WOODBURY – Dance is a form of art. It requires discipline, elegance, and grace in order to look effortless on stage. However, it’s also an intense sport that requires a large amount of exertion. It can benefit the body in the short term by aiding strength and endurance fitness, however, dancers are known for frequent injuries of the lower body, especially to the muscles and ligaments. Dancers have the tendency to pop a couple Advil and push through an injury whenever something starts to hurt rather than giving it a rest and letting it heal due to the demand of the sport. But in the long run, does it all catch up to you or do you walk away with legs of steel and in better shape than ever?

“I think that dance is beneficial to the body because it offers benefits such as improved strength and endurance, increased flexibility, and improved balance and posture,” says Ballet Idaho company artist Lydia Acker who graduated Summa Cum Laude from University of South Carolina with a degree Dance Performance and Choreography. “I could say something silly and obvious about the long term effects it’s left on me like ‘I can touch my toes’ or ‘I can turn my legs out 180 degrees’ but in reality, while these things are true, the positive effects dance has had on my body go further than that and are much more practical to everyday life than most people realize.” 

Acker joined Ballet Idaho as an apprentice in the 2022-2023 season and was promoted to Company Artist the following year. As a professional, she has felt both the ups and the downs of the effects dance has on the body and the mind. 

“Dance can improve focus, discipline, and coordination, as well as in some instances reduce stress and improve mental well being,” Acker says. “The irony is, however, that dance can also lead to mental health problems. Due to the competitive and demanding nature of ballet, stress, anxiety, and even eating disorders can accompany many young dancers in the field.”

Younger dancers in the pre-professional setting can also feel the beginning of the long term effects. 

“I’ve been dancing for 14 years,” says NHS senior dancer Sophie Solury. “And while I do think that dance is a very beneficial way to stay in shape, ultimately it does more damage than it does good.”

Short term physical injuries are things dancers shake off as minor inconveniences. Dancers have a tendency to push through and ignore the problem because of the constant competitive demand of the field. However, turning a blind eye to pain can fester into a larger, long term problem that can become impossible to ignore. 

“The main problems that I’ve had from dance were back problems which effected my quality of movement,” Solury says. “And I’ve had hip issues that restricted me from improving my extensions.”

“Risk of injury is most definitely higher amongst dancers than the average population, particularly with pointe work which puts a lot of strain on the body,” Acker says. “Stress fractures and other overuse injuries in the feet, ankles, shins, knees, back, and hips are also common. Essentially, there are two sides of this coin and with greater physical and mental demands comes greater risk to injury.”

At a personal level, in early 2021, I went to the doctor for pain I was experiencing in my right hip. They dismissed it as over usage and told me to take naproxen and rest it. However, I didn’t take a break and let it heal as I needed to keep up with my peers and stay in shape. Eventually, it got much worse and I returned to the doctor. They told me I had developed cartilage tears in my hips which needed immediate rest and time for healing. And yet again, I did not listen. To this day, my hip flares up frequently, making everyday class a painful experience.

Later in 2021, I was faced with severe shooting pain in my right ankle. However, as it first appeared only a week before a series of shows, I had no choice but to push through it. Eventually it went away, but over the course of the next three years, the pain frequently re-visited making it impossible to plié or relevé. As a result, my right ankle is now far weaker and less flexible than the right. I still experience the same pain every day with no possible period of rest in sight. 

Not only can dance injuries affect their experiences in the studio, it can change their day to day life and affect daily tasks that one would normally do with ease. 

“Because of my injuries, my day to day life is affected as well,” Solury says. “I can’t sit down for too long or else my back will start to spaz and it’s just a really uncomfortable experience.”

Although there are some negative results in the long term, the lifelong outcomes can also be positive. 

“I have a greater sense of proprioception than the average person,” Acker says. “Meaning I have a general idea of where my body is in space in relation to other things.”

Even the long term mental effects can be positive despite some cases of a negative outcome. While ballet and other dance forms are known for harvesting all kinds of mental disturbances such as eating disorders, in some cases, it can result in a positive, healthy mind. 

“I have greater endurance and strength,” says Acker. “But what I find most fascinating is I have much greater grit than most people. I recognize a goal and while relying on my stamina, my strength and my mental fortitude, I have the confidence to reach those goals and even surpass them.”

According to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 58% of injuries in dance are to the lower extremity, and 21% of which are to the ankle. 52% of dancer injuries are sprains and strains, which are a more severe type of injury as they have the potential to flare up again rather than, say, a broken bone which heals one time and is done. There has also been a 37% increase in dance injuries since 2007 because of the competition and demand required. 

Although some outcomes are unavoidable, young dancers can help prevent injuries, both mental and physical, if they take care of their body. 

“The dance studio is a breeding ground for all sorts of physical and mental injuries,” Acker says. “Dancers should use the opportunity to improve their mobility/stability ratio to avoid injuries, fuel themselves with good food, and never forget that they are a person first. A work-life balance is not only important for avoiding overuse physical injuries, but mental ones and bodies like athletes and condition them for success so that they can keep loving what they are doing for a very long time.”

Acker also emphasizes the importance of taking care of your mental health during your time in the field. 

“A dancer stares at themselves in the mirror for 8 hours a day in a tiny, skin-tight outfit, also,” Acker says. “Your body is your instrument so it is critiqued and questioned every day, and yet there is a person inside of that instrument as well, which is why it is important to realize that it doesn’t have to be this way.”

While some reap the benefits, ultimately the downsides to the charms of dance need to be acknowledged. 

“It’s a really beautiful art form,” Solury says, “But it comes at a huge cost.”