Our bodies are made up of bones, joints, and over 600 muscles that allow us to do countless tasks and activities throughout the day. These tasks range from the simplest things, such as raising your hand, to more complex activities, such as dancing. Dance is a sport that requires its athletes to be fully aware and conscious of their bodies. While dancers are familiar with their muscles, many of them remain oblivious to how those muscles work together to achieve certain tasks. In this article, we will discuss why specific muscles vary in size for each dancer, the different types of muscle contractions, and why muscle strength is crucial for all dancers.
Within the dance community, there is a variety of different body types. Some dancers are tall and lean, while others are much more muscular. This leads us to wonder why certain muscles differ in size for each individual? The answer to this question is in the muscle fibers. There are two main types of muscle fibers: slow-twitch fibers and fast-twitch fibers. Slow-twitch fibers are responsible for contracting the muscle slower, compared to the quicker contraction of fast-twitch fibers. Slow-twitch fibers allow the muscle to have a higher resistance to fatigue, which leads to better endurance. These high-resistance fibers tend to give the muscle a smaller appearance. On the other hand, fast-twitch fibers produce more power, yet fatigue sooner. Within a muscle, there are both slow- and fast-twitch fibers. The ratio of these two types of fibers depends on the specific muscle and person’s genetics. For example, slow-twitch fibers dominate the muscles of marathon runners, whereas fast-twitch fibers are responsible for the muscles in sprinters. This correlates to dancers as well. If a dancer is well skilled at jumps, such as grande allegro or petit allegro, they are likely to have larger muscles composed of more fast-twitch fibers. In comparison, if a dancer is able to withstand long combinations easily, they will have leaner muscles with a higher proportion of slow-twitch fibers. These slow- and fast-twitch fibers provide our bodies with both the endurance and power we need for dance.
In addition to the muscle fibers, muscle contractions play an important role when dancing. Within a muscle, there are three main types of contractions: concentric, eccentric, and isometric. Concentric and eccentric contractions are types of dynamic contractions. Dynamic contractions are defined as any type of tension in a muscle where its length changes. More specifically, concentric contractions cause the muscle to shorten. Contrary to what you may think, the shortening of the muscle in a concentric contraction is associated with lifting or rising. For example, when a dancer rises into an elevé, their calf muscle shortens. In contrast, eccentric contractions are associated with the lengthening of a muscle. This lengthening occurs when actions are related to lowering or releasing, such as when a dancer rolls down from an elevé. The third and final type of contraction is the isometric contraction. This specific type of contraction is unlike the other two that have been discussed. While dynamic contractions relate to the change in muscle length, isometric contractions occur when the length of a muscle remains constant. An example of this type of tension is when a dancer holds a position, such as a leg extension, and none of their muscles change in length. Though learning about types of muscle contractions may not be essential to dance, it will benefit you by allowing you to understand how your body functions.
Finally, it’s important for dancers to understand the role of strength training in their art. Multiple studies have shown that the stronger the muscles of a dancer are, the less likely they are to get injured. Muscle strength, specifically leg strength, is crucial in dance, for the muscles generate power to propel you into the air when doing jumps, and hold your leg high up in an extension. While strength training separate from dance can lead to better dancing and fewer injuries, many dancers believe that strength training will diminish their muscle flexibility. This belief, however, is false. It is important to remember that strength-building will not decrease your flexibility, so long as you stretch what you strengthen and strengthen what you stretch. This is one of the best methods to protect your body from injuries, while still staying strong and flexible. Additionally, many dancers shy away from strength training for they fear that the muscles they build will impact their physical aesthetic. What the dancers who believe this overlook though, is that an increase in muscle strength does not always correlate with the muscle’s size. Muscle building, physiology, and fitness are just as important as technique and it is imperative to recognize the most effective ways to strength train. While any type of strength training will help, the most efficient kind of training is one that is similar to a dancer’s specific needs. For example, if a dancer specializes in ballet, they may want to practice calf raises, which will grant them the strength they need in order to push over the box of their pointe shoes when doing an elevé. This will allow the strength training to be applied to the dancer’s ability more easily. Regardless of the type of training though, muscles are one of the most significant parts of a dancer’s body and it is necessary to maintain and increase their strength.
If there is one thing that you should take away from this article, it is that muscles are of high importance, no matter what form of dance you specialize in. As dancers, we depend on our bodies to execute rigorous movements and endure copious amounts of time training. The only way our bodies can safely do so is if we have a large range of knowledge on how our muscles work to keep them strong. Strength training may sound like a hassle, but spending countless hours in the gym on top of daily dance classes is unnecessary. All it takes is a few minutes dedicated to one specific muscle group and commitment to do so every day, and your muscles will improve. In order to reduce injury rates and increase our capabilities, it is imperative that we help educate the dance community on the importance of muscles. Though further research must be done, knowing a few small facts about our anatomy as dancers will be helpful and will benefit us in the long run.
Haas, Jacqui Greene. Dance Anatomy, Human Kinematics, 2010, www.minhha.vn/forum/uploadfiles/1.Dance-in-Motion.pdf.
Koutedakis, Yiannis, et al. The Significance of Muscle Strength in Dance, Jan. 2005, www.researchgate.net/profile/Yiannis_Koutedakis/publication/32117167_The_Significance_of_Muscular_Strength_in_Dance/links/571baa6d08aee3ddc569dfe8.pdf.