Dancing Longer, Dancing Stronger: A Dancer's Guide to Improving Technique and Preventing Injury [Paperback]

Andrea Watkins (Author), Priscilla Clarkson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0916622983 | ISBN-13: 978-0916622985 | Edition: 1

Featuring ballet, jazz, modern, and aerobic, this book includes exercises to complement in-class work or to enhance performance.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Geared toward dancers, this volume is designed to be used in correlation with, not as a substitute for, instruction. Body conditioning will improve technique and decrease injury, state the authors, both dance instructors at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The student may follow an overall conditioning program, or select strength and/or flexibility exercises for specific parts of the body. Donald F. Featherstone and Rona Allen's Dancing Without Danger (Barnes, 1970) and, to a lesser degree, Gretchen Ward Warren and Susan Cook's Classical Ballet Technique ( LJ 1/90) also promote proper technique to avoid injury, but both are limited to ballet; Daniel Nagrin's How To Dance Forever ( LJ 9/1/88) is a very personal and unscientific approach to the subject. Instructors and students both will find this well-researched and clearly written volume most useful. Recommended for college libraries with dance programs.
- Joan Stahl, National Museum of American Art, Washington,
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Andrea Watkins was a professor for 30 years at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, where she taught numerous dance courses. She has contributed to various journals, including Medical Problems of Performing Artists and Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. Priscilla Clarkson is the coauthor of Exercise and the Female—A Life Span Approach and Science of Dance Training.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Book Company; 1 edition (June 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916622983
• ISBN-13: 978-0916622985
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #789,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Reference

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You don't have to be a dancer to love this book!, June 7, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Dancing Longer, Dancing Stronger: A Dancer's Guide to Improving Technique and Preventing Injury (Paperback)

Dancing Longer, Dancing Stronger is for anyone who desires
to understand their body and how to make it work more
effectively. Along with detailed anatomical descriptions
of all the bones and muscles in the body and how they
interact, are exercises for both strengthening and
lengthening each muscle set.

You don't have devote a fortune in expensive equipment
or a large amount of time doing repetive, boring movement.
Suggestions in
the Question and Answer sections help you define your
structural weaknesses and suggest exercises within the
program for overcoming them. Plus you never have to count
past 8! Each exercise is done to one of four 8 count rhythms with most exercises being either
4 or 8 reptitions each.

As a figure skater, this book has provided me
with the best off-ice training I've found to date.
Even my coach wants a copy!

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read for every dancer and parent of a dancer, January 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dancing Longer, Dancing Stronger: A Dancer's Guide to Improving Technique and Preventing Injury (Paperback)

This book is the most comprehensive guide to the physiology of dancing. It answers important questions about what is normal and what can cause problems. It also deals with correcting technique problems and preventing injuries by proper strengthening exercises. It covers the entire body from head to toe. In my opinion every dance teacher should read this book so they can responsibly develop young dancers. This book should be reprinted --- anyone who dances should read it and keep it handy as a valuable resource.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good points, but Outdated Information, April 6, 2011

By 

Eccentricmiss - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancing Longer, Dancing Stronger: A Dancer's Guide to Improving Technique and Preventing Injury (Paperback)

When I first got this book, I loved it. However, when I started to learn more about human anatomy & physiology, and exercise science, I began to realize that the approach to strength-conditioning presented in this book is not as useful as I originally thought it to be, with my main complaint being that the exercises aren't as useful as what the book would like you to believe. There are much better, more natural movements that work the same muscle groups presented in the book.

There has been more general research done on exercise physiology and dance since this book was written. Although I have yet to find a book that does a good job at taking exercise physiology and applying it to the subject of dancing, I would recommend reading general exercise physiology (text)books, Anatomy of Movement by Blandine Calais-Germain, and "The Dancer's Way: the New York City Ballet Guide to Mind, Body, and Nutrition by Linda H. Hamilton. I DO NOT recommend "The Dancer's Body Book" by Allegra Kent as much of the nutritional dietary information in it is inaccurate and IMO promotes eating disorders.