Flexibility

Abstract

Activities such as ballet and other dance and rhythmic and artistic gymnastics are often recommended in childhood and adolescence. Among the many required motor capabilities to perform the activities above is flexibility. However, there is a gap between flexibility in scientific production and the proper use of this knowledge in dance classrooms. One of the reasons might be due to dance culture, which regards its knowledge to empirical learning. Many dancers believe that to improve their flexibility, the longer and the more intense they stretch, the better. The excess in the flexibility training might cause acute or even chronic injuries that may preclude dancers' performance without proper treatment. Although the range of motion represents flexibility, understanding how flexibility improves requires understanding how the muscle-tendon unit behaves to the stretches. This chapter aims to assess the flexibility; improve this capability; and explore differences in training, stretch technique, and some other variables that may affect flexibility performance in dance.