The Effect of Pilates-based Training on Dancers’ Dynamic Posture

Abstract

Dancers are required to execute varied and complex movements that put stress on their body. There is an increased risk of injury when the dancer executes these complex movements with insufficient technical control or with bad posture. A form of corrective gymnastics popular among dancers is the Pilates method of conditioning and exercise. The present experiment was designed to examine the effects of training with Pilates-based exercises on dancers dynamic posture. Participants from the École Supérieure de Danse du Québec trained individually twice a week, with a teacher in Pilates-based exercises (mat and Universal Reformer) for a period of three months. They were also assigned some of the mat exercises as homework. The participants were divided into a control and an experimental group. The participants’ dynamic posture was evaluated during the execution of a grand plié. Data were collected both prior to and after the training period with a WATSMART system. The participants of the experimental group were found to be more stable in the upper body region than their controls. This suggests that training with Pilates-based exercises improves dynamic body control.