Dance is an artistic discipline that requires precision, artistry, grace, strength and power. Previous studies indicate that plyometric training has positive effects on fitness performance measures in ballet and modern dancers. However, many dancers are wary of engaging in supplementary training out of fear of excessive muscle hypertrophy that could change the aesthetics of body appearance, technique and general, dance artistry. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an 8-week supplementary plyometric intervention on vertical jump height, aesthetic jumping ability and anthropometric measures in female contemporary dancers. Sixteen females (12-18 years) were randomly assigned to an 8-week experimental group (EG, n=8) that performed a supplementary plyometric training twice a week or a control group (CG, n=8) that continued regular dance regimen. At baseline and after 8 weeks all participants were tested on the subjective aesthetic jumping ability, anthropometrics and vertical jump. The EG group showed significant (p<0.05) improvements in the subjective ability to hang suspended in the air during a jump (+21.4%) and the subjective jump height (+43.3%) following the intervention. Also, a significant ‘Time x Group’ interaction was found for countermovement jump and countermovement jump free arms (p<0.05), with the EG that showed significant improvements of 36.8% and 47.9%, respectively. No significant changes were seen in the CG for all measures from pre- to post-testing. There were no significant changes in any group for body weight and body fat. Our findings suggested that an 8-week supplementary plyometric training program twice a week had a significantly beneficial effect on both physical fitness indices and aesthetic jumping ability for female contemporary dancers. Therefore, it is suggested that the way a dancer is trained needs to be reviewed and the concept of supplementary training must be deepened. Article visualizations
