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Meet Mallory Weeman of Leg Up | Dancer Conditioning in Centennial

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Mallory Weeman.

Mallory, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Yes, so I have been in the dance industry for over ten years, choreographing, teaching, performing, and coaching. I’ve been working with and coaching competitive dance companies since 2009, and to me, it is just the best job in the world. I love working with the kids, building relationships with them and watching them grow as artists, athletes, and humans.

In 2015, I got into the fitness world like I had never been before. I saw how much cross-training improved my own dance technique, and knew this was something I wanted to pursue more and bring into the dance studio setting. That same year I completed my Personal Trainer Certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine so that I could be training my dancers with integrity and proper knowledge. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of harmful techniques passed down through generations of dance instructors, many of which are still prevalent. Luckily, the industry is starting to realize that the abundance of injuries seen in the dance world, especially in children, can be lessened significantly with the proper cross-training.

All of this work culminated in Leg Up – my dance-specific personal training business, where I work with young dancers in an individualized one-on-one setting on their strength, stability, mobility, and flexibility. I do this alongside the competitive company that I coach for at Centerstage Starz Dance Studio. I also recently passed my exam for NASM’s Corrective Exercise Specialization, so I’m happy to be able to add that to my list of qualifications.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Honestly, the biggest struggle to get my business off the ground was financial. Teaching dance, while incredibly fulfilling in so many ways, isn’t the most lucrative of careers. I knew I wanted to keep my training business small, so I converted an unused space within the dance studio into my personal training studio. I also knew I wanted to purchase all of the equipment, including floors/mirrors/etc. With my own money, without the use of loans or favors, so I ended up having to push the opening date of Leg Up back a few times. The training studio took shape slowly, affording what I could when I could. But now that it’s open and functional, I am proud that I took the time to pay out of pocket for all of it.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Leg Up | Dancer Conditioning – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Leg Up is an advanced personal training program for dancers who are looking to level up their dance training by improving their physical conditioning in a one-on-one environment. I focus on improving the biomechanics of a dancer’s body through improving their strength, stability, flexibility, body awareness, and more. This culminates in both performance enhancement and injury prevention. This is especially important in young dancers who are still growing and developing as athletes – injuries cause large set-backs for dancers, and almost always result in altered body mechanics, creating both postural and dynamic imbalances. It is very important for me to check in with every dancer’s individual goals so that we can work together to help reach them. I offer a 30-minute free assessment to start out with, to ensure the readiness of the dancer for this type of training program.

Having worked in the dance industry for so long, I have seen how it’s changed and how much more competitive it is now. The demands placed on dancers – physically, mentally, and of course, their time commitment – has grown an incredible amount and will continue to grow. It is important to me to keep dancers healthy in the face of these demands, so that they can continue to be competitive and improve their skills, without sacrificing their own physical health.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plans for the future are to continue doing exactly what I’m doing right now. I love my job, I love the students I teach, and I love being in Denver. I feel very fortunate to do what I love and have a positive impact on others while doing it. I can only hope I continue to grow with Leg Up as well, and with that growth, keep creating healthy, strong, athletic artists.

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