The Royal Ballet School consistently embeds world-class research into its Healthy Dancer Programme. This way, it can ensure that students’ physical, psychological, and emotional well-being is always a priority.
Not only does this research support students, but the School also shares insights with the wider dance field. As a result, being a world leader in classical ballet training strengthens health and well-being protocols across the global industry.
Here’s an overview of the School’s award-winning Healthy Dancer Programme and the research supporting the initiative. Notably, this research includes Strength and Conditioning Coach Jamie Harding’s PhD on the optimal training methods for elite adolescent dancers.
The Royal Ballet School’s Healthy Dancer Programme
The Royal Ballet School’s Healthy Dancer Programme invests in the long-term, individual health of every dancer. A comprehensive team of 20 healthcare professionals supports students and shows them how to take charge of their well-being.
These professionals include a healthcare manager, a clinical psychologist, physiotherapists, strength and conditioning coaches, sports physicians, rehabilitation ballet instructors, Pilates instructors, performance nutritionists, school nurses, and counselors.
The Healthcare team works closely with the Artistic team to integrate their training approaches. Ongoing research and medical insights inform these approaches and the School’s overarching System of Training.
Sports Science Research at The Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School manages several initiatives and partnerships that contribute to student well-being and global sports science research. These include:
Termly Screening Exercises
Every term, Royal Ballet School students complete screening exercises. The Healthcare team uses these to collate data and create custom conditioning programs for students.
Shared Research With The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet
The School uses the research database Smartabase to inform its Healthy Dancer Programme. The Healthcare teams at The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet also use this database. As such, all three organizations share research and draw valuable conclusions that support the wider dance community.
University Research Partnerships
The School partners with leading universities like Queen Mary University of London and St Mary’s University, Twickenham. Together, they bring dance-related research to the forefront of the sports science space.
Nutrition Support From the English Institute of Sport
The School enjoys a partnership with the UK Sports Institute (formerly English Institute of Sport) (UKSI), which provides thorough nutrition guidance. A professional from UKSI’s extensive network of nutritionists visits the catering team and students twice a week.
Plus, the School has access to the UKSI’s wider working groups. These groups educate on areas like eating disorders and menstrual dysfunction. It’s essential to raise awareness of these in all sports, but especially in aesthetic art forms.
Doctoral Research in Collaboration With the University of Essex
The School’s Strength and Conditioning Coach Jamie Harding is conducting his PhD on the optimal frequency and volume of strength training for elite adolescent pre-professional ballet dancers. He is completing his research in collaboration with the University of Essex to help the School optimize its training techniques for pre-professional students.
To support his research, Harding attended the 2024 International Association for Dance Medicine and Science Conference. University of Essex staff and The Royal Ballet School’s Head of Healthcare Karen Sheriff accompanied him.
At the conference, Harding shared his research with fellow professionals in dance and sports science, dance education, and health and wellness. In doing so, he contributed to the broader dance industry’s understanding of how to structure elite adolescent dancers’ development and training.
Furthermore, Dr Louis Howe and Dr Jamie Tallent from the University of Essex have won the Best Research Impact Award at the University’s 2024 Celebrating Excellence in Research and Impact Awards. The ceremony celebrated the collaborations the University has with partners like The Royal Ballet School.
Harding’s PhD on Strength Training for Pre-Professional Dancers
Harding’s PhD examines how elite sports techniques like targeted weight training can enhance dancers’ strength while reducing their risk of injuries. His findings will allow The Royal Ballet School to continue iterating on its optimal dancer development and training.
Harding will complete his PhD in 2025 and has already uncovered pivotal insights in his studies. These insights are helping the School enhance its training techniques for dancers in the final two years of full-time training.
Study 1. The Reliability Test
The first part of Harding’s research involved a reliability study that examined the screening tests students undergo each term. The study investigated how accurately these tests monitor a student’s strength, power, and muscular endurance.
Harding arranged for students to complete the tests on two separate occasions to measure whether the changes noted were real or potential errors. The aim was to be certain that the tests are sensitive to real physical performance changes. Initial findings suggest that the precision changes in measurements are accurate.
Study 2. Fluctuations in Elite Adolescent Ballet Dancer Performance
Harding’s second study explores the ways an elite adolescent ballet dancer’s performance profile fluctuates over a training year. This is a vital area of study as there is little academic research into ballet dancers, especially involving their normative power, strength, and muscular endurance levels.
The school used the data from the initial tests to create physical performance profiles of male and female dancers in each year’s group of the full-time programme. The Healthcare team now uses these to optimize the physical profiles of all dancers year after year.
Beyond The Royal Ballet School, the profiles offer helpful reference values to other organizations in the industry. As a leader in ballet education, the School is keen to share its information to benefit ballet schools and organizations everywhere.
Study 3. Timing Peak Performance
Harding’s third study dove deeper into dancers’ physical performance profiles. He examined changes in their strength, power, and muscular endurance between the start and end of each term. The general expectation is for performance to improve over time, but there are various reasons why this doesn’t always happen.
His study revealed that some dancers appeared to be at their physical peak when they were also at their most tired. Having identified this, the School has adjusted strength and conditioning programs and schedules.
The aim is to ensure that dancers are not fatigued when they need to be at their strongest. Instead, the aim is for them to reach their peak performance when they need to deliver their best.
Study 4. Micro Dosages of Strength Training
Harding’s fourth study pinpoints the most effective strength and conditioning methods to improve students’ physical performance profiles. His research revealed that the School’s usual 45-minute gym sessions did not always contribute to enhanced performance because of factors like scheduling and dancer fatigue.
As a result, he proposed splitting these sessions into “micro dosages” of strength training that students complete throughout the week. This would make the training more digestible and less fatiguing.
To test the efficacy of this approach, he divided Upper School dancers into three groups. He ensured the split of students’ strength, power, and muscular endurance was equal based on their termly test results.
One group continued completing the weekly 45-minute gym sessions. Another completed three 15-minute sessions per week. The third group also completed three 15-minute sessions but with double the training volume.
To integrate the 15-minute sessions into the students’ training programmes, the strength and conditioning coaches ran these in the studio instead of in the gym. This way, students could finish a class and go straight into a strength and conditioning session without needing to walk to the gym or change. Already warm, they also didn’t need to spend additional time or energy warming up.
On top of this, the School invested in heavy-duty trolleys, which allowed staff to transport all the necessary equipment to the studio for the mini sessions. This equipment included kettlebells, dumbbells, weight boxes, and plyometric boxes.
Feedback concludes that students like the shift to more frequent but shorter strength and conditioning sessions. They report feeling fresher for the next day’s training and that they can push harder in each session. The shorter sessions may also lead to opportunities to introduce new training for better strength, power, and endurance adaptations.
The final results of Harding’s study will be published next year and will inform updates both at The Royal Ballet School and beyond.
Read more about Harding’s PhD research.
About The Royal Ballet School
For nearly a hundred years, talented dancers have trained at The Royal Ballet School to become esteemed performers and choreographers. Amongst the School’s renowned alumni are Darcey Bussell, Marianela Nuñez, Matthew Ball, Kenneth MacMillan, and Anya Linden.
As a prestigious centre for classical ballet education, The Royal Ballet School offers several exceptional dance programmes. Alongside the full-time training, programmes for young people include the Intensive Courses and the Associate, Affiliate Training and Assessment, International Scholars, and Primary Steps Programmes.
Dance teachers can train via the Affiliate Training and Assessment Programme, Diploma of Dance Teaching, Teacher Observation Programme, Teacher Training Fellowship, Inspire seminars, and Enlighten webinars.
For those who can’t train in person, the School also offers a variety of digital classes and courses via its video-on-demand platform.