Professional dancers’ beliefs and conceptualisations of their posture and movement: A qualitative research study

Many issues are unresolved regarding posture and movement and their utility as target for rehabilitation and function. As movement experts, elite ballet and contemporary dancers could provide insights regarding whether some postures/movements are ideal, if and how they can be changed, and valuable insight into the apparent paradox between their "exceptional" posture/movement quality and high incidence of musculoskeletal injury and pain. This study aimed to understand dancers' beliefs and conceptualizations about posture and movement, consider how this relates to theories of motor control and learning, and whether this has relevance for rehabilitation and injury prevention in non-dancers. This study implemented an inductive qualitative design. Thirty-six participants (12 males, 24 females) with 6.9 ± 4.3 years of experience as professional dancers (ballet or contemporary dance) participated. Data were collected via semi-structured focus group interviews. Thematic analysis used an inductive approach to categorise and structure data into codes, themes and sub-themes. Themes were refined and finalised after multiple team discussions. Four themes emerged: (i) Posture being conscious or subconscious, (ii) Posture in "dancer mode" and "non-dancer mode", (iii) Posture as an ideal, (iv) Adjustment and improvement of posture. Each theme was summarised by a series of sub-themes. Dancers have a detailed and multifaceted understanding of posture and movement. They reconcile the contradiction between good posture and movement and injury by the extreme demands required to achieve aesthetics of dance. Some of their perspectives have potential relevance in injury prevention and rehabilitation in the general population.