The experience of pain among classical dance ballerinas: Meanings derived from a qualitative study

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study focused on the meaning that pain assumes in the discourse of a group of classical dance ballerinas. To achieve this, we accessed their experiences and perceptions through a semi-structured interview, to better understand the pain that is an integral part of their routines before, during and after a performance. This study is based on the discourses which emerged from a group of ten ballerinas with six or more years of training, and the method chosen to tap into the underlying meanings was Grounded Analysis or Sustained Data Analysis. The analysis of the discourses collected revealed that pursuing a dancing career involves obstacles that increase the demands felt by the ballerinas, in parallel with their desire to remain in the world of performance. Thus, it is the excessive practicing and repetitive movements which give rise to pain and injuries, which are concealed and denied so as not to impede the focus of attaining perfection. In general, the results obtained emphasize the passion for dance that involves pain as an ally to this career and force the ballerinas to varied confrontation strategies. In tandem, pain is linked to fear of injury, to the end of a career as a ballerina and the relinquishment of a dream.