Complementary Training for Dancers

The influence of complementary training on dancers' performance is well stated in the literature. Just the dance practice is insufficient to develop the required physical capacities and prepare dancers to dance. Although the training's specificity is an essential aspect of performance, the prescription of such training is challenged by how dance is conducted nowadays. Dance companies are increasingly appealing to dancers to perform different styles and varied movement repertoire. Each dance modality has its specificities that require specific training, and thus complementary training is essential for maintaining a healthy dance career. Despite the vast literature reinforcing the need for complementary training to increase performance and decrease dancers' injury rate, only a few specific training programs for dancers were found to the best of the authors' knowledge. This chapter aims to describe the development of three methods: best performance and movement (BPM), the breakalign methodology, and power ballet original.

Dancing Body and Artistic Creation

This chapter aimed to explore, through the framework of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalytical theories, Vaslav Nijinsky's particular usage of his artistic creations. The history of Nijinsky's revolutionary talent and his mental health decline was the focus of this chapter. Nijinsky's formation as a dancer and his unique talent, and the specificities of his original subversive pieces were addressed. What can Nijinsky's trajectory teach about the artistry of sublimation and the use of the body in dance? Findings were contrasted with data from Maricela Sulbaran Zerpa's research concerning dancers and their relationship with their bodies alongside some contemporary testimonies of dancers.

The Psychology of Creativity in Dance

Dance science researchers have developed a body of work and knowledge that focuses on understanding physical and psychological skills, leading to performance optimisation in dance. Research has predominantly focused on what constitutes a fit, healthy dancer, but the focus on dance's creative elements has been considerably less. This chapter provides an overview of the place of creativity in the skillset of a training or professional dancer. Several theories of motivation and personality that might be relevant for developing creativity in dance are discussed. Within this chapter, the authors aim to highlight the fundamental role of psychology in dancers' creativity.

Applications of Biomechanics Analysis in Dance

The field of sports biomechanics aims to improve performance and decrease injury rates in athletes. Although first developed thinking of athletes, sports biomechanics analysis was expanded to the dance field due to the similarities between athletes and dancers, including high workload, high injuries incidence, and the constant seeking of performance improvements. For the past few decades, a field focused only on dancers, thus called “dance biomechanics,” has used sports biomechanics literature and produced its own knowledge analysing different dancers and many types of dance. Many questions have been made about dance, and some of those have been addressed by dance biomechanics. This chapter will explain how science has tried to answer many of them.

Motor Behaviour and Physical Capacities Analysis From the Laban Movement Analysis

Dance education should not be thought of as only regarding the motor learning perspective. This chapter will look at how the motor challenges happen and which physical capacities would aid the efforts and qualities of the movement. The Taxonomy of Pitta's Dance was envisioned based on the first movement analysis by Rudolf Laban. Laban Movement Analysis system was proposed observing the dynamic change in the quality of movement, which can be compared to the variability of motor behaviour. From this analysis, motor challenges may be consistent and compatible with the movement studied. Understanding the movement qualities during choreography allows the development of an effective physical training program for dancers to support the choreography characteristics and decrease injuries.

Flexibility

Activities such as ballet and other dance and rhythmic and artistic gymnastics are often recommended in childhood and adolescence. Among the many required motor capabilities to perform the activities above is flexibility. However, there is a gap between flexibility in scientific production and the proper use of this knowledge in dance classrooms. One of the reasons might be due to dance culture, which regards its knowledge to empirical learning. Many dancers believe that to improve their flexibility, the longer and the more intense they stretch, the better. The excess in the flexibility training might cause acute or even chronic injuries that may preclude dancers' performance without proper treatment. Although the range of motion represents flexibility, understanding how flexibility improves requires understanding how the muscle-tendon unit behaves to the stretches. This chapter aims to assess the flexibility; improve this capability; and explore differences in training, stretch technique, and some other variables that may affect flexibility performance in dance.

Different Possibilities of Biomechanical Analysis in Dance

This chapter aims to present different assessment methods in biomechanics applied to the dance field. The chapter begins by clarifying some biomechanical concepts to enhance understanding. Thus, the advantages and disadvantages of tests such as dynamic, kinematic, electromyographic, and inverse dynamic analysis will be discussed to provide information to dance professionals use in the field. At the end of the chapter, professionals who work with dancers may choose the most suitable test for the desired evaluation of their students and the equipment that can better fit into the dance school/studio infrastructure and budget.

The Menstrual Cycle and the Dance Performance

The physiological alterations due to the variation in female hormones' concentrations, oestrogen and progesterone, will allow pregnancy or the period to occur. However, this hormone fluctuation across the menstrual cycle phases may affect way more than only the ability to get pregnant. Although the female hormones' primary action is related to the ovum's maturation and implantation, their variation causes many physiological and emotional secondary effects. It is expected that this interaction may, in turn, influence exercise performance, including dance performance; therefore, it is essential to understand better what happens in the body during the menstrual cycle. This understanding may allow better awareness and control of the symptoms, bringing a better quality of life and more remarkable dance performance.

Dance and Its Connection With the Brain and Its Functions

There is interest in neuroscience in investigating the connection between the brain and movement, which is evident with studies with athletes. More recently, studies investigating this connection emerged in dance. Based on evolutionary psychology studies, dance highlights the connection of movement, art, mind, brain, and its functions. From this background, the authors seek to understand whether dance can influence the brain, its functions, and, ultimately, human development. With Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, they investigate dance context and skills developed by dancers. Resorting to research on the effects of dance on the brain, they noticed that dance impacts brain structure and functions and that it can aid human development.

Dance Technique

Dance technique includes the movement vocabulary used by each dance form to deliver a message, embody the style, reach its highest potential when performed at a representative level. The Breaking body's dance technique will be discussed along with the body of the dancer who performs the Breaking style. Breaking as a dance genre creates a platform, providing its practitioner bboys/bgirls with many positive aspects. It is an art form rich in content, possibilities, movement vocabulary fundamentals, opportunities for creativity and individuality. However, the fact that Breaking is physically demanding, with some extremes in range of motion in joints and some ‘unnatural' movement pathways, may be problematic for dancers, causing pain and/or injuries, which in severe cases can become chronic. The four levels of Breaking are presented through a technical analysis of their movements and possible risks the movements may cause.