I had the pleasure of instructing a MELT for Young Dancers class this morning at Alvin Ailey. The youngest was 11, the oldest 16. I introduced myself and said, "Now you guys are young so the ratio of injured people in the room may be less than it is when I have adults but, is anyone in pain or do any of you have an injury?" 2/3rds of the room raised their hands and the kids said, "Neck, my neck! Shoulders, backs, knees, feet..." everywhere even young kids are in pain.

So we did the foot treatment and the young dancers were dazzled. "I can feel my leg is totally grounded" one young girl said. "Wow! I think my back feels looser already!" another young girl exclaimed. On we went to the floor to MELT with the rollers. So many of the dancers felt their misalignments that everyone's hand went up when we assessed for Autopilot Inefficiency. Staggering. But we did 3 simple techniques: 3-D breath, Neck Decompress, Low Back Decompress. At the end of the class many felt the changes of their masses and spaces on the floor more aligned, less tight...

And just like adults many rushed up to the front of the room to ask questions. "Where do we get those balls?!!" "Will this help my back? I've had surgery already..." (this was a 14-year-old girl).

So what can I say? Does being young make you exempt from pain? Nope. But they all got the idea, if you want to deter the negative effects of dancing and improve performance and longevity of your dance career, it's time to learn more about MELTing!