance Informa does not take responsibility for any information deemed to be incorrect.

Photos:  Dancer © Dmytro Konstantynov, Dreamstime.com Vegetables © Richard Thomas, Dreamstime.com