How do you experience your motherhood when you dance at Crazy Horse Paris? The first curves must not show too much, and the pounds of pregnancy must have disappeared after childbirth before going back on stage. We met Nahia Vigorosa, one of the captains, also the mother of a 9 month old little girl.
During the month of April, the Crazy Horse gives the floor to its dancers, to enhance them and “unveil the woman behind the artist” “We feel more valued, we have the chance to have a little more intimate contact with the public who ask us questions about our journey at the end of the show.“, specifies us Nahia Vigorosa, dancer for nearly 14 years at the Crazy Horse. Of Spanish origin, she is now part of the team of captains and has traveled the world to the United States to promote the shows. “All these experiences are very enriching”testifies the crazy girl, also a young mother of 9-month-old Helena. But how do you manage your pregnancy and motherhood when you dance in such an institution? We met Nahia Vigorosa, who answers our questions between two rehearsals.
How is the pregnancy going for a Crazy Horse dancer?
When you’re pregnant, you don’t always feel very comfortable with your body. As a dancer, we are used to mastering and controlling our body. During pregnancy, our muscles and hips relax to make room for the baby. I had to do completely different work, in particular by working more on breathing, it’s a challenge as a woman and a dancer. And then, between us, in the dressing rooms, we look at each other and given that the breasts take on volume, we see immediately if a dancer is pregnant.
Until which month of pregnancy are you allowed to go on stage?
It all depends on the woman, whether the belly is visible or not, and how the future mother experiences the beginning of pregnancy. As long as the belly is not yet visible, it is not disturbing for the show. In general, this is seen from the third month of pregnancy. Thereby, if everything goes well and you’re not too sick at the start of your pregnancy, you can dance for about 2-3 months.
Isn’t dancing pregnant too difficult at the beginning of pregnancy?
I was lucky enough to get pregnant in October 2020. During this period, I danced pregnant for a month without knowing that I was expecting a baby, then we quickly stopped due to the confinement. For me it was perfect because I was very tired and quite sick. I even canceled several live shows and dance classes that we were organizing during the confinement on social networks… I don’t think I would have been able to dance if there had been shows.
After giving birth, when can a Crazy Horse dancer resume performing?
Again, it all depends on each woman. It is said that it takes 9 months to make a baby and 9 months to find his body. So do not rush at first because it is an upheaval for the body. You have to wait for all the organs to get back in place, and you wait before resuming sport. The perineum is then re-educated (about 6 weeks) and finally the abdominal re-education (another 6 weeks), in order to avoid diastases. This is when you can resume exercises and training.
What if there are a few pounds of pregnancy left?
If you have a few extra pounds, you can’t resume the show. Our costumes are made to measure and at the level of the body, it is also very specific: you have to respect a harmony with the group. It is necessary to measure between 1.68 meters and 1.72 meters, and have pretty shapes. However, the Crazy Horse offers us a certain budget to help us get back in shape: either by calling on a personalized coach, by doing massages against water retention, by taking gym or sports lessons.. .
How do you organize yourself to manage the shows and your life as a mother?
We are lucky to have a great nanny who lives next door, as my husband also works evenings. The advantage of working staggered hours is that I don’t have to take my daughter to daycare during the day., since I am at home. I can thus take advantage of her until about 5 p.m. And when I have rehearsals, it’s often the dad who looks after her, or the nanny. What is difficult, however, is the fatigue that accumulates as a dancer and as a mother.
