When I think of the Milwaukee Ballet dancers, there’s one word that comes to mind: athletes. Every day these dancers demonstrate pure athleticism.
So about a month back, I went to one of their practices in which the dancers were prepping for their Winter Series(February 16-19 th at the Pabst Theater). I spoke with multiple dancers to find out what a day in the life of a ballet dancer was really like. Let’s just say that these dancers make what they do look extremely easy when in actuality, the rigorous training and pressure to be perfect definitely has an impact on the body.
When injuries happen, it’s crucial that dancers take the right steps to get back into shape and back into rehearsals at an appropriate time. In order to do this, the Milwaukee Ballet works alongside The Sports Medicine Center at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin. (*The Sports Medicine Center also happens to work with the Milwaukee Brewers). So when something as unfortunate as an injury does happen, these dancers work with athletic trainers and physical therapists to diagnose and treat their injuries, in addition to working on training techniques to prevent future injuries.
I spoke with Dr. Craig Young, Medical College of Wisconsin Sports Medicine & Family Medicine Physician, to find out more about his role with the dancers throughout the season and how the health of Milwaukee Ballet dancers is incredibly important to the company.
