Finding Answers on Dancer Health

Dance is an athletic profession. 

And yes, an artistic one too. But the correlation between health in dance and success in dance is a strong one. It is one that cannot be ignored. In most, if not all, of today's top companies, athleticism is a prerequisite and essential to employment. So, it would be logical to assume that today's dancers are well informed on managing their health. 

But what's logical isn't always true. 

While there are many health resources for dancers, both students and professionals, there is a great deal less information than one might expect. The amount of information available concerning dancer health is laughably small compared to the size of the health industry (a twenty billion dollar industry in the United States, according to ABC News). 

This is especially true for modern dance health. In fact, most published research on dancer health, most nobably the research published by Linda Hamilton, heavily focuses on classical ballet. This is probably because classical ballet companies are typically the kinds of companies that can afford to provide health resources for their dancers. 

The resources that do exist, from publications like Dance Magazine and organizations like Dance/USA, are informative, but are not so widely distributed as to reach enough dancers to truly inform the community as a whole. It is an accepted belief that information on dancer health and wellness is spread throughout the dance community through discussion. "Communication regarding health and nutrition in dance is much like the game 'Telephone'. Because information is communicated primarily through word of mouth, much of it gets distorted," wrote Chmelar and Fitt in their book, Diet for Dancers. 

The result of this lack of information on dancer health is an unprepared performer. A performer prone to injuries. A performer who has a job to do, but lacks essential tools with which to accomplish it. 

"For me, the body is essential," Elisa Monte, choreographer and director of Elisa Monte Dance, told me last week. "If dance is my medium, then I want my dancers to be able to do anything I ask them to do." 

As modern choreographers continue to push the boundaries of choreography and contemporary dance, they are also pushing the physical boundaries of their dancers. So, there has to be much more information than there is now in order for today's dancers to meet these demands. 

While I don't have access to a research team or any formal analysis, I do have daily access to a group of successful dancers and leaders in the field. Among the many goals for SALT, I hope this blog will help address the need for a continued dialogue on dancer health.