A retired professional dancer, acrobat and singer, Christy was the line captain for the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana in Las Vegas. She was a featured dancer at Busch Gardens (Tampa) and has performed with Carnival Cruise Lines , Star Pointe Dancers, Tampa Bay Arts and the Lexington Ballet .A choreographer, judge and instructor for Dance Masters of America, Christy teaches gymnastics, tap, jazz and ballet and is safety certified by USA Gymnastics. Christy now runs her own web-based businesses Showstrings and YoYoMonkey.

The Dangers of Not Practicing

A few months ago, at Les Folies Bergere we had a very serious accident. One of our male acrobats, trying a trick that he had not practiced recently, fell and broke both of the bones in his forearm. He ended up having surgery and now has two metal plates and about 16 screws in his arm. The plates and screws are basically holding his arm together now - luckily for him it was his left because he is right handed.

After a few long months, last night (July 29) he made his return. He was, although in a lot of pain, successful.

Many things contributed to this accident. He is a young man with a very stubborn personality. He is an excellent acrobat, but he forgets to practice his tricks often. He is one of the few acrobats in the show who will throw a trick that he hasn't recently done, without first practicing.

This is a lesson to all of us that no matter how young (or old) or strong you are or feel, you must always remember to treat your body with respect and give it time to absorb your actions.

This performer was successful last night, but he still has lessons to teach. He pushed really hard last night to do the entire show. He is, as I said before, very stubborn and may have done too much last night.

I am afraid the next lesson to learn is about recovery - give yourself time to heal.

Advice given here is just that -- advice. If you are suffering from an Irish dance injury, please see your doctor for treatment.

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