Show and Tell: Inside Lesley Rausch’s Dance Bag

Pacific Northwest Ballet principal Lesley Rausch carries a miniature health store with her every day. “When I was younger I took a lot of drugstore drugs to treat aches and pains,” she says. “But now I’ve found my body processes natural things better. I’m on and off anti-inflammatories for different injuries anyway, so when I don’t have to take drugs, I prefer not to.”

Because Rausch never likes to be caught unprepared, her collection of natural remedies is pretty impressive. There’s her bottle of ConcenTrace, trace mineral drops she adds to her water for electrolytes. “You basically end up with a sports drink without all the sugar,” she says. There’s her tube of Sportenine tablets, homeopathic aids that ease cramping; she likes to take one between every act of a hard ballet. And there’s Herbal Cool, a spray with arnica that helps loosen stiff muscles. “If your calf’s really sore mid-rehearsal, you can just spray and go.”

The Goods

MPG jacket (the company is owned by the husband of a former PNB dancer, Chalnessa Eames); KIND bar; trail mix (“I always grab what I like at Trader Joe’s and make my own”); scarf; legwarmers; pointe shoes; flat shoes; plastic bag containing ConcenTrace, Sportenine, Herbal Cool, Traumeel, Jordan Samuel hydrosol mist (“Jordan Samuel is a line by former PNB dancer Jordan Pacitti, who’s an esthetician now—this stuff is really refreshing to spray on after I sweat a lot”) and deodorant; Thera-Bands; Beatles pointe shoe bag (“The Beatles are my bad-day music—they’ll cheer me up”); booties; massage balls; silk pouch for storing jewelry (“I’m notorious for wearing multiple bracelets, which are not exactly conducive to partnering”); Mueller Dermal Pads (“We call them ‘fake fat’—they’re super-squishy, great for protecting your toes”).