5 Strength Exercises for Dancers: Improve Power & Strength and Prevent Injury

Dancers are often required to execute physically demanding movements repeatedly in the performance, rehearsal and class setting that call for strength, power, speed, stability and flexibility.  These qualities of movement are no different from those performed by elite athletes (except for the aesthetic component, of course), yet dancers' training and education typically does not include a strength and conditioning component, which is the hallmark of all other athletic training programs.  


Research has shown that there are gaps in the structure of dance training that could be filled with the type of training that is beneficial for other elite athletes.  One study showed that a 3-month aerobic and strength training program for modern dance students significantly improved flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, and leg strength compared to the control group, and that such improvements did not hinder dance performance.  Not only does strength and conditioning improve performance, but it is also vital for helping to prevent injuries.  The dance-only approach simply does not provide the necessary scope of physical preparedness for dance.

A balanced, full-body training program is the best thing you can do as a dancer to improve performance, strength, prevent injuries, and move better fundamentally.  Below are 5 exercises that can be included in any dancer's strength training program:

1.  Split Squats

Split squats are great because they strengthen the quads, glutes and hamstrings, while challenging your single leg stability, which is incredibly important in any form of dance, thus reducing your risk of future injury and improving your balance. Split squats are an excellent core exercise, as your body must work to keep from falling over.  Also, since the hip of the trailing leg works through a wide range of motion, it is a good active flexibility exercise that aids to increase joint mobility and stability.

2.  Deadlifts

Deadlifting improves the function and strength of your hips, which is essential for power production (think leaps and jumps), strengthens the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, back muscles, and spinal stabilizers) and when done properly, puts you in a solid lumbo-pelvic position to brace the spine and prevent back injury.  Deadlifts also force the dancer to work in parallel, which gives the lateral hip rotators a much needed break so they can be stronger when they are actually needed.  

3.  Rows

Rows are great for strengthening the muscles of the back, specifically the middle and lower traps, and rhomboids, which work to retract and depress the scapula when the arms are overhead, which is where the arms spend a lot of their time in dance.  Proper positioning of the scapula with the arms are overhead is important because it helps to prevent overuse of the upper traps and levator scapula.  Overusing these muscles when lifting the arms overhead not only leads to shoulder impingement, but the beautiful lines created by the arms and back in dance are compromised by an elevated shoulder and "short neck".  As in the row variation above, being in a split stance allows you to engage the glutes and core, as well as get a little hip and quad stretch on the trailing leg.

4.  Planks on a Physio Ball

Trunk stability is important for any dancer of any discipline because it helps to support the back while performing in its full range of motion, as well as to control the force generated when the limbs are in motion.  Holding a plank on an unstable surface causes the deep core muscles (transversus abdominis, multifidus, and the pelvic floor muscles) to fire and do their job of stabilization.

5.  Kettle Bell Jumps

Dancers jump quite a bit.  This exercise is great for improving power production in jumps with resistance added, and they're lots of fun!  Watch my right leg.  Make sure not to let the knee fall in when landing like I did.