safe practise in AS Dance

1.In relation to your own dance training, discuss the following aspects of safe practise and explain their benefits:

1.      Warm up and cool down-

A warm up is necessary in a dance class as it increases circulation of the blood and therefore warm up the body, as low body temperatures will reduce joint mobility and restrict your movement in muscles and joints; it also removes lactic acid from the body. It also prepares the cardio-vascular system and the dancer psychologically for an activity. A good warm up should last between 10-15 minutes; this will allow time to work on stretching a range of muscles (hamstrings, calves and quadriceps). Both a warm up and a cool down help prevent injuries and therefore lead to a safe dance class. A cool down is also extremely important as it encourages oxygen to flow to your muscles and converts the build up of lactic acid into muscle fuel so you don’t go stiff. It’s important not to stop movement/activity straight away (gradually slow down your activity until your heart rate is back to normal) as this will tighten your muscles so you should take the time to stretch off your muscles and the benefit of this is that you can increase your flexibility due to your body already been warmed up, stretching will also help squeeze the lactic acid out of your muscles.

2.      Alignment and posture-

Good posture is required for a dancer so that their body has as little strain as possible and therefore preventing any injury. The benefits of having a good posture whilst dancing are that the movements will be more appealing to the audience and be of a high standard and quality dance piece, they will be able to move more freely and can dance without fear of causing an injury. Another benefit of having good posture both in dance and everyday life is that it can improve your overall confidence. Posture is needed by dancers so that they can balance themselves which looks appealing to the audience and develop a strong hold in their core muscles, without tearing any ligaments or muscles.

Having good alignment is also very important to dancers as you can develop an injury easily from not being aware of the appropriate body alignment.  It is important for your physical health and strength as well as balance and agility in dance. Once you are aware of how to align you body your balance will almost immediately improve; this will benefit you a lot in your dance classes as you may have to hold yourself in very unnatural positions.

3.      Diet-

It’s very important for a dancer to have a balanced diet as their body needs a high energy source. There are 6 different food groups these include: carbohydrates, fats,…