The Impact of a Ballet and Modern Dance Performance on Heart Rate Variability in Collegiate Dancers.

Rohan Edmonds,Meaghan Wood,Sarah Dipasquale,Patricia Fehling

doi:10.3390/sports7010003

Abstract

Heart rate (HR) variability (HRV) is a useful tool for assessing cardiac autonomic function and identifying potential readiness to perform in athletic populations, but has yet to be investigated in dance populations. As such, HRV may be able to provide valuable insight into the preparedness of dancers and the demands of performance in a collegiate dance population. 29 female dancers were monitored leading up to and following a dance performance. Analysis of HRV focused on the square root of the mean squared differences of the successive RR intervals (RMSSD). A one-way ANOVA, with Bonferroni post-hoc, paired with magnitude-based-inferences (MBI) with effect sizes (ES) were used to analyze changes during the Winter Dance Concert, while the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (REST-Q Sport) measured the frequency of stress of dancers. When compared to baseline (69.8 ± 1.7 bpm), mean (HR) was increased at both pre-show recordings (76.5 ± 2.1 bpm and 75.6 ± 1.8 bpm). In contrast, RMSSD was significantly diminished (p < 0.05) at both pre-show recordings (40.6 ± 28.4 ms and 40.5 ± 21.8 ms) as compared to baseline (70.3 ± 38.4 ms). Dancers reported increased (p < 0.05) self-efficacy before the second show and at 36 h post-concert. As expected, Dance Exposure (DE) increased significantly (p < 0.05), while Academic Exposure (AE) was similar, during the week leading up to the dance concert. The results suggest dancers responded to concert dance performances similarly to other athletic populations approaching intense competition by exhibiting decreased parasympathetic activity prior to the dance performances, which returned to baseline values 36 h after their performances. Given the increase in self-efficacy, these fluctuations may indicate a readiness to a performance comparable to athletes.

Highlights

IntroductionDancers train and rehearse leading up to high-pressure performances, which can elicit emotions, such as arousal or fear [3]
Dance is considered both an art and sport, demanding the ability to express emotion while performing physically demanding movements that require stamina, strength, and flexibility [1,2].Dancers train and rehearse leading up to high-pressure performances, which can elicit emotions, such as arousal or fear [3]
The results suggest dancers responded to concert dance performances to other athletic populations approaching intense competition by exhibiting decreased parasympathetic activity prior to the dance performances, which returned to baseline values 36 h after their performances

Summary

Introduction

Dancers train and rehearse leading up to high-pressure performances, which can elicit emotions, such as arousal or fear [3]. Multiple studies have suggested that the aerobic demands of dance performance are not met through training and rehearsal, which could greatly inhibit performance quality in ballet and modern dancers [1,4,5,6]. While dance was once considered a form of visual art, a new recognition and understanding of the physical demands of dance and its similarities to athletics is widely accepted [9]. Dancers may work towards culminating performances toward the end of an academic term, unlike professional dancers who perform on a regular basis. While dancers are widely accepted as athletes [9], a lack of understanding of collegiate dance performance readiness exists

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