Ballet science: combining pedagogical tradition with modern innovations to enable dancers to adapt and advance (Shayla Bott, Brenda Critchfield, Ashley Parov)
Purpose
This study was approved by an institutional review board and conducted with consent of participants. Our motivation for conducting this research was to further understand the postural and muscular deficiencies present in pre-professional ballet dancers and to utilize science-based training solutions to address these issues and mitigate injury. By conducting a postural analysis and Functional Movement Screen (FMS) on each dancer six times annually, we recorded postural and muscular deficiencies and devised treatment plans for each common fault. These treatment plans have been overseen by our dance medicine practitioner and given during ballet technique and Pilates mat class, with a high focus on fascial movement variables. As we have completed the first portion of our research, we have found a correlation between the weak posterior gluteus medius and low FMS scores. Additionally, upon improving this weakness through targeted treatment, we have seen improvement in overall postural strength (as assessed through postural analysis) as well as muscular strength. In addition to seeing an increase in FMS scores and more neutral joints in the postural analysis, anecdotally we see an improvement in dancers’ technique, performance, and overall ballet aesthetic.
Target Population and Experience Level
This session targets teachers and dancers at an intermediate to professional level, and practitioners who are interested in building correctives into technique classes.
Format
The 60-minute movement session will demonstrate a full FMS and Postural Analysis. Participants will physically move through ballet technique and Pilates mat correctives with a fascial focus. These exercises target common balletic postural imbalances and muscular weaknesses.
Desired Outcomes
Participants will leave with actionable and accessible exercises to utilize immediately in their teaching.
Relevance to Conference Theme
We have developed dance-specific movements that have allowed the dancers to access their body in a stronger way, allowing them to adapt to their class and performance training demands more easily. This allows the dancers to advance more rapidly in their discipline in addition to advancing balletic training in general by infusing traditional balletic training modalities with Pilates and fascial components, rather than relying on dancers to complete these exercises outside of class.
This study was approved by an institutional review board and conducted with consent of participants. Our motivation for conducting this research was to further understand the postural and muscular deficiencies present in pre-professional ballet dancers and to utilize science-based training solutions to address these issues and mitigate injury. By conducting a postural analysis and Functional Movement Screen (FMS) on each dancer six times annually, we recorded postural and muscular deficiencies and devised treatment plans for each common fault. These treatment plans have been overseen by our dance medicine practitioner and given during ballet technique and Pilates mat class, with a high focus on fascial movement variables. As we have completed the first portion of our research, we have found a correlation between the weak posterior gluteus medius and low FMS scores. Additionally, upon improving this weakness through targeted treatment, we have seen improvement in overall postural strength (as assessed through postural analysis) as well as muscular strength. In addition to seeing an increase in FMS scores and more neutral joints in the postural analysis, anecdotally we see an improvement in dancers’ technique, performance, and overall ballet aesthetic.
Target Population and Experience Level
This session targets teachers and dancers at an intermediate to professional level, and practitioners who are interested in building correctives into technique classes.
Format
The 60-minute movement session will demonstrate a full FMS and Postural Analysis. Participants will physically move through ballet technique and Pilates mat correctives with a fascial focus. These exercises target common balletic postural imbalances and muscular weaknesses.
Desired Outcomes
Participants will leave with actionable and accessible exercises to utilize immediately in their teaching.
Relevance to Conference Theme
We have developed dance-specific movements that have allowed the dancers to access their body in a stronger way, allowing them to adapt to their class and performance training demands more easily. This allows the dancers to advance more rapidly in their discipline in addition to advancing balletic training in general by infusing traditional balletic training modalities with Pilates and fascial components, rather than relying on dancers to complete these exercises outside of class.
Shayla Bott
Brenda Critchfield
Ashley Parov
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Shayla Bott is currently an Associate Professor of Ballet at Brigham Young University (BYU). Her current assignments include the Artistic Direction of BYU Theatre Ballet, Ballet Area Coordinator and Associate Chair of the Department of Dance. From the University of Utah, Shayla holds a BFA in ballet performance and an MFA in ballet with a focus on music, choreography, and pedagogy. After retiring from a professional career with Utah Metropolitan Ballet, she has continued to choreograph and teach in professional and academic venues. Her creative work has received multiple awards. Shayla is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique, and STOTT Pilates Matwork and Reformer. She is working on a comprehensive STOTT Pilates certification which includes a rehabilitation-based focus to work with special populations. Current assignments include teaching Kinesiology for Dancers and conducting research to create safer training protocols for ballet dancers by fusing Pilates-based correctives with a strong focus in fascial connectivity and health into ballet technique courses. She has also successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Brenda Critchfield, MS, ATC, CSCS, LAT is the Director of Dance Medicine and Wellness Facility for the BYU Department of Dance. She is a certified athletic trainer, a national strength and conditioning specialist and has earned certifications in kinesiotaping and Graston technique. She has worked in a wide variety of athletic training settings including NCAA Division I and III athletics, semi-professional hockey, ESPN X-Games, and the U.S. military. She started working with performing artists in 2007 while obtaining a Master of Science from University of New Mexico. Brenda received her BS in athletic training from Brigham Young University. She has worked with professional dancers from New York City Ballet Company, American Ballet Company, the Martha Graham Company, and with actors on Broadway to prevent dehydration in Shrek. Critchfield published two position statements for the International Association of Dance Medicine & Science. She has also written a chapter in the book Dancer Wellness. Her interests lie in the prevention and treatment of injuries in dancers and global body healing. As Director of Dance Medicine and Wellness Facility, Critchfield utilizes manual therapy techniques, myofascial release techniques, and soft tissue work to help dancers recover from injuries.
Ashley Ivory Parov began her early ballet training under the tutelage of Richard Cammack and Zola Dishong at the Contra Costa Ballet Centre in Walnut Creek, California. Ms. Parov spent her youth training under some of the country’s most notable teachers and subsequently joined the San Francisco Ballet as an apprentice at the age of 17. After three years at SFB, Ms. Parov came to Brigham Young University to pursue her BA in Dance. Upon graduation, she returned to the San Francisco Bay Area to join Company C Contemporary Ballet. While at Company C, Ms. Parov danced lead roles in works by Twyla Tharp, David Parsons, Charles Anderson, Val Caniparoli, Michael Smuin, Amy Seiwart, and Lar Lubovich. Ms. Parov is a certified Pilates instructor. Ms. Parov’s current teaching assignments include BYU’s Theatre Ballet, pas de deux, and pilates Mat and reformer classes. Ms. Parov has a comprehensive Pilates certification through Balanced Body and has also successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
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