Perry Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I've posted about this dance teacher before. I'm already really irritated with her because of comments she's made about the girls' diet and weight, and her obsession with getting girls into pointe before they're ready, among other annoying things she's done and said. Now, she appears to have actually injured someone. She was having one of my dds' classmates demonstrate a scorpion Without warning, she pushed up on her leg, and as a result this girl has an injured back. I don't know details, but the orthopedic surgeon told her if she isn't better in 6 months, she'll need surgery. I don't know this girl's mom, and don't know if she has communicated the issue to the studio owner. But this is unacceptable. I don't want her touching my kids. But I don't know how much "touching" or "forcing" is common or acceptable in dance, or gymnastics, or whatever. She's having the girls pair up and do stretching exercises, encouraging them to force each other past what is comfortable. Is that normal? My instinct is you shouldn't ever do "forced" stretching (is their a technical word for that?) but I'm not an athlete. My friends and I want to discuss this with the studio owner, but I want to be prepared with what reasonable expectations are. Obviously, forcing to the point of causing a back injury is NOT ok. But how about pushing down on someone's legs when they're doing that butterfly thing? How do you know where to draw the line? Or should we just say we don't trust her, so she needs to keep her hands off? I'd especially like to hear from any dance/gymnastics teachers or athletic trainers/physical therapists. We've been happy with this studio for years, until they hired this nutcase. She is the only dance teacher for this level ballet, so switching teachers or classes is not an option. My dds live for dance, and I want to try every avenue possible before giving up on the studio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I'm not any sort of medical expert, physical therapist, etc., but as a dance mom I wouldn't allow a teacher with such poor judgement to work with my daughter. The student may require BACK SURGERY? I wouldn't let her touch my dog, let alone my dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 I'm not any sort of medical expert, physical therapist, etc., but as a dance mom I wouldn't allow a teacher with such poor judgement to work with my daughter. The student may require BACK SURGERY? I wouldn't let her touch my dog, let alone my dd. That would be my preference. But I'm not sure telling the studio owner that is going to help my case any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Assisted stretching is very common and not a terrible way to stretch if done well. Sadly, I think that the line here is really gray, and only visible with much experience. I know which girls I can push harder, and I know when they are stopping me from stretching them and when they are physically unable to stretch anymore. If someone is able to scorpion well, they are clearly very flexible. Unfortunately, back flexibility seems to be inversely proportional to ab strength, meaning unless you are very conscious of developing serious core strength, the back is ripe for injury. There are ways to safely stretch kids. I do not know this lady's technique, but even if she was very diligent in being safe, life sucks sometimes. However, the phrase that makes me uncomfortable was about getting the kids onto pointe quickly. That unsafe feeling is probably just me, though, which may be useless as I am gymnastics, not dance. One more thing I want to say is that kids sure do whine alot when it comes to stretching, which may make it difficult to determine when they cross the line from uncomfortable to actual pain. I had a 12 year old girl once cry every day during splits. Like seriously snot-running, hiccupping crying every freaking day, and she was fairly flexible. She would even cry sometimes during conditioning. After two years of this, she fell off of a horse and broke her left humerus. She never, ever cried again. The problem was that she had never known pain, and was confusing the stretching sensation with actual pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary in VA Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Touching is really required in ballet - to help the student feel the correct placement of their body. In fact I'm skeptical when teachers never touch the students. But changing a student's position should be gentle. The owner of the studio needs to know about this. I'm sure they would be very concerned about liability issues!!! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 That would be my preference. But I'm not sure telling the studio owner that is going to help my case any. Why not? If she's aware of what happened, I'm wondering why the teacher is still working there, if only to protect the studio from lawsuits. Did the girl have underlying medical conditions, or was her injury strictly the teacher's fault? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jg_puppy Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I am a dance mom. I know at our studio one of the teachers had the girls helping each other stretch. One of the other mom's didn't think it was a good idea and talked to one of the other teachers. This teacher agreed that it is not a good idea for other students to help each other in this way. They don't know how far to press. They could easily hurt each other. As far as I know they don't do this type of streching in class anymore. Now for teachers it is different. I often see the girls stretching and the teachers will go by and put more pressure on the girls. The girls know what the teacher is going to do ahead of time and the teachers are well trained at pushing the girls to the point of slight discomfort, but not hurting the girls. I don't know if that makes sense or not. It really boils down to trust. My dd and I trust the teachers there so I don't have a problem with things. If I ever felt things went to far then I wouldn't hesitate to talk to the teachers and or the owner. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 These responses are helping me think this through. Thanks. I am fully accepting that there is risk involved in a sport, and have kind of a "suck it up" approach to whining about discomfort. I can imagine whining and complaining would be very frustrating for coaches and teachers, and thankfully, my kids don't do much of that. I can see where pushing someone farther, harder, more... is useful and necessary if you are going to improve at something. Forcing seems off limits. Seems like this teacher doesn't know the difference. The injured girl is someone the teacher frequently uses for demonstration, because she is extremely flexible. It doesn't make sense to me that you would "force" someone further if they are already more flexible than everyone else. I would also think you'd be much more cautious about pushing someone's back. Straining a leg muscle is usually minor. A back injury can be for life. And I am realizing that the problem is that this teacher is showing a pattern of poor judgment, and now it has resulted in someone being hurt. This gives me some ideas about what to say to the studio owner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 Why not? Because talking to people like that alienates them, even when you're in the right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Really? That's helpful, thanks. Let me be more specific. Not the dog part. The poor judgement part. And in your own words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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