Coping strategies used by ballet dancers : effects of individual differences in competitive trait anxiety

The world of classical ballet exerts considerable physical and psychological stress upon those who participate, and yet the process of coping with such stressors is not well understood. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine relationships between coping strategies and competitive trait anxiety among ballet dancers. Participants were 104 classical dancers (81 females and 23 males) ranging in age from 15 to 35 years (M = 19.4 yr., SD = 3.8 yr.) from three professional ballet companies, two private dance schools, and two full-time, university dance courses in Australia. Participants had a mean of 11.5 years of classical dance training (SD = 5.2 yr.), having started dance training at 6.6 years of age (SD = 3.4 yr.). Coping strategies were assessed using the Modified COPE scale (MCOPE: Crocker & Graham, 1995), a 48-item measure comprising 12 coping subscales (Seeking Social Support for Instrumental Reasons, Seeking Social Support for Emotional Reasons, Behavioral Disengagement, Planning, Suppression of Competing Activities, Venting of Emotions, Humor, Active Coping, Denial, Self-Blame, Effort, and Wishful Thinking). Competitive trait anxiety was assessed using the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS: Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990), a 21-item measure comprising three anxiety subscales (Somatic Anxiety, Worry, Concentration Disruption). Standard multiple regression analyses showed that trait anxiety scores, in particular for Somatic Anxiety and Worry, were significant predictors of seven of the 12 coping strategies (Suppression of Competing Activities: R2 = 27.1%; Venting of Emotions: R2 = 23.2%; Active Coping: R2 = 14.3%; Denial: R2 = 17.7%; Self-Blame: R2 = 35.7%; Effort: R2 = 16.6%; Wishful Thinking: R2 = 42.3%). High trait anxious dancers reported more frequent use of all categories of coping strategies. A separate two-way MANOVA showed no significant main effect for gender nor status (professional versus students) and no significant interaction effect. The present findings are generally consistent with previous research in the sport psychology domain (Crocker & Graham, 1995; Giacobbi & Weinberg, 2000) which has shown that high trait anxious athletes tend, in particular, to use more maladaptive, emotion-focused coping strategies when compared to low trait anxious athletes; a tendency which has been proposed to lead to negative performance effects. The present results emphasize the need for the effectiveness of specific coping strategies to be considered during the process of preparing young classical dancers for a career in professional ballet. In particular, the results suggest that dancers who are, by nature, anxious about performance may need special attention to help them to learn to cope with performance-related stress. Given the absence of differences in coping strategies between student and professional dancers and between males and females, it appears that such educational efforts should begin at an early career stage for all dancers.

Performance enhancement: A whole of person approach to first year dance students’ transition into tertiary training

The transition into university presents very particular challenges for students. The First Year Experience (FYE) is a transitional liminal phase, fraught with uncertainty, ripe with potential. The complexity inherent in this initial phase of tertiary education is well documented and continues to be interrogated. Providing timely and effective support and interventions for potentially at-risk first year students as they transition into tertiary study is a key priority for universities across the globe (Gale et al., 2015). This article outlines the evolution of an established and highly successful Transitional Training Program (TTP) for first year tertiary dance students, with particular reference to the 2015 iteration of the program. TTP design embraces three dimensions: physical training in transition, learning in transition, and teaching for transition, with an emphasis on developing and encouraging a mindset that enables information to be transferred into alternative settings for practice and learning throughout life. The aim of the 2015 TTP was to drive substantial change in first year Dance students’ satisfaction, connectedness, and overall performance within the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Dance course, through the development and delivery of innovative curriculum and pedagogical practices that promote the successful transition of dance students into their first year of university. The program targeted first year BFA Dance students through the integration of specific career guidance; performance psychology; academic skills support; practical dance skills support; and specialized curricula and pedagogy.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in dancers and former dancers participating in the largest dance festival in the world

Objective: To verify the presence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in dancers and former dancers participating in the 27th Joinville Dance FestivalMaterial and methods: The research was conducted at the 27th Joinville Dance Festival in Santa Catarina, Brazil, with 173 participants in the competition, where 139 were dancers and 34 were former dancers with at least ten years of practiceIn order to obtain information related to MSDs, dancers answered a specific questionnaireResults: The study group consisted of adults (28±9 years) with body mass index within the normal range (21.3±2.3) with high weekly training time (955.7±837.2) and featuring long-time experience in dancing (18±7years)The lumbar spine and knees were the most affected by MSDsThe pain of high intensity was the symptom that most often appeared in reports among survey participantsConclusion: It is important to have deeper knowledge of the prevalence of pain among professional dancers, the factors associated with pain conditions and its impact on everyday life in order to plan new forms of prevention and plan new forms of prevention and treatment within a multidisciplinary approach© 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS.

Musculoskeletal effects and injury risk in collegiate Indian classical and ballet dancers

Dancers of all forms often engage in aesthetic yet challenging movements. Their training, choreography, and performances require strength, stamina, flexibility, grace, passion, and emotion. Ballet and Bharatanatyam (an Indian classical dance form) dancers utilize two movements in each of their dance forms that are similar—a half-sitting pose and a full-sitting pose, both requiring external rotation of the legs and bending at the knee joints. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the biomechanics of joint reaction forces and knee angles in both styles of dance for these particular poses. The study included nine female ballet dancers and seven female Bharatanatyam dancers. Hamstring and gastrocnemius flexibility were measured for each dancer. Knee angles, vertical peak forces, and moments were determined for dancers at the lowest point of their bending positions. Mann-Whitney U tests found significant differences in hamstring flexibility, right gastrocnemius flexibility, and knee angles for the full-sitting poses between ballet and Bharatanatyam dancers. No significant difference was found in the vertical peak forces as a ratio to total body weight and moments between the two styles of dance. Further research can be done to more directly assess a difference in injury risk between the ballet and Bharatanatyam dancers.

A Best Practice Process for Fleet Safety Training

This paper outlines a process for fleet safety training based on research and management development programmes undertaken at the University of Huddersfield in the UK (www.hud.ac.uk/sas/trans/transnews.htm) and CARRS-Q in Australia (www.carrsq.qut.edu.au/staff/Murray.jsp) over the past 10 years.