This study, conducted by a group of scientists from the United Kingdom and Switzerland, investigated the convergent validity of session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE) with objective measures of internal training load (TL) in professional classical ballet dancers. The main objective of this study was to investigate the validity of s-RPE as a measure of internal TL in professional classical ballet dancers by examining convergence with two validated measures of TL derived from heart rate (HR). A correlative study design was used between April and October 2019. Data on HR and s-RPE were collected from 22 dancers (belonging to the Royal Ballet) in a total of 218 ballet classes and rehearsals. However, 11 dancers completed less than 9 sessions, so they were not included in the analysis. Repeated measures correlations revealed very large positive relationships between s-RPE and objective measures across all sessions  (r = 0.81 ± 0.11 ). Based on these results, the s-RPE metho...

This study conducted by a group of scientists from Italy, Croatia and Qatar, investigated the acute effect of the use of different types of toe caps among professional ballet dancers on pain perception and toe deviation angle. Ten young professional dancers (18.6 ± 3.8 years old; 14.4 ± 2.9 years of training; 10.3 ± 3.9 hours of training per week) volunteered to participate in the study. Among the inclusion criteria was the diagnosis of hallux valgus by an orthopedist and/or sprain of the medial collateral ligaments of the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP) verified by a sonogram or magnetic resonance imaging. In two sessions separated by 72 hours, each participant used a  standard commercial or a customized prototype toe cap . During these sessions, an anteroposterior x-ray was taken and a visual analog scale was administered for pain perception after each situation. Significant amelioration was obtained when the customized toe cap prototype was used both for toe deviation angl...

This research, conducted by the Institute of Sports Exercise and Health of the University College of London, carried out the Delphi technique (presenting a questionnaire to a group of pre-selected and informed people or experts to obtain their opinion on a given subject) to obtain the most required physical characteristics for classical ballet, grouped and classified in order of importance. 148 participants completed the questionnaire. Most of the respondents were physical therapists and ballet teachers (46 and 44, respectively). Although 6 continents were represented, the majority of respondents were from Western Europe and North America (82 and 34, respectively). The 148 participants listed 34 attributes in total, the most frequent being: overall flexibility, overall strength, turnout, body proportions, and foot and ankle flexibility. Overall flexibility was the attribute most frequently recommended by the expert group. The demands of ballet technique require that dancers have a ...