TRDA dance faculty Irina Wunder at the 20th annual conference of the International Association of Dance Science and Medicine

Irina Wunder will present her study at the 20^th annual conference of the International Association of Dance Science and Medicine (IADMS) in Birmingham, UK. The study was undertaken to examine neuromuscular activity of the abdominal and spinal muscles during a complex ballet movement, arabesque. Arabesque is an ultimate test of the dancer’s classical line. While dance students can find ample advice on the performance technique of arabesque in ballet class and/or ballet literature, the actual muscular behaviour during the movement has not been previously investigated. Electromyography (EMG) was used to record signals produced by the active abdominal and spinal muscles during arabesque. The findings of the study indicated that in contrast to traditional models instructing that dancers “pull up” in the lower back, it were the abdominal muscles that first responded with a “burst” like activity. The spinal muscles reacted with a slight delay, after which the pattern of activity between the abdominal and spinal groups became steady, continuous and coordinated in nature. Such phenomenon may indeed be explained by the anatomically functional role of the core muscles in maintaining balance as well as their agonistic/antagonistic action in arabesque. Consequently, the abdominal/spinal strategy would be preferable to the isolated “pull up” action in the lower back. The study suggests that measurements of EMG output can provide objective evidence in support or refutation of the conceptual theories that have been passed down as a legacy inherent to dance instruction. The findings may be of practical interest to dance educators and dancers themselves.