Faculty of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Science, St Mary's University, Twickenham, United Kingdom.
Ballet Healthcare, The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, London, United Kingdom.
J Dance Med Sci. 2023 Mar;27(1):3-12. doi: 10.1177/1089313X231174684.
Few studies have published data concerning the longitudinal rehearsal and performance demands experienced by professional ballet dancers. We aimed to describe the rehearsal and performance volumes undertaken across five professional ballet seasons and identify factors associated with inter-dancer and inter-production variation in dance hours.
Scheduling data were collected from 123 dancers over five seasons at The Royal Ballet. Linear mixed effects models were used to evaluate differences in: 1. weekly dance hours and seasonal performance counts across sexes, company ranks, and months; and 2. factors associated with the variation in rehearsal hours required to stage different productions.
On average across the five seasons, a peak in performance volume was observed in December, whereas rehearsal hours peaked in October and November and between January and April. Differences in weekly dance hours were observed between company ranks (p < 0.001, range in means: 19.1 to 27.5 hours per week). Seasonal performance counts varied across company ranks (p < 0.001), ranging from 28 (95% CI: 22, 35) in principals to 113 (95% CI: 108, 118) in the rank of artist. Rehearsal durations were considerably greater in preparation for newly created ballets compared with existing ballets (77.8 vs. 37.5 hours). Rehearsal durations were also greater in preparation for longer ballets, with each additional minute of running time associated with a 0.43 hour increase in rehearsal duration (p < 0.001). Full-length ballets, however, were consistently the most time-efficient to stage due to their long performance runs compared with shorter ballets (16.2 vs. 7.4 performances).
Training principles such as progressive overload and periodization should be implemented in professional ballet companies to manage the high and variable rehearsal and performance loads.
鲜有研究发表过关于专业芭蕾舞演员的长期排练和演出需求的数据。我们旨在描述跨越五个专业芭蕾舞季的排练和演出量，并确定与舞者之间和制作之间舞蹈时间差异相关的因素。
从皇家芭蕾舞团的 123 名舞者在五个季节中的日程安排数据中收集数据。使用线性混合效应模型评估以下方面的差异：1. 按性别、公司级别和月份划分的每周舞蹈时间和季节性演出次数；2. 与编排不同制作所需的排练时间变化相关的因素。
在五个赛季中，平均而言，演出量的峰值出现在 12 月，而排练时间的峰值出现在 10 月和 11 月以及 1 月至 4 月之间。公司级别之间存在每周舞蹈时间的差异（p<0.001，平均值差异范围：19.1 至 27.5 小时/周）。季节性演出次数因公司级别而异（p<0.001），从首席舞者的 28 场（95%CI：22，35）到艺术家级别的 113 场（95%CI：108，118）不等。与现有芭蕾舞剧相比，新创作的芭蕾舞剧的排练时间要长得多（77.8 小时对 37.5 小时）。芭蕾舞剧时间越长，排练时间也越长，每增加一分钟的运行时间，排练时间就会增加 0.43 小时（p<0.001）。然而，由于全长芭蕾舞剧的演出时间较长，与较短的芭蕾舞剧相比，它们的排练时间效率更高（16.2 场对 7.4 场）。
应在专业芭蕾舞团中实施渐进式超负荷和周期性训练原则，以管理高强度和多变的排练和演出负荷。
