title: Methodological considerations for documenting the energy demand of dance activity: a review.
abstract: Previous research has explored the intensity of dance class, rehearsal, and performance and attempted to document the body's physiological adaptation to these activities. Dance activity is frequently described as: complex, diverse, non-steady state, intermittent, of moderate to high intensity, and with notable differences between training and performance intensities and durations. Many limitations are noted in the methodologies of previous studies creating barriers to consensual conclusion. The present study therefore aims to examine the previous body of literature and in doing so, seeks to highlight important methodological considerations for future research in this area to strengthen our knowledge base. Four recommendations are made for future research. Firstly, research should continue to be dance genre specific, with detailed accounts of technical and stylistic elements of the movement vocabulary examined given wherever possible. Secondly, a greater breadth of performance repertoire, within and between genres, needs to be closely examined. Thirdly, a greater focus on threshold measurements is recommended due to the documented complex interplay between aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Lastly, it is important for research to begin to combine temporal data relating to work and rest periods with real-time measurement of metabolic data in work and rest, in order to be able to quantify demand more accurately.
authors.affiliation: Dance Science, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance London, UK ; National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science London, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.affiliation: Dance Science, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance London, UK ; National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science London, UK.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Redding
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science London, UK ; Research Centre for Sport, Exercise and Performance, Institute for Sport, University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wyon
keywords: cardiorespiratory fitness; dance; dance performance; dance training; energy demand