Injury Profiles of Student and Professional Flamenco Dancers

Abstract

Flamenco is a dance tradition that arose from the Spanish gypsies at the end of the eighteenth century. Originally an improvised art form created to express emotions, flamenco today is a popular dance style that can be seen and learned in many countries around the world. The injuries of flamenco dancers are made unique through the percussive nature of the dance steps and through the use of high-heeled shoes. The purpose of this study was to examine the self-reported injuries of professional and student flamenco dancers in order to understand better the impact of high-heeled shoes and rhythmic stamping patterns. Injuries sustained by student flamenco dancers were compared to the injuries sustained by professional flamenco dancers to see how these injuries are linked to training practices. The number of injuries sustained by professional flamenco dancers (30) was greater than the number of injuries sustained by student flamenco dancers (20). Consideration of each injury site was made to see how it is affected by footwear and rehearsal practices.