Research in Dance
Below you will find the research that supports the implementation of aerobic training for dancers. Further research is given on common injuries found in the pre-professional and professional sectors of contemporary dance and injury prevention. This provides a basis for those interested in this topic, as the scope of research is much larger than what is shown here.
Supplemental Training in Dance
"Dancing, like athletics, is physically demanding, but dancing also involves aesthetics. Although athletes often use supplemental training, little information exists about its use in dancers. A review of types and effects of supplemental training on dancers' performance and injury risk indicates that, among largely female collegiate dancers, supplemental training enhances the dancers' performance, but limited evidence exists for injury risk reduction."
Ambegaonkar, J., Chong, L., Joshi, P. 2021. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. 32(1):117-135
Evaluation of Physical Fitness in Relation to Performance and Injury Severity in Contemporary Dance
"Reduced lower body muscular power is associated with increased severity of injuries. Finally, supplementary exercise training significantly increases lower body muscular power, upper body muscular endurance and aerobic fitness, which in turn are beneficial to improve AC (Aesthetic Competence) of contemporary dancers."
Angioi, Manuela (2010). Evaluation of Physical Fitness in Relation to Performance and Injury Severity in Contemporary Dance [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Wolverhampton.
Development, Reliability, and Validity of a Multistage Dance Specific Aerobic Fitness Test (DAFT)
"The use of dance specific moves and specific levels of the test equating to the mean oxygen demands of class and performance confirmed that logical validity had been achieved. Possible applications to the dance world are the monitoring of heart rate at each of the stages during the year; setting of a target stage attainment for an individual’s readiness to undertake class or performance after injury and/or, setting specific aerobic capabilities for dancers post-holiday or for guest artists."
Matthew Wyon, M., Redding, E., Abt, G., Andrew Head, A., and Sharp, C. (2003). Development, Reliability, and Validity of a Multistage Dance Specific Aerobic Fitness Test (DAFT). Journal of Dance Medicine & Science. 7(3), 80-84.