Four out of every five dancers suffer from injury every year resulting in a loss of over £1m to the subsidised dance sector, according to new research. Fit to Dance 2, a survey initiated by Dance UK, examined a range of health issues facing British dancers.
Following up similar research carried out in 1996, the survey found that while the overall standard of dancers? health had improved, professional dancers still missed an average of 11.5 days of classes, 7.9 days of rehearsal and 6.6 days of performance due to injury in the year of the survey. This equated to a potential cost of approximately £1,100 per dancer in lost time. Over 1,000 dancers were questioned in the survey, which also found a reduction in the number of dancers experiencing lower back injuries and an improvement in dancers? working environments since 1996. The original Fit to Dance? report inspired research programmes such as Dance UK?s Healthier Dancer Programme and courses such as Laban?s MSc in Dance Science (pictured).