Weight Training | The Dancer

Photo by Rennison-Rae Photography

Will weight training change your aesthetics for dance?

It has long been viewed that weight training for dancer will increase muscle bulk and decrease muscle length, thus ruining the aesthetics required of dancers, particularly in ballet. 

More recently on social media we are seeing more women taking up weight training and portraying a more muscular figure. However is this the way we will all look should we train? Each individual has their own training goals, and so do dancers when lifting. Their conditioning programme will vary compared to competitive women body builders. Plus it takes the female body  a blooming long time (plus sometimes a bit of a cheat) to grow to such a size.

What does science say?

A study by Koutedakis et al. (2005) found no change in artistic or dance performance requirements despite increased muscular strength, nor a change in the levels of flexibility. In fact there is call for strength training to increase performance and reduce the risk of injury. See my other blog 'athletic artists' for more information about strength training for dancers. 

Hope you enjoyed this quick read!

-E

Koutedakis, Y., Stavropoulos-Kalinoglou, A. and Metsios, G., 2005. The significance of muscular strength in dance. Journal of dance medicine & science, 9(1), pp.29-34.