Volume 34, Issue 1 e14502
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Jumping demands during classical ballet class

Brian M. Maloney

Corresponding Author

Brian M. Maloney

Faculty of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Science, St Mary's University, Twickenham, UK

Ballet Healthcare, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, London, UK

Correspondence

Brian M. Maloney, Ballet Healthcare, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, Bow St, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD, UK.

Email: [email protected]

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Adam M. Mattiussi

Adam M. Mattiussi

Faculty of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Science, St Mary's University, Twickenham, UK

Ballet Healthcare, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, London, UK

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Daniel J. Cleather

Daniel J. Cleather

Faculty of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Science, St Mary's University, Twickenham, UK

Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE), Prague, Czech Republic

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Phil Price

Phil Price

Faculty of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Science, St Mary's University, Twickenham, UK

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Joseph W. Shaw

Joseph W. Shaw

Faculty of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Science, St Mary's University, Twickenham, UK

Ballet Healthcare, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, London, UK

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First published: 23 September 2023
Citations: 4

Phil Price and Joseph W. Shaw should be considered joint senior author.

Abstract

Ballet class represents a considerable portion of professional ballet training, yet the external training load demands associated with class—and particularly the jumping demands—have not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to measure the jumping demands of ballet class by sex and rank. Eleven female and eight male elite professional ballet dancers participated in 109 ballet classes taught by 12 different teachers. Jump counts and jump heights were measured during each class. A Poisson generalized linear mixed effects model was used to examine the differences in jump counts between sexes and ranks. Greater jump counts were observed during class in men than in women (153, 95% confidence intervals [CI] [137, 170] vs. 119, 95% CI [109, 131], p = 0.004) and in junior ranking dancers compared with senior ranking dancers (151, 95% CI [138, 165] vs. 121, 95% CI [108, 135], p = 0.006). Female junior and senior ranking dancers jumped at rates of 9.2 ± 2.6 and 8.6 ± 4.7 jumps·min−1, respectively, while male junior and senior ranking dancers jumped at rates of 9.1 ± 2.6 and 8.7 ± 2.6 jumps·min−1, respectively. Across all classes, 73% of jumps observed were below 50% of maximum double-legged countermovement jump height. Unlike rehearsals and performances, class offers dancers an opportunity to self-regulate load, and as such, are a useful session to manage jump load, and facilitate gradual return-to-dance pathways. Communication between health care and artistic staff is essential to facilitate load management during class.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.