focus on health
Sarah McCutcheon at work in the School's physiotherapy department, 1995.
Ballet is an art form that makes rigorous demands of its practitioners. Ensuring that its students achieve the necessary levels of fitness and mental acuity in a safe and healthy environment is a key component of NBS’ pedagogic program. Since she became Artistic Director, Mavis Staines has introduced numerous changes that address the physical and emotional wellness of the students. In addition to dealing with rehabilitation, physiotherapists design programs to improve performance while focusing on injury prevention. Nutritionists teach the important function nutrition plays in achieving physical prowess and in sustaining and healing bodies. Other consultants help the students deal positively with such matters as body image and performance pressure. In all these cases, NBS strives to arm the students with the information they will need to continue to care for their physical and mental well-being throughout their careers.
Published in 2007, A Dancer's Guide to Healthy Eating was written by Rebecca Dietzel, NBS' Nutritionist, and Alyson Yamada, an NBS alumna.
In 1993, then Chef Chris Zielinski demonstrates his culinary creations for NBS students. Photographed by Ian MacDonald for the Toronto Sun.