Why Are Dancers Strong?
Strength in Dance
Read below to find out why strength is so important in dance and how you can become stronger to improve your dancing!
It’s Not All About Stretching & Flexibility..
It's easy to see the part that flexibility and stretching play in dancing when you see dancers with amazing extensions and beautiful leaps. However, most people don’t realise that those wondrous feats require strength as much as (if not more than) flexibility. Stretching is vital to achieve flexibility; however, strength will support your flexibility ensuring you maintain your technique and prevent injury. As you probably know, stretching just once won’t help you long-term; consistency is key! The same can be said for strength. Creating a weekly stretching/strengthening schedule will help you stay on track; even if it’s hard, stick to it! Soon, you will start seeing improvement in your classes.
Why Dancers Need to be Strong
As dancers, we put our bodies in some crazy positions and push them to the limits so in turn, we need to be strong. If your body is strong, it will allow you to hit positions, movements and choreography with more power while maintaining the correct technique. Using correct technique is important in preventing injuries and keeping your dances looking neat and polished; we can do this by building up muscle memory. Like your brain, muscles can build memories, like remembering what muscles you were using when you did an amazing double turn. Building up reliable muscle memory allows you to focus on performing rather than what your body should be doing. Another reason strength is crucial for dancers (and all athletes!) is that building strength builds muscle resilience, which can prevent injuries and reduce recovery times‼!
What Muscles Do You Use?
In short - ALL OF THEM! However, when thinking specifically, we can focus on a few different muscles (or muscle groups) that are SUPER important for dance. There are so many muscles in your body that allow you to move freely when dancing, for example:
Core: Your core is vital in keeping you upright and strong when moving. Strong core muscles (including your abdominals and obliques) help your posture in turns, jumps, floor work and basically everything you do. You may notice that you’re leaning forward or backwards in your turns and jumps, this means that you need to strengthen your core muscles in order to achieve clean movements with correct technique.
Feet: Your feet are one of if not the most important muscle structures in dance. Your feet help you to jump, turn, pointe, flex, and keep you grounded on the floor. Keeping your feet healthy and strong will allow you to dance for a longer period of time. This is why it is so important to wear the correct shoes to class, to protect your feet and prevent them from getting tired or injured as well as warm them up and cool them down properly.
Quads: Your quadriceps (or quads) allow you to control the landing of your jumps and pull up your supporting leg in turns. Strong quads will allow you to land your jumps softly and safely, control your legs in turns, and overall give you more precise and clean movements.
Shoulders: Did you know that there are eight muscles in your shoulders?! All of them are important in holding your Port de Bras. Strong arms also help support and maintain good posture and balance, which are essential for beautiful turns, jumps, and floor work. Your shoulders also hold up your neck and head, which we use all the time! Not only for spotting our turns and leaps but to finish our lines and portray specific emotions.
How to Strengthen
So, how do you strengthen your muscles? Common ways to strengthen include doing exercises targeting a specific muscle group or ones that focus on correcting and maintaining proper technique. You can find these exercises by taking notes on exercises you do in class, searching on the internet (some websites are targeted to dancers specifically), or most importantly asking your teachers! They can help you decide on goals and suitable exercises to work on.
Some examples of exercises include:
Squats: to strengthen your quads, work on control and help with your pliés.
Rises: to strengthen your feet and calves.
Curls/Planks: to strengthen your core muscles and assist your posture.
Arm-raises/Push-ups: to strengthen your arms and shoulders.
Floor Barre: If you're looking to work on your technique (especially for ballet) you may like to try ‘floor barre’: essentially ‘floor barre’ is just like normal barre, however, you’re lying on the floor. As weird as it may sound, this type of exercise allows you to focus on your technique and build positive muscle memory without having to focus on other things like balance or timing.
You really don’t need any fancy equipment to do these exercises however if you like, tools such as ankle weights, barbells, small exercise balls, yoga blocks, looped stretch bands and resistance bands (these can be purchased at the studio!) can be used. Just make sure you’re using them correctly and not injuring yourself, you can always search for how to use these products or ask someone knowledgeable like your dance teachers.
Injury Prevention
As mentioned before, injuries are no fun! So, it’s important that you put in effort to prevent those injuries! You can do this by:
Creating an appropriate stretching and strengthening routine
Not attempting anything unsafe! If you can’t do a specific movement safely yet, work on it before you go full out. Also, be sure to let your teachers know if you need help or don’t feel safe doing something.
Talking to your teachers! Ask them if there is an easier variation of an exercise you could do before trying something new/hard or if there are things you could work on.
Ensuring you recover and rest after classes (including cool-down stretches, applying ice or heat, drinking water, eating well and getting enough sleep, etc.) Make sure you listen to your body and rest when necessary to prevent burnout.
Attending your classes! Attendance is important to ensure that you don’t miss important information or time to work on your technique. Good technique is key in ensuring you can dance safely.
In the world of dance, strength is the silent powerhouse that fuels every movement from light and graceful to sharp and explosive; from the delicate arabesque to the explosive grand jete. Strength is not just physical power; it is resilience, discipline and the unwavering determination to continue to show up and improve, to be vulnerable and learn from our mistakes. Dancers prove that true strength has no bounds and that with it, artistry and storytelling can shine, both on and off the stage.