But the one way we’re not using conditioning is to try to rush to get a dancer in shape for a difficult piece in-season. Once the season starts, if a dancer already isn’t in the condition she needs to be, rushing to try to make that happen with a lot of cardio is probably a recipe for wearing that dancer down. That’s where early off-season conversations around schedule, the previous year’s performances, and educated guesses about the coming year are critical.
Read MoreOur approach is to try to prepare every dancer we see as if they are principals or soloists, which means an emphasis on interval training that tracks with the demands of high intensity performances. If someone usually dances is the corps—these dancers have demonstrated relatively weaker cardiovascular capacity in studies, according to the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research—but are prepared for the rigors of solo or principal work, then the chances of them getting chosen to perform more rigorous choreography improves.
Read MoreIt’s not difficult to find dancers standing on one leg, pointing their toes, and doing some sort of strength move atop a BOSU ball. Probably strength coaches are too hostile to BOSU balls, but when it comes to efficiency, you’re better off leaving your specific balance training to the dance setting and focusing instead on strength, coordination, conditioning, and mobility when you’re strength training.
Read MoreMy priority as a strength coach is to simplify matters and find efficiencies for my dancers and athletes as much as possible. The good news is, we have data, experience, and research from thousands of athletes around the world—and an increasing amount of this work is being done with women specifically in mind. So if we synthesize Abbie Smith-Ryan’s work with some of this other research and best practices, we begin to see a picture emerge for what healthy body composition strategies look like for dancers.
Read MoreDancers are renowned for their work ethic, so the idea that they’re not working hard enough on their conditioning might come as a surprise. Don’t get me wrong, this has nothing to do with discipline or toughness. Sometimes dancers just don’t know how to work hard in the right way.
Read MoreOur understanding of this dynamic in the sports world is nearly intuitive. If our best players are able to stay on the field longer and miss fewer games because of injury, our team has a better chance of winning. The dance world is no different, except for it relies on an approach that cares for injuries once they’ve happened (with physical therapists and athletic trainers) rather than an approach that simultaneously enhances performance and prevents injury.
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