IADMS London 2003   [back to the Category]

Dance Specific Theraband Conditioning   [read the french version]

Author :   Eric Franklin, Uster, Switzerland

Dance Specific Theraband Conditioning

Eric Franklin
Institute for Movement Imagery Education, Uster, Switzerland

The aim of this movement session is to combine the science of resistance training with an exercise sequence that provides the dancer with a sense of performance while conditioning his body.

The movement session demonstrates that Therabands are useful for creating a consecutive series of exercises that employ the shapes, movement qualities and rhythmic coordination of ballet and modern dance. The movement is designed to alternate in a flowing manner between the closed and open chain.

The closed chain exercises condition while improving balance, alignment and coordination, the open chain exercises adress common areas of muscular weakness for the dancers. The session shows how the sequence may be varied to address the specific needs of individual dancers. Imagery and self-touch is used to focus the dancers attention on correct alignment and movement initiation.

Conditioning with poor alignment can lead to loss of flexibility by building strength into undesirable movement patterns. The Theraband exercises also allow for an increase in flexibility while conditioning for strength, which is highly motivational for dancers.

Finally, this movement session will show how the exercise sequence can be adapted to serve as a warm-up or cool down for dance class, rehearsal or performance.