I came across a dance blog with reference to pregnancy. I’m sure some dancers out there are wondering how becoming pregnant will affect their ability to perform, so I will post the following entry from Teaching Smart. I hope it is helpful!

I am just into my pregnancy and work as a contemporary dancer and physical theatre performer. I hope not to stop my work and performances until my 7th or 8th month. However I know that I will have to modify my work and I’m game for that. I can’t seem to find a good resource — a book, a detailed article, anything! — that explains what activity should be modified and how to modify the activity as time goes on. Most of what I’ve found is very general or specific to elite athletes like runners. Do you have any recommendations?
Sincerely,
Lucy

I don’t know of any specific resources to send you to, Lucy, so I will give you my personal opinion after having 3 of my own – and counseling a few friends through their pregnancy and births.

The first is – your iliopsoas is going to take a beating with being pregnant. As the baby gets bigger, the pull on your lower back is significant. The one stretch you cannot stop doing is some form of iliopsoas stretching. (I actually have a youtube video on 3 different ways to stretch your psoas) The one stretch that I don’t have on this video is a sitting stretch – but here it is on the right.

Ballwork all around the pelvis will be very useful for keeping the muscles looser. As your belly pulls the pelvis into a forward tilt, the abdominals contract to counter that and the gluteals also tend to contract more than normal to keep your pelvis upright.

Continuing dancing will help keep the abdominals in good shape – and stretching and ballwork will definitely help the gluts!

Those are my primary tips for a healthy pregnancy. It goes without saying that listening to your body is key – and – it is an amazing process that you are engaged with. Typically, the pregnant dancers I’ve known have, for the most part, had easier pregnancies than non-dancers. They danced as long as they were comfortable – and easily modified their movement. (for example, rolling down the spine becomes almost impossible – so do hamstring stretches standing with your leg on a chair instead) I truly enjoyed all 3 of my pregnancies. Best wishes and…
Congratulations!
Deborah