Demands placed on dancers are ever-increasing: jumps so high and suspended for so long that you’re practically your own airline, extensions high enough you could pass for a human clock, neverending pirouettes, backbends to rival a gymnast, oh and of course, be versatile enough to execute different genres effortlessly. In the past, technique classes and open classes used to be sufficient to tide dancers through gruelling rehearsals. Now? We’d be thanking our lucky stars if the entire company gets through production season with minimal injuries. Formal dance classes alone are insufficient preparation for the physical demands of performance. Integrating strength training is key to bridging the gap between training and performance demands, reducing rates of injury, and helping dancers enjoy a longer career span.
Injury Prevention
A sudden increase in training volume and intensity is associated with an increase in the risk of overload injuries, with lower extremity and muscular injuries being the most common. Muscle strains and ligament sprains are especially common in dancers working at end ranges of each joint. The traditional dance-only training method does not provide adequate overload or variation. Strong muscles around the hip, pelvis and trunk are essential in dancers for stability, balance and muscle coordination when performing complex movements. A 12-week resistance training program by Koutedakis et al. (2004) for ballet dancers demonstrated a significant increase in strength, and ability to generate force after a fatiguing dance routine. The study’s results also showed that weaker or more novice dancers are more responsive to the training and would benefit further from a structured resistance training program.
Training exercises pre-rehearsal should focus on fundamental movement patterns, promote muscle balance across joints and strengthen commonly injured areas such as the quadriceps and hamstrings, and the deep stabilizing muscles such as the transverse abdominus. Exercises can be arranged from the most metabolically demanding to lesser, so as to minimize the effects of fatigue, which could promote poor technique and increase the risk of injury. Once fundamental movement patterns are learnt and dancers are able to perform the exercises with control and proper technique, the repetitions can be reduced and the load increased – either by increasing the movement difficulty or applying an external load.
Progressive overload, specificity, and variation are essential to adaptation. Ineffective additions of these variables into the exercise variables could be attributed to strength deficits and muscle imbalances commonly seen in dancers.
Cross Training for Dancers
Strength, flexibility, and power are the 3 main elements of cross training recommended for dancers. Plyometric and resistance training both produce significant improvements in:
- movement precision
- jumping ability
- flexibility
- postural control (and therefore balance)
- leg strength
all without any significant change in body composition.
It is important to highlight that previously held beliefs of strength training negatively affecting aesthetic appearances are unsubstantiated and have been refuted.
Our muscle structure consists of:
- slow twitch fibers – producing low level, long lasting force, less easily fatigued
- fast twitch fibers – intermittent and high force production e.g. lifting and jumping, easily fatigued
Genetics also play a role in the proportion of each type of muscle fiber we have. Strength training has also been recommended as a means of increasing bone health and preventing osteoporosis in female dancers.
Multilateral strength training is recommended in the initial stage to strengthen all muscle groups and allow development for future heavy loads and subsequent specific training. Optimal strength training programs should incorporate exercises that simulate the plane of movement, direction, and specific angle in which the skill is performed. This movement specificity allows peripheral adaptations to occur in the muscle fibers. Exercises should also challenge the muscle coordination that will be required to perform the move optimally, i.e. speed, specificity of muscle group, and specificity of muscle action.
Plyometric (jump) training has been shown to have a positive effect on power-related variables in dancers. To avoid injury, plyometric training must be approached gradually and systematically. The Harkness Centre for Dance Injuries has developed guidelines for the implementation of a safe and effective dance-specific dance training program.
Guidelines for Resistance Training
Thus far, there is no guideline created specifically for resistance training in the dance population, and most study protocols have been built on existing recommendations for strength training.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommendations for strength training for healthy adults are as follows:
| Focus | Frequency | Intensity | Repetitions | Type |
| Strength | 2-3x/week with at least 48h separating training sessions for the same muscle group | 60-70% of 1RM, gradually increasing to ≧80% of 1RM | 8-12 reps, 2-4 sets |
· Multi-joint exercises affecting more than 1 muscle group, and targeting agonist and antagonist muscle groups · Single-joint exercises targeting major muscle groups |
| Endurance | <50% of 1RM | 15-25 reps, ≤2 sets | ||
| Power | 20-60% of 1RM | 3-6 reps, 1-3 sets |
Kalaycioglu et al. (2018) found that core stabilisation training performed for 45-60 minutes per day, 3 days a week, for 8 weeks achieved significant increases in several physical fitness parameters such as jumping, proprioception, coordination, and dynamic balance. The exercises consisted of mat-based core strength and Pilates exercises, as well as a swiss ball, stability trainer, and dance-specific balance exercises performed on different surfaces with both eyes open and closed. Exercise progression consisted of increased number of repetitions of the exercises and changing of the surface.
Take Home Message
Increased and consistent strength training will provide dancers with a stronger movement foundation. Dancers can then focus on enhancing technique and artistry rather than focusing on their ability to complete movements during routines.
References
Kalaycioglu, T., Apostolopoulos, N. C., Goldere, S., Duger, T., & Baltaci, G. (2020). Effect of a Core Stabilization Training Program on Performance of Ballet and Modern Dancers. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 34(4), 1166–1175. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002916
Koutedakis, Y, and Jamurtas, A. The Dancer as a Performing Athlete: Physiological Considerations. Sports Med 34: 651-661, 2004.
Koutedakis, Y and Sharp, NCC. Thigh-Muscles Strength Training, Dance Exercise, Dynamometry, and Anthropometry in Professional Ballerinas. J Strength Cond Res 18: 714-718, 2004.
Rafferty S. (2010). Considerations for integrating fitness into dance training. Journal of dance medicine & science : official publication of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, 14(2), 45–49.
Steinberg, N, Aujla, I, Zeev, A, and Redding, E. Injuries among Talented Young Dancers: Findings from the UK Centres for Advanced Training. Int J Sports Med 35: 238-244, 2014.
