Impact of Attentional Focus on Dance Performance: A Critically Appraised Topic

J Sport Rehabil. 2023 Sep 27:1-7. doi: 10.1123/jsr.2023-0047. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTCLINICAL SCENARIO: Dancing is a demanding esthetic activity with dancers having an 85% annual injury incident rate when performing complex dance motor skills. Teachers and clinicians use a combination of external and internal attentional cues when teaching dancers motor skills and when working on rehabilitation programs with injured dancers, respectively. External attentional focus (ie, focusing on movement outcome) reportedly results in superior performance than internal attentional focus (ie, focus on body movements). Interestingly, dancers reportedly often adopt an internal focus when dancing. Still, limited literature exists examining the effects of attentional focus on dancers' performance.CLINICAL QUESTION: How does attentional focus (external or internal) impact performance in dancers?SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS: Four original quasi-experimental studies met inclusion criteria. In the current examination, we found mixed results about the impact of attentional focus in dancers. Specifically, using an external attentional focus resulted in better performance in 2 studies, but these findings were limited to lesser experienced dancers. Experienced dancers did not have any physical performance differences when using external or internal focus. Internal focus also did not negatively affect dancers' performance in 2 studies. Some authors noted positive motivational effects (eg, increased pe...
Source: Journal of Sport Rehabilitation - Category: Sports Medicine Authors: Source Type: research