Pain catastrophizing in Flamenco dance students at professional dance conservatories

Abstract

Introduction: Flamenco is marked by the deep emotional impression it creates and its percussive footwork steps, performed in traditional high-heeled shoes. It places high demands on the dancer which leads to risks of injury, pain and associated emotional repercussions. Catastrophizing is a key factor determining how the context is valued and pain is experienced. The objectives of this study were: firstly, to analyse the general incidence of catastrophizing among flamenco students and secondly, to determine the repercussion this has on catastrophizing in professional practice among dancers who perform on stage even though they are still students. Material and method: The sample analyses 70 students from the Conservatorios Profesionales de Danza de Andalucía (Andalusian Professional Conservatoires for Dance) (17.67±5.65 years old); 44.29% (n=31) also danced professionally. The dancers completed the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Results: The results do not show significant differences in categories: rumination, magnification, nor in the overall catastrophizing of pain when comparing participants who were dance students with those who also danced professionally. However, in terms of helplessness, there is a significant difference between both groups, with those who danced both as students and professionals displaying higher levels of helplessness than those who were only students. Conclusions: The artistic professional development on stage before spectators can trigger anxiety states that can have a directly proportional association to the levels of catastrophism. Perhaps being a student at the same time as dancing professionally signifies a greater physical and mental load which can lead to certain psychological processes.

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“…About "physical" and "biomechanical" aspect as hotspots, there are some main reasons. Flamenco dance has its unique characteristics with strong emotion and the footwork technique (Baena-Chicón, Gómez-Lozano, Cano, & Vargas-Macías, 2021), which requires dancers strike the floor to make a loud and rhythm voice (Vargas-Macías et al, 2021). Therefore, dancers were usually required to have a high level of physical conditions (Forczek, Baena-Chicon, & Vargas-Macias, 2017), there is research indicate that the require is similar to those of elite sports (Pedersen, Wilmerding, Kuhn, & Enciñias-Sandoval, 2001).…”

“…Some articles involved psychological analysis of flamenco participants. There is evidence that shows both students and professionals displayed higher levels of helplessness than those who were only students, and anxiety states which can be triggered by the artistic professional development on stage before spectators may relate to the levels of catastrophism (Baena-Chicón, Gómez-Lozano, Cano, & Vargas-Macías, 2021). Meanwhile, there is research that studied Brazilian female flamenco dancers and indicated 64.7% of participants were not satisfied with their bodies though they had high self-esteem (Nakamura, Juzwiak, de Almeida, & Montesano, 2012).…”

Hotspots and trends of flamenco dance research: A CiteSpace analysis

“…About "physical" and "biomechanical" aspect as hotspots, there are some main reasons. Flamenco dance has its unique characteristics with strong emotion and the footwork technique (Baena-Chicón, Gómez-Lozano, Cano, & Vargas-Macías, 2021), which requires dancers strike the floor to make a loud and rhythm voice (Vargas-Macías et al, 2021). Therefore, dancers were usually required to have a high level of physical conditions (Forczek, Baena-Chicon, & Vargas-Macias, 2017), there is research indicate that the require is similar to those of elite sports (Pedersen, Wilmerding, Kuhn, & Enciñias-Sandoval, 2001).…”

“…Some articles involved psychological analysis of flamenco participants. There is evidence that shows both students and professionals displayed higher levels of helplessness than those who were only students, and anxiety states which can be triggered by the artistic professional development on stage before spectators may relate to the levels of catastrophism (Baena-Chicón, Gómez-Lozano, Cano, & Vargas-Macías, 2021). Meanwhile, there is research that studied Brazilian female flamenco dancers and indicated 64.7% of participants were not satisfied with their bodies though they had high self-esteem (Nakamura, Juzwiak, de Almeida, & Montesano, 2012).…”

The effect of lower limb balance ability and bilateral asymmetry on flamenco footwork

“…Injuries can inhibit career development for dancers and can lead to injured dancers been replaced by healthy dancers (Vassallo et al, 2018) which can influence daily life and mental state (Baena-Chicón et al, 2021). Therefore, investigating the status of flamenco dancers' lower limbs may identify injury risk factors and allow the development of injury prevention programs (Maloney, 2019).…”