Do you ever wonder what do ballet dancers eat before a show to sustain their energy and have the stamina to finish the entire performance without fizzling out towards the end? Contrary to the belief that dancers eat nothing, they actually need to keep their stamina up and they cannot do this without something healthy and nourishing.
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What Do Ballet Dancers Eat Before A Show?
While doing some research on this topic, I found most of them tend to eat lightly and regularly. The last thing that any of them want, is to look and feel bloated on the stage.
Foods like whole grains, whole grain bread and cereal, legumes, and starchy vegetables like potatoes and squash are broken down slowly, providing sustained energy during your performance.
Here are some of the most popular meal choices and snacks for dancers on show day:
- A good breakfast of oats, bran, fruit etc
- A plain pre-show meal like a ham or turkey sandwich
- Yogurt, topped with berries and ground flax
- Bread or cereal two hours before the show
- Banana and Peanut Butter or Almond Butter
- Dark Chocolate
- Quinoa bowl with black beans, spinach, red cabbage, corn and avo
- Raw Almonds
- Green Juice with fruit
- Scrambled tofu with avo in a gluten free wrap
- Dried fruit and nuts
- Fruit.
- Bananas
- Applesauce Cups
Most of the dancers agree that it is not good to eat a big meal between shows, and not to eat a big meal less than two hours before a show. Everything a dancer eats must have nutritional value, so that they are not placing empty calories into their bodies.
Here are some great books that can help any dancer to eat healthier and for sustained energy.
Diet for Dancers: A Complete Guide to Nutrition and Weight Control
The first diet book based on research with dancers, this guide provides information about proper dietary procedures that will enable people to reach and/or maintain their optimal body weight for dancing. Areas discussed include weight control, individual differences in metabolism, and body composition.
Areas discussed include weight control, what do ballet dancers eat, individual differences in metabolism, and body composition.
A Dancer’s Diet
The Academy Method Coursebook series is designed to educate the dance student about various aspects of the study of dance. One key element in becoming a dancer is diet and nutrition. And in fact, the information in this book is useful to anyone who wants to lose weight, maintain a dancer’s body, and blend diet with exercise to be in the best shape possible. A Dancer’s Diet will give you the way to have the one thing most people want – A Dancer’s Body!
If your dance schedule intensifies, it is not the time to experiment with new diets or extreme food plans. Avoid “quick-fix” diets that could lead to nutrient deficiencies or make you more prone to injury. Through trial and error, you’ll find which foods fuel you best.
Remember, there’s no universal meal plan that works for every dancer. Every body is different, and the goal is to figure out what keeps you feeling energized and performing at your best.
