Dancers are renowned for their slick technique, exquisite muscle tone and fantastic ability to perform convincingly in front of an audience. Particularly for ballet and contemporary dancers, they are used to the demand of lengthy and extensive choreographed pieces which can last for any given length of time! As a result, their aerobic fitness levels must be adequate to deal with these demands and work the body effectively through the performance.
Despite the high levels of fitness required by dance, most dance techniques require short bursts of energy, rather than prolonged ones: a sprinter in comparison to a marathon runner. By default this means that dancers will perform anaerobically, meaning the oxygen used in an aerobic sense is not transferred to the muscles and red blood cells, dancers are dancing on reserves.
In addition to this, dancers are becoming increasingly aware that they are only fit to dance, rather than fit to run long distances, for example. Many dance companies now complement their dancers training with body conditioning and alternative fitness classes, even encouraging the dancers to use a gym to build up cardiovascular fitness. Although dancers are described as being “fit” in their ability to dance through incredibly long days and strenuous performances, it seems they are now required to ensure they are fit and versatile, able to cope with extreme demands and engage as “artistic athletes”.
There is consequently much debate as to whether dance is an art, a sport, or even a combination of the two. Naturally dancers will argue that dance is not a sport, due to the aesthetic demands and specific artistic performance quality which is lacking from sport. However it is a disservice not to refer to dancers as athletes in their ability to soar above the stage and perform great works, and as Albert Einstein and Martha Graham separately declared, they are ‘athletes of God’.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.