We’re absolutely thrilled to present our new webinars about female dancers’ health here! It’s all about THE hottest topic in dance at the moment: How we can make sure that dancers fuel enough for health and peak performance, and how they can avoid life-long repercussions from underfueling (low energy availability) during their training years and active career. Understanding dancers’ health is key – and that’s why these webinars are designed for dance students, professional dancers, parents and teachers and coaches alike!

Join us and become a knowledgeable part of the dance community, fostering a bright future for healthier – and happier! – dancers!

For schools and companies: Please email hello@ausdancersoverseas.com, or use the contact form at the bottom of this page, to learn about our special terms and conditions in educational settings.

Course no 1: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PERIOD! The female menstrual cycle – an important maker of health for dancers and athletes and why you should have regular periods.

Dance has the common misconception that missing periods are normal. Ever heard ’You’re moving so much, this is normal.’? Hm, exactly. This may be common – but it is in no way normal. Many pre-professional and professional female dancers, as well as their parents and teachers have no idea why regular periods are so important, in fact why they are a marker of health, with missing periods pointing towards severe health concerns, affecting both physical and mental health. In our clinical practice, we have met countless dancers with very little idea what their menstrual cycle actually should be like, or what happens in their body every single month.

This webinar will teach you 

• the 101 of the female menstrual cycle
• when you should have your very first period and why 
• why delayed maturation is a huge health concern
• differential diagnoses (PCOS and endometriosis) and how they can be diagnosed and treated
• hormonal contraception and their effects on health (esp. bones) and performance
• why planning your training around your cycle can be hugely beneficial
• typical comments you will encounter when you seek help (e.g. GP) for a lack of periods and how to navigate these

Sign up  here

Course no 2: No period – no problem?! Low energy availability, relative energy deficiency in sport + dance, and secondary amenorrhea in dance. With special guest: Jenna Caley, former principal dancer of Birmingham Royal Ballet, and how RED-S affected her career.

What happens in a dancer’s body when periods go MIA? Nicky and Stephanie recently found in their own study that up tp 50% of female dancers have no/no regular periods, and that is extremely concerning. What is the cause? Not what you’ve probably been told ’because you’re moving so much’. Low energy availability/RED-S is an imbalance between energy intake (=food) and energy expenditure (dance, S&C, every day activities like walking or cycling, and every other process that keeps you alive – your heartbeat, your breathing, your metabolism). This imbalance is often fueled by beliefs that still circulate in the dance world, that you’ve possibly been told by a director or teacher, or that you saw somewhere on social media, by diet culture which is prevalent in our daily life, but also by certain personal traits that you may have like perfectionism. 

This webinar will help you understand why low energy availability can 

• cause negative changes in bone health early in life (osteopenia, osteoporosis) with frequent /recurrent injuries
• negatively affect your cardiovascular (=heart and blood vessels) health and brain health
• negatively affect your immune system
• negatively affect your training adaptation and performance on stage (Feeling like you’re not getting anywhere no matter how many extra hours you spend in the studio?!)
• cause difficulties picking up and memorizing choreography or corrections
• make you feel constantly irritated, in a low mood or anxious
• negatively affecting your body composition, hence your physical appearance

A lack of regular periods is only one sign of low energy availability/RED-S, but it’s an easy to spot one, and definitely one that shouldn’t be ignored!

PLUS: Listen to Jenna and her personal insights into years of low energy availability and how it affected the way she thought about food, how it affected her body image, comments she got during her years of training and as a professional dancer, and why she is now so passionate about creating a much healthier and safer environment for future dancers.

Sign up here