Some people may see dance as an artistic endeavour and not a ‘sport’ but really dance is both! Dancing is an athletic pursuit with great strength, power, endurance, co-ordination, and flexibility demands on the body.
CSD Instructor Rebekah Gill taking a private Conditioning session at Caufield School of Dance – teachers need to train too!
With the ever increasing levels of technical prowess expected in dance, more and more dancers are becoming aware that conventional dance training alone is not enough to excel and prevent injury at the same time. Properly conditioned dancers are better dancers and conditioning training is the new indispensable “secret weapon” for achievement in dance.
For dance skills training at an elite level with 2:30pm weekday start times only, we offer Pods: 1 day; 2 days; or 3 days per week. These courses are capped at under 8 participants. They are under the heading Conditioning, because the courses include an intense conditioning component and dance skills are drilled in a series of exercises.
While group instruction in Conditioning is very advantageous and cost-effective, Conditioning is best done in one-to-one sessions of Personal Training with a certified instructor. With Personal Training, the instructor can diagnose areas of particular weakness including muscles that require better “cuing” to fire optimally, and ensure the dancer gets maximum benefit from group Conditioning instruction.
Caulfield School of Dance offers Personal Training with a certified instructor as well as many conditioning classes throughout each week. Our teachers, accredited in various conditioning methods, including the Progressing Ballet Technique®, a revolutionary training method for all dancers which combines principals of Pilates with ball work. This innovative conditioning program helps students achieve their personal best by enhancing understanding and training “muscle memory”effectively and efficiently. Please see details in the biographies of Our Team.
Hailley Caulfield Postle: extensive dance instruction experience, and accredited with Canfit Pro and has Fitness Instructor Specialist Certification, Standard First Aid, CPR/AED certification, Fitness Theory and Group Fitness certificates, and is accredited in all formats of Barre Fitness™.
Lindsay Forbes: extensive yoga, pilates, and ballet training, and a B.A. in Dance and Psychology; experience as a ballet instructor; certified Barre Above barre fitness instructor; and B.C.R.P.A. certified fitness instructor.
Lauren Taylor: extensive dance instruction experience, and accredited in the Alixa Flexibility method, and Acrobatic Arts Certified.
Here are some examples of the attributes all dancers need to attain their full potential:
- Core strength and stability
Core strength originates from the abdominal and back muscles. These muscles work together to act as a ‘control center’ for the body’s balance and stability. Dancers need exceptionally strong core muscles to maintain balance, and to execute the many complex positions and movements. Without sufficient core strength, dancers cannot maintain consistency in elements such as jumps, turns, and extensions. - Balance
Think about how much of dance technique requires balance – almost everything! Some people are blessed with naturally good balance, but the majority of us need improvement through exercises. There are several factors which affect our sense of balance and ability to maintain our balance in movement. There are sensory mechanisms in the body including the vestibular system (the inner ear), and our vision, that help us perceive the body’s position in space. Most important for dancers, is developing the balance receptors in our feet and lower extremities that tell us where our bodies are in relation to the ground. - Strength, power, and endurance
Strength creates power, improves endurance and protects the highly mobile joints of a dancer’s body from injury. Through exercise, muscle fibres become stronger and more able to withstand more load and longer durations of exertion. Without muscle strength, a dancer would dance more sluggishly, with less stability, less consistency, and less refinement of lines. Strength gives height to jumps and rotations to turns, and height to suspension to extensions. Weak dancers tire easily in performances and in practice sessions. - Flexibility
Tremendous range of motion is required in most of the joints of the dancer’s body. Learning to stretch to improve flexibility and how to balance flexibility with strength to prevent injury is crucial.
Some Dancers have natural flexibility, strength, balance, and core strength that will take them through the lower levels of dance technique quickly, but the majority of dancers need to improve upon each of these attributes in order to progress to higher levels, and to increase their career longevity.
Natural ability will only take a dancer only so far. The physical requirements of this sport/art are significant. A dancer needs to build strength, flexibility, and coordination beyond what he or she naturally has. By engaging in a properly designed conditioning training program, dancers will progress at a faster pace, and be able to handle the strength demands of dancing longer, and with far less vulnerability to injuries.
To inquire about Conditioning Courses for group instruction, or one-to-one sessions of Personal Training, please contact us!
Caulfield School of Dance
2610 St Johns Street,
Port Moody, BC,
Canada, V3H 2B6
phone: 604 469 9366