Dance companies should understand that, while one might logically assume that professionals will find a way to keep themselves in shape, a basic understanding of human nature—and the incredible emotional stress brought on by trying to survive a pandemic—suggests that not everyone will be able to maintain their athleticism, explosiveness, and functional mobility. So a conservative return to performance preparation is the best approach.
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The biggest takeaway from this discussion? Even if all of us might not agree on an exercise, you should always do an analysis not unlike the above around why you’re including an exercise in a program. If you can’t justify an exercise beyond “I thought it was cool” or “I saw this on Instagram and wanted to try it,” then you’re at risk of wasting valuable time in the gym. That’s time and energy in particular that dancers don’t have to waste.
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Every strength coach will tell you that they evolve over time, but at this point I can tell you that I’m certain training the posterior chain for dancers is going to be something that evolves for us over time. Dancers cannot afford not to have easy neuromuscular access to these muscles, and yet there is a risk to loading hinge movements in order to target these muscles when the proper work hasn’t been done to ensure sound biomechanics. This is where early off-season work, when dancers are still recovering from the rigors of performing, can be critical to drilling good form as a foundation for loading later in the summer. But if the loading happens before the form is established, strength coaches could inadvertently be steering dancers into injury.
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