The School of Sport, Health and Applied Science at St Mary’s University, Twickenham and the Royal Opera House have recently announced a new partnership in order to deliver sports science support services to the Royal Ballet. Working closely with the dancers, the St Mary’s academics will be providing strength, conditioning and sports science support, alongside the Royal Ballet’s Clinical Director. The academics’ expertise will provide much needed insight for the dancers in helping them to work smartly.
The partnership will provide much opportunity for research into the mechanics behind ballet and dance, with bespoke programmes designed to enhance dance performance and recovery from injury. In order to facilitate the research St Mary’s is offering a fully funded position on its new Masters by Research degree, which will mean there is a unique opportunity to work and study in such a sought-after ballet environment.
The School of Sport, Health and Applied Science will now have the means to improve knowledge and understanding of conditioning for ballet through this innovative programme of research. Dealing directly with performance, it is hoped that the partnership will mean this will be improved and consequently sustained over time, aiding the dancers directly. For the Royal Ballet, the health and wellbeing of the dancers is paramount, in addition to the prevention of injury. The School of Sport, Health and Applied Science will contribute greatly to this, providing the highest quality rehabilitation.
The Royal Ballet has improved its healthcare provision significantly over the years to ensure the best conditions for dancers, considering the demands of their work, and the new partnership with the School of Sport, Health and Applied Science will mean this becomes even easier in the future. The work will therefore directly improve the health and wellbeing of the dancers and help influence a well-evidenced sports science model for the dance community.