Proprioceptive training in dance sport: effects of agility skills

The aim of this research is to determine the effects of proprioceptive training on the improvement of agility skills in dance sport fitness conditioning. Proprioceptive training is realized throughout tasks that include the establishing and maintaining various positions on balance boards of different dimensions, working surfaces and platforms. 38 male and female competitive dancers divided into an experimental and control groups. The experimental group took part in a proprioceptive training program over a period of 12 weeks (3 x 30 minutes per week). The control group (at the same time as the experimental) had regular sport dance training. At the beginning and at the end of the experiment, agility skills were measured by means of three different agility tests: Side steps, Figure '8' with bending and Agility in the air. Statistically significant differences among the groups in the final measurement (p= .00) generally show a positive effect of the proprioceptive training program on the improvement of agility skills with the experimental group, especially in tests Figure '8' with bending and Side steps. Such findings could encourage the use of proprioceptive training model in daily dance classes due to its potential to improve dancers' agility skills. Therefore, the use of a proprioceptive training model, as an innovative approach in individual and group dance fitness conditioning is recommended.