There are dancers out there who haven't been limited by their bodies – it can just as easily be the mental stress that is too much to handle. Being a professional dancer puts an extraordinary amount of pressure on the mind, as well as the body.
Overtraining – dancing for too long or too often can lead to a wide range of overuse injuries. Shin splints and stress fractures in the feet are common dance-related overuse injuries.
Injuries on feet, hips, knees, and legs
And every dancer and athlete is familiar with this: Foot blisters. You can prevent these problems by wearing the right socks, shoes, and performing every dance move with the right form and technique. Also, pay attention to your dance instructor and do exactly what they say.
As a consequence, many of them are suffering from Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or anxiety (Gregoris et al., 2022). Mental health in dance is, in other words, a pressuring matter.
Research suggests 36% of professional dancers retire due to a musculoskeletal injury, with 91% suffering pain in later life.
And for many professional dancers, it's all they've ever wanted to do. But like any passionate affair, it's short-lived. By the time a dancer reaches their 30s, it's time to leave the stage and start a new career. The average age of retirement is only 34.
At what age do most dancers retire? Most dancers stop dancing between 35 and 40 years old. Sometimes a dancer may have a specific injury that has forced them to stop dancing and sometimes their bodies are just tired from all the physical strength that is required for ballet.
Totally 20–54% of the dancers had symptoms of anxiety or depression, LEA (in females), ED and/or injuries, and 12% had a self-reported history with ED.
Aharon Shulimson and Julie Terry on dancers at Ballet West, adds that, in fact, ballet dancers may actually be more likely to display ADHD traits. The study found that over two-thirds of the dancers in the Salt Lake City–based company had a “highly-overactive brain.”
Dancers' identities intertwine with their bodies from a young age. Although this creates many positive experiences for the dancers, they also expressed how this can lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.
Dancers score highly on openness, which means they are usually curious, imaginative, and value variety. They also tend to be high on the measure of conscientiousness, which means that they are methodical, reliable, and generally plan out things in advance.
The attitude is a position similar to the arabesque except that the knee of the raised leg is bent. The raised leg is held at a 90° angle to the body in back or in front (attitude an avant); the knee may be either well bent…
Repetitive practice of movements and routines may cause participants to get sprains, strains, stress fractures and tendon injuries. Dancers are particularly susceptible to these overuse conditions because repetitive practice is central to dance training.
Dance provides an environment in which individuals can develop a sense of connection and togetherness with other dancers. This strengthening of social bonds helps to build social confidence and reduce social anxiety. Individuals who dedicate themselves to dance learn the importance of grit and perseverance.
Dancing can release chemicals in the brain that actively work to reduce cortisol, which helps reduce stress, anxiety and depression. Raven Gibbs, a psychotherapist and professional dancer, explains, “As dance raises your heart rate and works your body, it also releases certain chemicals in the brain.
It is often thought that some people are “born to dance”, while others have “two left feet” – but in fact, a combination of real-life experience and science shows us that almost anyone can learn to dance well with the right training.
What do dancers need to know about anxiety? Anxiety can be considered a normal and natural response to life's challenges. Most dancers can recall at least one episode of performance anxiety.
The nature of the dance environment, which includes teachers, peers, and mirrors in the studio, puts dancers at risk for developing negative perfectionism and disordered eating. Negative perfectionism was found to have a negative effect on mental health by increasing anxiety and decreasing self-esteem.
One important case to look at when considering the origins of schizophrenia is that of Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950), the most talented ballet dancer in history, who was diagnosed one hundred years ago.
Having a set schedule can help calm a dancer's mind and keep the anxiety at bay. The act of panning, doing and going through the same motions can help remind a dancer that the outcome will be the same: they will dance and give a great performance in the end.
On average, a dancer's performance career tends to end around the age of 35. They've often been shaping muscle and bone into elegant lines since shortly after they first learned to walk, moulding their bodies to achieve the perfect balance of powerful athleticism and artistic grace.
The best age for kids who want to start learning to take their dance seriously is between 7 and 9 years old, depending on how mature they are. This is usually the time when children have the ability to sit still and pay attention in class and they can connect how their learning translates to their movements.
Whether you're 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 years old, it's never too late to start dancing.