http://www.bodiesin-motion.com/

Jennifer Milner Bodies In:Motion, Allen, TX (2026)

03/01/2024

Many times when I teach class, I’ll ask, “Ok, what could have been better with that?” Dancers have an inexhaustible list of ways they should have performed more closely to perfection.

“All right. Now what did you do WELL in that combination?”

Crickets.

Dancers eye each other nervously, afraid to be seen as bragging, unable to even find something worth discussing on the positive side of the column.

I get it. I have a hard time with compliments. Is it a perfectionist thing, or a dancer thing, or a perfectionist dancer thing?

Or is there any difference?

I don’t know.

What I DO know is that growing up dancing, criticism was the common spoken language. A correction from a teacher meant you were WORTH correcting. Silence didn’t mean you were doing something well; it meant (at least to my heart) that the teacher had given up and found me unworthy of a critique.

Now that I’m on the other side of the barre, I make it a point to say something encouraging to every dancer in my class. A small acknowledgement that “hey, I see you” goes a really long way.

And perhaps, as I mold dancers to grow used to hearing positive things about themselves, maybe they’ll begin to see and say encouraging things to themselves.

This quote by Adam Sklute is spot on. If we can write a litany of failures, if we can - and should - acknowledge our issues, then why is it wrong to acknowledge our strengths?

Dancers, we are more than the sum of our inadequacies. We are also the totality of our triumphs and strengths and moments of bravery and brilliance.

And there’s no shame in that.

Embrace your brilliance.

02/21/2024

Neurodivergency is estimated to be highly prevalent in the dance world. Studies are scarce (don’t worry, our smart friends are working to change that!) but the data we do have shows strong connections between hypermobility - also highly present in the dance world - and neurodivergencies such as autism, ADhD, dyslexia, Tourette’s Syndrome or Tick Disorder, and more.

In addition, there’s a high percentage of OCD, perfectionism, anxiety, and other issues in the dance world, which are also common in neurodivergents.

Last year, Jennifer and Maddie Milner sat down on IG live and discussed one aspect of this - autism. As a diagnosed autist, Maddie has been an outspoken advocate for neurodivergency support in the arts. And as a mom of an autist and a coach who works with neurodivergent dancers, Jennifer has been working to bring attention to the dance world on this topic as well.

If you missed the last discussion, you can find it saved on Jennifer’s IG page or on Maddie’s website. Maddie spoke openly and honestly about her experience as an autistic dancer.

We’ve had so many people continue to reach out to us with questions that we’re scheduling a second livestream!

Please join us Sunday, March 3 at 12 p.m. central time on either of our IG streams! If you have questions - as a neurodivergent dancer, or as a teacher, or as a parent of a neurodivergent dancer - please feel free to submit them in advance!

And remember - Maddie is speaking from her lived experience as an autistic dancer. Jennifer is speaking as a parent and a coach. We are both advocates, but neither of us are experts in the scientific field and can only speak from our personal experiences.

Please join us as we continue the conversation!

02/19/2024

What a treat to have the dancers of Cary Ballet Conservatory and Jennifer Milner in the same room at once!

We spent one class deconstructing the arabesque and working on exercises to increase strength and mobility for that crucial dance step.

For our second class, we worked through a typical technique class, stopping along the way to use some non-dance exercises to help us find our Plié/turnout/standing leg.

Thank you to the incredible staff who made this all possible, and to the dancers for really showing up and digging in!

Our first but definitely not last IRL collaboration!

02/16/2024

Spring travels have started for me, and this weekend I’m in North Carolina!

I’ll be teaching the dancers at Elon University, then headed to Cary Conservatory to do a couple classes and workshops with their wonderful students. Lastly, I have a chance to work with some of my Zoom dancers IN PERSON and I am so grateful to Pulse Pilates for letting me use their gorgeous space!

Added bonus: a chance to see Elon University’s Abusua, their Black History Month dance concert. Really excited for that!

So if you’re in the area and want to get together, let me know!

Photo credit slide 3:

02/02/2024

M***e to everyone going into the final leg of the or a this weekend!

You’ve worked hard and have a long couple of days coming up. But you’ve got this.

Just remember that your job isn’t over when the dancing is done! Recovery is just as important as every other phase of your training.

So don’t show up at the studio the next day. Heck, maybe even take TWO days off!

Take a long bath.

Take a nap.

Take another nap.

And enjoy every bit of that satisfying meal at the end.

01/15/2024

Just a gentle reminder that you don’t need crazy expensive gear to maintain or improve your strength and health. I have dancers from California to London to Israel and I never run out of ideas on ways to work with them long-distance!

Don’t worry about not having the gym full of equipment while you’re on tour or hiatus at the parents’ house. The ONLY thing you need is a trainer who understands your needs and your body. If they’re in it for the long haul with you, they’ll adjust to what you need when you need it, and they won’t require a room full of fancy gear to make it happen.

(Not that I don’t love me some fancy gear!)

Just be willing to show up. I guarantee your trainer will make it worth your while.

And of course, bring the stuffed frog from your sister’s room, the stepstool in the bathroom, and that slingshot from the toybox.

12/19/2023

Congratulations to for being accepted into the ! would be so lucky to have you! Your fierce determination and artistry and talent are an unbeatable combination.

I'm so proud of you and the work you've done with .pavlova.ballet ! You never give up.

Gorgeous photo by

12/13/2023

NEW live workshop coming up!

Join me Sunday, February 11 in Houston Texas for Hypermobility, Strength, and Flexibility - a 3-hour workshop that’s going to be packed with information!

What are some tips on working with a hypermobile dancer? What’s the difference between hypermobility and flexibility? How can you strengthen a dancer’s end range? How do you address the unique strength needs of a hypermobile dancer?

I’ll address all these questions and more so if you’re in the Texas area, drop me a message to sign up!

Sunday, February 11
1-4 p.m. CST
$100
Houston Ballet Academy

A big thank you to the Houston Ballet’s Health and Wellness team for supporting this workshop!

12/12/2023

Paul Morelan trained under Nathalia Krassovska as one of her last proteges before getting her BFA from Texas Christian University under Victor Moreno and Fernando Schaffenberg. Paula went on to open her own studio in the Dallas area, where I spent much of my childhood. Paula very wisely hired my mother as a ballet teacher and started what became a lifelong friendship - and a rare chance to dance alongside my mother for years.

Her local company closed after several years, and Paula went on to terrorize (in the best possible way) several generations of musical theatre performers. Paula choreographed numerous musicals and taught ballet for theatre students, bringing a little Russian discipline to Broadway-bound performers.

She was much beloved by everyone who worked with her and will be very much missed. My career was not free of mental trauma, but most of my happy early memories and joy in dance came from my years in that little studio.

Thank you, Paula, for pushing me to strive for excellence rather than perfection. You absolutely shaped who I am today.

08/02/2022

What’s the deal with a neutral pelvis?

In movement there are very few absolutes. I honestly can’t think of anything I’d describe by saying “That should ALWAYS be . . .” I mean, movement by definition is something that’s fluid, in motion.

Do I teach neutral pelvis? One hundred percent. As a relative position. I want you to be able to feel what a “neutral” spine is like in relationship to the rest of your trunk. For sure.

Do we have to stay there all the time?

Don’t get me started.

We strive for neutral but know that it may be fleeting as we move through something. And that’s ok.

My dancer who said this has a fantastic sense of humor, but the comment came from a place of long frustration: various teachers, conditioning coaches, etc., have been drilling her on a “neutral pelvis”. And get this:

They all mean something different by it.

See the whole picture. How is a “neutral pelvis” cue servicing what you’re aiming for?

And keep your sense of humor.

07/26/2022

Are you ready for the coming season?

Last week I chatted with and about planning a dance season as a studio owner, and had a great time helping directors and teachers think through some areas of assembling a season.

But dancers need to look at their own schedule and make some plans as well.

As my dancers come back from summer intensives or prepare to return to their contracts, I’m heavy into the season of discussing What Comes Next with my clients.

Have you had that conversation with yourself?

Dancers can feel helpless when it comes to their schedule - and there is a lot that is truly outside of your control. But figuring out what you CAN control, and planning for it now, will do nothing but make you incredibly ready to face whatever curve balls may get thrown your way.

Start having these conversations with your team. If you don’t have a team, find one or two key people you can rely on. And if you DO have a team, and they’re not having these planning discussions with you, find a new team.

Are you ready?

01/04/2022

New year, new you, right? That's what everyone says?

It’s a hard time of year for many people, and every January I come back to my Real Resolutions for Dancers post. I wrote it five years ago, but I still need to tell myself these things regularly. Read an excerpt below -

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It’s a new year, and with that always comes lists of well-meant promises to yourself. Clean page, fresh start, this year you’ll try harder/get better/master your pirouettes!

Put pen to paper, and a few minutes later you’ve got a gleaming master list of Dos and Don’ts that you are sure will help you make this The Year of Perfection. But what happens?

January starts off with daily references to The List, lots of effort - totally doable!

By February, the list is starting to make you feel guilty - it’s SO hard! - and by March you’re purposefully avoiding looking at It.

April swings around and it’s List? What List? You pretend to forget about it, pretend to forgive yourself, and swear that eight months from now you’ll write a new one and do better.

So this year, let’s ditch the guilt-inducing list. Dancers are already perfectionists and don’t need to be reminded of our constant failure to reach that unachievable goal of doing EVERYTHING right. I offer an alternative: try adopting these resolutions for yourself, and see what happens.

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To read the full post, click on the link in my bio (spoiler alert: there may or may not be lots of things aimed at better mental and physical health).

And I’d love to hear from you: do you make resolutions each year? Do they help, or add to perfectionism guilt? What sort of goals do you have for the year ahead?

Jennifer Milner Bodies In:Motion

03/01/2024

02/21/2024

02/19/2024

02/16/2024

02/02/2024

01/15/2024

12/19/2023

12/13/2023

12/12/2023

08/02/2022

07/26/2022

01/04/2022

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