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Safe Practice in Dance
Many causes of injury and illness in dance are due to:
 mistakes in training
 over-worked
 hard floors
 cold rooms
 repetition in rehearsal
 touring conditions
 psychological stress
 ‘ many teachers lack anatomical, physiological knowledge’ . Peter Brinson,
Healthier Dancer Conference.
Teachers should know more about exercise physiology: teach students how the
body works, injury prevention and how to treat injuries properly. Most dancers
do not follow up the care of injuries and continue to dance instead of resting.
Injuries should be regarded as a signal that something is wrong, a lesson to be
learned, too many times injuries are never identified.
Very few dancers are familiar with the vital ‘RICE’ formula. Dancers should be
more aware that injuries can result from their lifestyle and attitudes to class or
rehearsal. Students should wear suitable clothing in class which allows the
teacher to see the body. Self discipline is vital in dance, going to dance classes
regularly will aid personal growth, security, respect and self confidence.
It should be accepted that dancers ask questions to their choreographers and
teachers on what they require. More recently dance companies are being made
aware of the importance of nutrition, exercise, physiology and anatomy.
However there is still little collaboration between the dance and medical
profession except in big schools such as London Contemporary Dance School,
Rambert Dance School and the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance.
Dance students and professionals are emotionally vulnerable because they
usually begin their training before their personalities are fully formed: they
succumb easily to pressures.
Nutrition - dancers eating habits are extremely bad, even though they know it is
wrong to skip meals, snack on chocolate and smoke. Unfortunately they also give
each other unreliable advice about diets and do not know where to seek advice
and treatment. An increased number of dancers suffer from anorexia or other
eating disorders.
In an ideal world, dancers should receive regular health counselling and be given
a personal health record sheet ( the same support that is available for
athletes ) . Dancers should try maintain proper eating habits and knowledge
about the kind of nutrition dancers need for maximum energy.
‘ Choreographers demand too much of dancers’ bodies, often repeating difficult
movement in too long rehearsals ‘. (Healthier Dancer Conference, Peter Brinson )
Dancers who train in aerobic fitness will increase the blood supply and oxygen to
their muscles:
‘ fluid replacement is vital during exercise, dancers are advised to sip
water during performances and rehearsals’. (Healthier Dancer
Conference, Jann Parry )
Effects of training young dancers (warm ups)
‘ It is essential that students are taught about the importance of a warm
up before beginning their classes. The class itself is not the warm up prior
to the day’s work.
Warm up means that the muscles must be worked gently and thoroughly in
order to increase the blood supply and this will then increase the
flexibility and smoothness of the contraction of the muscles.
It is essential that any dance leader should have a good knowledge of how
the body works both anatomically and physiologically ‘
( Summary of a lecture given at the Dance Medicine Conference in
Guildford on May 30, 1992 ( Dancing Times, Oct.1992 )
Training as a Dancer…
A dancer requires many attributes before becoming a successful performer.
A dancer in training requires a progressive build up of technical ability within in
a well designed programme of training.
What is essential for safe technique ?
 Muscular strength - enables dancer to move with assurance, manage technical
demands of the dance
 Stamina - ability to keep going, sustained performance.
As the muscle groups are developed so must the heart and lungs be prepared for
exercise. The heart develops through use. Raising the heart rate, increases the
blood flow around the body and subsequently the efficiency of muscles.
What should a training program offer ?
 There are 4 principles which apply to all fitness training. They are:
1) Specificity - training must be specific to the activity, the type of fitness
required and which particular muscle groups you need to work.
2) Overload - training must be raised to a higher level than is normal to
create the extra demands to which the body will adapt. This can be done in
three ways:
- Frequency - 3 times a week ( no. of classes )
- Intensity ( how physically demanding or difficult it is e.g. distance
covered in running, lengthen in jumps, decrease less rests, add
weight (foot,arm)
- Duration of time ( how long the training sessions last )
3) Progression - as the body adapts to training it progresses to a new level of
fitness. Progress to the next level is achieved by a gradual increase in
intensity to create an overload.
4) Reversibility - Training effects are reversible. If exercise is reduced in
intensity or stopped altogether then the benefit can be quickly lost.
Deterioration sets in after about one week. Strength and speed are gradually
lost with muscles losing their tone and size.
 opportunity for regular and sustained use of the cardiac muscle ( this
repetitive use will encourage the heart to work effectively )
 general class activity will involve aerobic and anaerobic systems ( cardiovascular fitness ) a dancer strives for increased strength and co-ordination
by perfecting class exercises and improving technique.
 .Co-ordination ( neuro-muscular fitness ) is developed through persistent
training and practice. Repetition in an exercise programme (which uses all the
motor skills ) can stimulate the brain to organise the correct response for the
appropriate movement.This happens as a result of familiarisation via technique
and the repetition with good feedback from the teacher/choreographer
allows the student to make the corrections and the brain learns which
response to make. The technique needs to offer all areas of motor skills such
as: balance, agility, speed , power and reaction time for optimum results.
NB Repetition by itself may achieve nothing. It is only useful if it accompanied
by feedback so that subsequent repetitions can be improved until the motor skill
can be performed time after time with accuracy.
Such technical ability when refined to this degree releases the dancer from
concentrating on the activity as a physical act, and allows him/her to involve
interpretative and emotional responses for a more complete performance.
 A programme of classes should include: variation in movement patterns,
interesting footwork, changes in direction, additional arm movements, changes
of level and pace.
* Flexibility:
- good for dancers as it increases motion
- audiences and choreographers like to see flexibility
reasonable flexibility decreases the risk of injuries
Factors dictating flexibility
 type of joint i.e. shoulders are more flexible than the elbows
 ligaments, tendons are elastic where joined to others
 quality and texture of connective tissue within the muscles
 fat deposits - skin thickness and tightness.
Stretching techniques:
 static stretches
e.g. holding positions for a maximum length (30sec-1min) go into gently, do not
snap, if you do it quickly the muscle tightens
bouncing - this is bad, a quick stretch increases muscle tension and soreness
leads to muscle tears
The best formula is = Propriaceptive neuromuscular facilitation. This method
uses contraction and relaxation of the muscles 3 times ending with a static
stretch.
Other attributes which are important to the dancer’s training include spatial and
rhythmic clarity:
Spatial clarity: awareness /understanding of the dance/performance
space/other dancers.
It is developed as part of the dance class. The warm up will include work on the
floor, standing and moving between. The dancer becomes aware of levels and her
own personal space. The teacher demands accuracy in the execution of the
exercises. The three senses: hearing, sight and touch, are extremely important
in guiding a dancer's movement with proper appreciation for: distance, space and
balance A combination of these senses allows movement to be performed in a
controlled, smooth, co-ordinated manner.
Rhythmic clarity: achieved by an understanding of the accompaniment. Step
patterns and movements can vary in complexity.
Summary
All round training should include strength and flexibility exercises.
‘ Training the body involves a systematic use of repetitive and progressive
exercises to stress the muscular skeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular and
nervous system. The goal is to inharness the various components on
various fitness, or conditioning including strength,flexibility, neuromuscular co-ordination, and cardiovascular respiratory function such that
a given movement can be performed repeatedly, efficiently with optimal
and without indue fatigue ‘.
( From K. Clippinger - Robertson, Science of Dance Training 1988 )
Training hopes to achieve:
1. Aerobic and anaerobic fitness
2. Appropriate muscle development and flexibility
3. Neuromuscular co-ordination