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The physical demands of dance, whether in the twenty first or nineteenth century, are significant and leave lasting effects on the body. While modern dance medicine offers expertise in injury prevention and treatment, physical conditioning, nutrition, and mental health, dancers in the early nineteenth century faced a different reality. Without affordable medical care, how did they sustain their careers and manage injuries or fatigue? For many, the herbal medicine chest may have provided essential remedies for sprains, bruises, blisters, sore muscles, and exhaustion. Cleanliness for good health, linked to morality, was emphasized in publications like The Illustrated Manners Book (1855). Did dancers have access to clean water in their workplace to prevent infection? Although little is documented about how dancers cared for their health, household guides such as The Young Lady’s Friend (1836) offer clues about common herbal treatments that may have been adapted to dancers’ needs. This paper explores the likely contents of a nineteenth-century dancer’s herbal medicine chest and considers how these remedies addressed the physical toll of their art. In a time when conventional medical care was often inaccessible, these treatments played a crucial role in supporting dancers’ ability to perform and endure the rigors of their profession.

Ambre Emory-Maier is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Kent State University. She uses Labanotation and other resources to re-stage dances and examine questions around ownership, memory, and transference and currently works with The George Balanchine Foundation. Her recent creative work was a restaging of Michael Uthoff’s Murmurs of A Stream. Ms. Emory-Maier has presented internationally at many conferences such as Early Oxford Dance Symposium, Dance Studies Association, and International Council for Kinetography Laban. She is a contributor to the DIGIT.EN.S Encyclopedia.