A day in the life of a dancer and coach, and how her Sleep Number^® bed helps with rest and recovery.

Julie Mordhorst started dancing when she was two and a half years old. Now twenty-six, she has made dancing her career, one that has led her from studios to state tournaments to the Super Bowl halftime show. 

“I’m on my feet, moving, Monday through Saturday, from 2 p.m.to 9 p.m.,” Julie says. Her day starts at Maple Grove High School, outside Minneapolis, where she coaches the dance team. The season runs from October to mid-February, with practices four to five days each week for three hours each day, and competitions twice per week. 

High school dance teams compete in two categories: high kicks and jazz, each requiring different types of movement, but always in close coordination. Julie’s team this year had thirteen members, whose every leap and spin and kick and burst of movement and momentary pause had to be executed with minute precision, through a combination of athleticism and finesse, and judged on ten different criteria. 

“A lot of people might think that dance is an easy sport,” Julie says, “but it’s not just pretty—it’s actually very hard on your body, from head to toe, and lots of time and energy goes into it.” 

After the high school dance team is done for the day, Julie still has more work, heading to one of the two dance studios where she teaches classes. “It’s a lot,” she says with a laugh, “but it’s nice to have a passion for what you’re doing, versus just it being grueling.”

This year, there was another twist to the season: the Maple Grove dance team was part of the Super Bowl halftime show, with Julie joining them. “We were doing morning practices, starting around 6 a.m. and going till 8 a.m or 9 a.m.,” Julie says, “and in the afternoon we headed down to U.S. Bank Stadium to run practices with Justin Timberlake until 9 p.m.” The weekend of the big game was especially busy, with the section tournament—to qualify for state—falling on the Saturday before the Super Bowl. But Julie’s team not only persevered but flourished—qualifying for the state tournament in the jazz dance category, and placing third, the sixteenth consecutive year the team has placed at state, a true dynasty. 

Because she’s so active, and has been for so long, Julie says “I know that recovery and sleep are super important.” That’s especially true on those days when practices and rehearsals both run late and start early. When Julie and her boyfriend, Andy, moved in together about a year ago, Julie did research to find the best mattress, one that would serve both of their needs. Her search led her to Sleep Number. “We decided to get the nicest one,” Julie says, “and with Sleep Number I knew that as you changed, you had control to adjust the bed.” It was an investment in their shared long-term comfort, helping them thrive and keep moving. 

Julie’s Sleep Number^® setting started at 35 but she has adjusted it to 40. Andy’s is 35.

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