Ice Girls burning up the calories

Members of the Dallas Stars dance team pursue their craft and fitness journey

“Dancin’, dancin’, dancin’…she’s a dancing machine.” Not to quote Jackson 5’s blast from the past but have you noticed the hype around dancing? I’m not just talking hitting up the club and shaking it. I am talking about grueling, intense workouts that literally shave away inches and suck the pounds right out of the dancers. Our television sets have been flooded with dance competitions. One can’t help but notice the slender physique the dancers sport. ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” participants are featured in magazines and entertainment news, sharing their weight loss success. The Oxygen network capitalized on all the dance hype by hosting a weight loss-geared show “Dance your Ass Off.” These are only a couple of the dance shows on the rise. Fitness clubs are following the trend as well, offering hip-hop and Latin dance classes to fend off the fat and tone up the bod. Regardless of the wonders dancing can do for the physical appearance; it can increase endurance and of course strengthen muscles. A common trend among all these dance steps is the core area being utilized. If you ever come to one of my fitness classes, you will hear me ranting about “keeping your tummy in.” By keeping that core tight, you are protecting your back from injury and helping keep your balance. Imagine trying to perform the salsa while not tightening up your abs.
Photo Courtesy of Crystal Clear Media / Dallas Stars

Listen to the Ice Girls on this Podcast

I decided it’s time to chat with some professional dancers right here in Dallas. So I called on our Dallas Stars Ice Girls to get the scoop on dancing and its many fitness benefits. Now I realize we are not all going to get out there and squeeze into a tiny dancer’s uniform, but I am interested to know how these ladies stay so trim.

“My favorite ways to stay fit are things I can do around my house,” Kaylynn said. “I’ve never been the type to go to the gym everyday, so instead I use the Wii Fit to work on core strength and flexibility. I love doing yoga to release stress and I force my overweight bagel (beagle/basset hound) to go run with me.”

That sounds easy enough, right? A good excuse to play a video game and spend some quality time with your pup. Kaylynn, who was a cheerleader on the television show Friday Night Lights, actually puts much more into her fitness routine than what she mentioned. That is simply the icing on the cake. In addition to her personal fitness routine, the Ice Girls practice every Sunday between three to six hours, as well as some Tuesday practices. Plus, they have seven home games a month.

“Hockey is one of the few sports that goes almost year round,” Kaylynn said. “So as an Ice Girl you prepare for tryouts over the summer by training in dance and skating. After the try-out process is complete, the real practice begins. We train on ice, working on skating drills and learning the patterns for the games as well as attend nightly dance practices where we do heavy conditioning and learn several routines.”

The commitment to Ice Girls involves time, dedication and an intense physical workout. What keeps these girls coming back for more?

“What motivates me to keep up with my fitness is my passion for dance,” Erin said. “In order to be a great dancer you not only have to have the dancer physique to keep up with your teammates, but to be confident in your own skin. If you don’t think and feel like you are the best out there, then you’re not. I can lose myself in dancing, and in order to do that I have to be in top physical shape to express myself. For just a minute, or the length of a song, all the stress and strain from everyday life dissolves and it’s just me and the music.”

Good news for you ladies out there who have had children. Erin is a fairly recent mother. After having her baby, she lost her pregnancy weight and then some. Hitting the gym, dance classes and eating healthy, her body became more toned and she is in the best shape of her life.

“If you set a goal and keep motivated, you will succeed,” Erin said. “I didn’t let myself use the excuse of having a child let my body go downhill. I used having a baby as an excuse to work even harder to get back in shape. It’s not just the people who seek plastic surgery or celebrities who are able to have a great body in months, anyone can do it. You just have to want it bad enough.”

There are many critics of dancing. Whether they truly don’t believe dancing is a sport or they are simply intimidated by the dance floor, there are some skeptics out there. Particularly when it comes to cheerleaders or dancers for sports teams.

“Dance is multi-dimensional in the meaning that it is not only an art, but a dancer is truly an athlete by the dedication, hard work, and talent that it demands,” Tracy, another Ice Girls teammate said. “As dancers, our tool for our sport is not a ball or bat, but our very own body. We use our stretching to perfect our leaps and kicks, our center and strong core for our turns, and without agility and strength none of this could be accomplished. Anytime I have been questioned with how dance and true athleticism relate I always want to ask the criticizer to show me a double pirouette, then to plop down in right splits, all while keeping a stage-ready smile on.”

A sassy answer. Any takers?

Regardless of the benefits dancing can have on the body’s physique, these ladies are proud to represent the Dallas Stars. They are a fixture in the community and part of Dallas culture.

“As an Ice Girl I get to be a part of something that’s bigger than me,” fellow Ice Girl, Katherine said. “We represent a high speed, high energy sport that is a blast to watch. The fan base for the Dallas Stars is incredible.”

Perhaps more importantly, these women have found true friendships and a way to serve their community in a positive way.

“When I tried out to be an Ice Girl I thought it was going to be like any other dance team,” Kaylynn said. “I had no idea it was going to impact my life the way it has. Being an Ice Girl has allowed me to become a role model in our community. We are able to interact with fans and we do numerous charity appearances. It has also allowed me to meet an amazing group of girls that have become my best friends.”

After chatting it up with the Ice Girls, let’s challenge ourselves to bring out that inner dancer. It may be intimidating at first, but eventually you will gain confidence and be able to cut loose. Grab a group of your friends and hit up the gym for a Zumba or Hip Hop Hustle class. You may feel a bit uncoordinated if dancing’s not your thing. But I can guarantee you will break a sweat, burn some calories and hopefully have a blast along the way.

Kimberly Westphall is a recent graduate of the University of Kansas where she majored in Journalism. She recently participated in a podcast with Jerod, which will help you get to know her even better.

While at KU, she was an anchor and online web producer for Jayhawk Sports Talk. Kimberly recently made her debut on Midwest Sports Fans discussing the fight between Kansas’ basketball and football teams.

She has a passion for fitness and is on the lookout for emerging fitness trends and workouts. Her favorite group exercise format is kickboxing, which she discusses in her first Blogging Fitness post today.

When she’s not hitting up the aerobics studio both as a participant and instructor, Kimberly is training for the 2010 Washington D.C. Marathon with her best friend Jackie.

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