Correlations and Analysis of Kinematic and Physiological Kinetic Data During Repeated High-Intensity Contemporary Dance Bouts / Michael Doolan (2021)

The development of fatigue causes metabolic and biomechanical efficiency to be negatively affected. Dancers are frequently required to perform at high intensities often without sufficient physiological preparation. This study aimed to analyse and correlate physiological and kinematic variables during high intensity dance bouts. Participants (n=4) completed two sessions, consisting of four, four-minute, high-intensity dance bouts with an equal work to rest ratio while wearing three accelerometers at specific locations on the body: above the sacrum at L5, the midpoint between the lateral epicondyle and the lateral styloid process on the right arm, and the midpoint between head of the fibula and the lateral malleolus on the right leg. By modelling the kinetics of the heart rate (HR) and oxygen uptake (V̇O2), the change in relative energy demand in each bout could be assessed. Perceptual responses to each bout were also recorded to assess the change in effort within each session. The changes in cardiopulmonary function were correlated with the change in the kinematic variable jerk recorded by the accelerometers. Results of the paired t-tests showed that participants’ HR responses significantly increased in all trials (p < 0.01) while the V̇O2 response only increased significantly in the first two trials (p < 0.05). The kinematic data showed consistent increases within trials but only reached significance in two out of twelve measurements. Neither HR nor V̇O2 significantly correlated with the changes in jerk within trials. Due to the small sample size, and erratic nature of the jerk responses, individual physiological data from two participants were presented and observationally discussed to explore the results further. The findings of this study highlight the varied physiological responses dancers can have to the same choreographic stimulus and demonstrate the effects fatigue has on the cost and quality of performance. Further research into dance-specific methods of cardiorespiratory training are discussed in conjunction with the potential of wearable technology for use in the field.