The Dancer's Guide to Nutrition: Expert Advice from a Dancer Dietitian
Nutrition plays a crucial role in helping dancers perform at their best, recover effectively, and maintain overall health. However, with demanding schedules, long rehearsals, and the pressures of maintaining a certain physique, dancers often face unique challenges when it comes to fueling their bodies. That's where experts like Sherry Lin come in.
Meet Sherry
Sherry Lin is a registered dietitian and dancer who has dedicated her career to integrating nutrition and movement.
After a childhood filled with informal hip hop and breaking lessons, Sherry joined a dance team in college. As part of the team, she became even more passionate about the power of dance to bring people together. That passion eventually led Sherry to an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan, where she focused on integrating hip hop in higher education through community engagement.
Food has also been a lifelong love for Sherry. "I kind of grew up in the kitchen," she says, recalling her childhood working at her parents' Chinese carryout restaurant in the suburbs of Chicago. "Food was our primary love language in our household." Sherry later turned that love into her career, becoming a dietitian.
Now based in Los Angeles, Sherry runs a private nutrition practice, helping clients—many of them artists and athletes—reconnect with their bodies and develop sustainable, balanced approaches to eating.
By combining her knowledge of dance and nutrition, Sherry offers unique insights into the challenges dancers face and how they can fuel their bodies for peak performance and long-term health.
Common Nutrition Challenges for Dancers
Dancers face unique challenges when it comes to maintaining proper nutrition, often due to the demanding nature of their schedules and the pressures of their craft.
Underfueling
One of the most common issues dancers face is underfueling. Young dancers who are in school are often rushing off to hours of rehearsal after the school day. Many adult artists in LA, where Sherry is based, are working two or three jobs in addition to training and auditioning.
With packed schedules, it's not surprising that it can be hard to fit in all of the nutrition that you need in a day. As Sherry says, "People are going from one thing to another, and trying to fit in meals and snacks in between."
Without careful preparation, this busyness often leads to skipped meals or inadequate snacks, leaving dancers running on empty during rehearsals or performances.
Underfueling not only affects energy levels but can also have long-term consequences for a dancer's health and performance. Without proper nutrition, dancers may experience fatigue, poor recovery, decreased strength, and a higher risk of injury. "When you're not fueling your body properly, you're not giving it the tools it needs to perform or repair itself," Sherry says. Over time, chronic underfueling can even impact bone density, hormone regulation, and overall physical resilience—factors that are critical for dancers' longevity in their craft.
Rigid Thinking about Food
Rigid thinking about food is another barrier many dancers encounter. "Dancers can feel a lot of pressure to maintain a certain 'fit' body type," Sherry says. This can result in dancers avoiding entire food groups, like carbs, or skipping meals altogether in an effort to conform to unrealistic expectations. "Underfueling and over-restricting are really common, whether it's intentional or unintentional," she explained.
This type of rigid thinking isn't exclusive to dancers. Many non-dancers struggle with the same pressures, whether it's from diet culture, societal standards, or personal insecurities. The idea of "good" versus "bad" foods often leads to guilt, shame, and an unhealthy relationship with eating. "When people label foods as bad, they internalize those feelings," Sherry said. "If they eat something they think is 'junk,' they start to feel like they're bad, which creates this cycle of guilt and shame."
Sherry also highlights how external factors, such as chronic stress, trauma, or neurodivergent tendencies, can impact eating habits. "A lot of people struggle to connect with their hunger and fullness cues, especially if they're constantly in a state of stress or dealing with other challenges," she said. This disconnection can make it even harder to break free from rigid food rules and develop a more intuitive approach to eating.
If you're feeling guilt or shame around food, shifting your mindset is often the best place to start in addressing your nutrition. For dancers and non-dancers alike, this means learning to trust your body, listen to your cues, and let go of the perfectionism that often holds people back.
A more flexible mindset around food can help you develop sustainable, balanced approaches to nutrition that prioritize both physical and mental well-being. "When people let go of rigid thinking, they start to feel more connected to themselves and their needs," Sherry says.
Strategies for Dancers to Improve Nutrition
Start Small
Sherry emphasizes the importance of starting small and building sustainable habits when improving nutrition. "A lot of people have a perfectionistic mentality that really hinders them from taking that first step," she explained.
Instead of trying to overhaul everything at once, she encourages dancers to focus on manageable changes. "Maybe for someone who eats out three meals a day, the first step is just picking up some fruit and snacking on it. Or maybe it's making dinner at home once a week—whatever feels doable for them."
Reconnect with Your Body
Reconnecting with the body is a fundamental piece of a healthy relationship with food. Sherry helps clients tune into their hunger and fullness cues, which can be disrupted by stress, trauma, or busy schedules. "A lot of people struggle with this, so I meet them where they're at and walk them towards reconnection—with themselves, with food, and with those around them," she said.
Fuel for Performance
For dancers who have a healthy relationship with food and their bodies, dialing in nutrition specifically for performance can be useful. Sherry works with her clients to ensure they're balancing macronutrients—carbs, proteins, and fats—to meet the physical demands of dance. "For performance nutrition, it can get technical," she said. "We look at things like how many hours of training they're doing, how much fluid they're losing, and what ratios of protein, carbs, and fats will help them perform and recover best."
Hydrate
Hydration is also a priority. "Under-hydration is a big issue, especially with how physically demanding dance is," Sherry noted. Dancers should incorporate fluids throughout their day, not just during rehearsals or performances.
Remember: Food is About Connection, Too
Sherry encourages everyone to see food not just as a tool for performance, recovery, and physical health, but also as a way to connect—with themselves, their culture, and the people around them. "Food brings people together," she says, underscoring how meals can create moments of joy, community, and shared experiences.
For dancers, who often face busy schedules and high-pressure environments, it can be easy to fall into a mindset where food becomes purely functional. Sherry helps her clients shift this perspective, reminding them that food can—and should—be an enjoyable and meaningful part of life. Whether it's sharing a meal with friends, preparing a dish that reminds them of home, or simply savoring a favorite snack, food has the power to nourish both body and soul.
Sherry Lin, MFA, RDN is the founder of Rhythm and Nutrition. She combines her nutrition knowledge with her passion for dance to help people experience a deeper, more holistic connection in mind, body, spirit, & community.