- Supplementary Muscular Fitness Training for Dancers:
https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.iadms.org/resource/resmgr/Public/Bull_4-1_pp15-17_Kozai.pdf
- Fitter Dancers Dance Better
The Effects of Supplementary Fitness Training in
Contemporary Dance
Manuela Angioi, M.Sc., Ph.D., Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine, Queen Mary
University of London, UKhttps://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.iadms.org/resource/resmgr/Public/IADMS_Bulletin_DT_5-1.pdf
In both of these articles various experiments are carried out by splitting a group of dancers into two. One group is named the intervention group and this group is the one which undertakes some form of supplementary training alongside their usual dance training and the other group is named the control group and they simply carry on with their usual dance training.
Firstly I will talk about the article titled 'Supplemenatry Muscular Fitness Training for Dancers'. The main topics in this article are about how dancers can support their work and improvement in the studio through the use of supplementary training. 'Research has found that class is generally conducted at a lower intensity than rehearsal, and
neither class nor rehearsals reach the physiological
intensity of performance.1 This means that class and
rehearsal don’t provide enough overload (stressing the
body beyond that to which it is accustomed) to prepare
the dancer for performance.'
Although this is a very interesting point here I think it is difficult to generalise the intensity of a class because there are so many variables. A ballet class with one teacher could be completely different to another. Or even on a day to day basis the intensity of a class could change. I've read that the author of the article made a reference here and put a link to Wyon's research. Wyon MA, Abt G, Redding E, Head A, Sharp NC. Oxygen
uptake during modern dance class, rehearsal, and perfor-
mance. J Strength Cond Res. 2004;18(3):646-9. He measured dancer's heat rate and oxygen intake in class, rehearsal and performance and found out they were both much higher in dance performance than in either class of rehearsal. However this was in a modern dance environment which could differ to ballet. Also the intensity of the performance will have an impact of these results. It would be interesting to compare these results to a similar study with dancers in a ballet company and see if they are the same.
The results in the article say that supplementary training should occur at an intensity higher than the traditional technique class. If working at a 6 or 7 in class then your supplementary training should take place at an 8. It will be interesting to bring this up in my interviews with people to see the opinions of this from a dancer's point of view.
One area of this article that jumps out at me every time I read is point number 5 in the 'section for teachers'. 'Supplemental conditioning should take place well before
any scheduled performances. The higher intensities can
temporarily cause fatigue, and the body requires time
and rest to adapt. Roughly two weeks should separate
the end of a conditioning program and the beginning
of a performance period.' This study was carried out on students so this may be quite plausible for them to not do supplementary conditioning close to a performance. However, for professionals performing all the time this is impossible and would mean that we could never do any supplementary conditioning other than in our time off in between seasons. This makes me think that perhaps professional dancers should participate in a less strenuous form of supplementary training during performance periods.
Another point of interest I have picked up from this article is about the aesthetic demands of a dancer and if certain forms of supplementary could have a hindering affect on a dancer's physical appearance. It mentions that lots of dancers fear weight training may lead to bulky muscles and loss of flexibility so this is a subject I will bring up in my interviews. I will also be interested to see if whether different types of dancers, for example contemporary, jazz and ballet dancers all have different views on this subject.
In the second article I've looked at 'Fitter dancers dance better' an experiment is carried out on a group of contemporary dancers to try and see how their muscular and endurance and aerobic fitness could be improved. Again in this article contemporary dancers are used in the experiment rather than ballet dancers so I feel like this is a gap in their research that would be interesting for me to research further because ballet is my professional practice.
Experiment:
Intervention group -
Circuit training, whole body vibration training and 10 mins rest - Two 1 hour sessions a week for 6 weeks
CT - dance based e.g.,grand plie in second position
WBV - holding static positions on a vibrating platform. Eg, pile and releve.
The results from this experiment show that only the intervention group showed improvements in their muscular power, endurance and aerobic capacity. 'The observed increased aerobic levels were attributed to the circuit training, while the increases in muscular power and endurance were considered to be a result of the combined CT and WBV training. The latter in particular has been proven to elicit both concentric and eccentric contractions.' This shows that the dancers who are only participating in dance classes are not making improvements in their fitness which shows us that dance training alone is not sufficient enough to cause physical adaptations to enhance dancer's fitness.
Another important point raised here by this experiment is the link between physical fitness and the artistic elements of the dancers. Just because you are a fitter dancer does that make you better? So much of dance is subjective and it can be difficult for people to agree on what is the idea of 'better'. Things like height of jumps and extension of legs can be measured but quality of movement cannot.
Experiment:
Intervention group -
Circuit training, whole body vibration training and 10 mins rest - Two 1 hour sessions a week for 6 weeks
CT - dance based e.g.,grand plie in second position
WBV - holding static positions on a vibrating platform. Eg, pile and releve.
The results from this experiment show that only the intervention group showed improvements in their muscular power, endurance and aerobic capacity. 'The observed increased aerobic levels were attributed to the circuit training, while the increases in muscular power and endurance were considered to be a result of the combined CT and WBV training. The latter in particular has been proven to elicit both concentric and eccentric contractions.' This shows that the dancers who are only participating in dance classes are not making improvements in their fitness which shows us that dance training alone is not sufficient enough to cause physical adaptations to enhance dancer's fitness.
Another important point raised here by this experiment is the link between physical fitness and the artistic elements of the dancers. Just because you are a fitter dancer does that make you better? So much of dance is subjective and it can be difficult for people to agree on what is the idea of 'better'. Things like height of jumps and extension of legs can be measured but quality of movement cannot.
'As previously suggested
this is because dancers use their bodies as instruments of
expression and most common technical skills/movements
(jumps, transitory movements, etc.) used in contemporary
dance require enhanced fitness levels as well as artistry'. I believe that these two components of dance work together hand in hand and it is a combination and balance between these two things that make a good dancer. This was referenced in here when this topic was spoken about in the text:
Angioi M, Metsios GS, Twitchett E, Koutedakis Y, Wyon M. Association between selected physical fitness parameters and aesthetic competence in contemporary dancers. J Dance Med Sci. 2009;13(4):115-23.
In the section of the text where suggestions are made for teachers it is suggested that training sessions should be scheduled at the end of the day so as to not interfere with the dancer's already heavy workload. It also states that the selection of exercises can be tailored to specific choreographic demands. The article concludes by talking about Weight Based Vibration training and how effective it is at minimal time cost. I would like to do further research into this as I don't know much about this form of training. Unfortunately, as a touring company we wouldn't be able to have this equipment, however a power plate or some similar equipment is easily accessible at a gym so it could be interesting for me to see use of this could be tailored specifically for dancer's needs.
To conclude both of these articles although carrying out different experiments prove the same results that supplementary training is definitely beneficial for dancers!
Angioi M, Metsios GS, Twitchett E, Koutedakis Y, Wyon M. Association between selected physical fitness parameters and aesthetic competence in contemporary dancers. J Dance Med Sci. 2009;13(4):115-23.
In the section of the text where suggestions are made for teachers it is suggested that training sessions should be scheduled at the end of the day so as to not interfere with the dancer's already heavy workload. It also states that the selection of exercises can be tailored to specific choreographic demands. The article concludes by talking about Weight Based Vibration training and how effective it is at minimal time cost. I would like to do further research into this as I don't know much about this form of training. Unfortunately, as a touring company we wouldn't be able to have this equipment, however a power plate or some similar equipment is easily accessible at a gym so it could be interesting for me to see use of this could be tailored specifically for dancer's needs.
To conclude both of these articles although carrying out different experiments prove the same results that supplementary training is definitely beneficial for dancers!
This article below is another interesting one I have found on the IADMS website:
Pilates Technique for Improving Dancers’
Performance
Tania Amorim, M.Sc., and Matthew Wyon, Ph.D., Research Centre for Sport, Exercise
and Performance, University of Wolverhampton, Walsall, UK; National Institute for
Dance Medicine and Science, UK
This article talks about the results of an experiment carried out that compares two groups of dancers strengths. One group does three sessions of Pilates a week and the other just partakes in regular dance classes. The result clearly show the the Pilates group improve in strength, control and develope height. Whereas the other group (the control group) remain the same.
This article talks about the results of an experiment carried out that compares two groups of dancers strengths. One group does three sessions of Pilates a week and the other just partakes in regular dance classes. The result clearly show the the Pilates group improve in strength, control and develope height. Whereas the other group (the control group) remain the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment