Research explores the role of music in ballet dancers' experience of flow

A research interest in the concept of the well-being of performers led Dr Clorinda Panebianco, senior lecturer in the Department of Music, to conduct a qualitative study with professional ballet dancers to investigate the role of music in their experience of flow.  

Dr Panebianco explains that the study started about four years ago. 'My daughter is a ballet dancer and I also started ballet lessons as an adult beginner. I was intrigued by the movement to music in standard ballet exercises and by the varied musical interpretations by the teacher and other dancers. This led me to ask the question, 'What role does music training play in the experience that ballet dancers have of the art form, which is virtually completely dependent on responding to and interpreting music and timing?'

She coupled this with the concept of flow, which is an optimal performance experience. She was curious as to how dancers with musical training experience this 'altered state of consciousness' while simultaneously processing both complex, physically embodied movement and music. Her curiosity is grounded in music psychology research – specifically music and neuroscience, psychology of performance, and talent development – which has shown that, over time, musical training structurally and functionally alters a musician's brain.

During her research, Dr Panebianco interviewed professional ballet dancers from the Johannesburg Ballet Theatre and the Cape Town City Ballet. Her data collection took place during major productions so that the dancers could draw on recent experience to describe the phenomenon.

The findings were fascinating, albeit preliminary. 'In short, I found that ballet dancers generally experience dimensions of flow in a similar way to elite athletes in gymnastics, figure skating and athletics, but the results also suggest that ballet dancers with musical training experienced flow more intensely, and more frequently than those without music training. The correlation between musical training and flow, however, needs further investigation.'

The results of the study were presented at an international conference in Korea and published in a local journal. Dr Panebianco now plans to explore these findings in more depth by including a quantitative, standardised flow scale, which she hopes to administer to local professional ballet dancers, as well as dancers from leading international ballet companies. She also wants to investigate the phenomenon of flow and its correlation with health behaviours in undergraduate music students. 

Researchers

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  Professor Clorinda Panebianco

  Professor Clorinda Panebianco holds a licentiate (LMO) and a BMus from Stellenbosch University, as well as a BMus (Hons), MMus and DMus from the University of Pretoria (UP). She later changed research direction after obtaining a master’s in Psychology for Musicians through Sheffield University in the UK. The qualification was instrumental in laying a thorough theoretical foundation for research in the field.

  Prof Panebianco has been doing research at UP since joining the institution in 2007. She says that there is a lack of research, support and understanding of the health risks involved in being a performing artist. “My research aims to advocate for the health and well-being of performing artists in South Africa, and hopefully inspire interdisciplinary scholarly interest and policy change that focuses on the health needs of artists,” she explains.

  Part of her research focuses on highlighting health behaviours, and musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal problems in musicians. As much as training towards and being a professional musician involves serious health risks, paradoxically, the benefits of music-making for non-musicians and amateur musicians are significant and contribute to participant well-being, she says.

  Among other projects, Prof Panebianco is leading an interdisciplinary, cross-faculty research project that explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on resilience and artistic activity among artists in SA. The project involves the participation of colleagues from the Music Therapy, Art and Psychiatry departments at UP.

  She says that while there have been several high points over the past 18 months, a recent highlight was a conference presentation as well as an imminent publication that will document the outcomes of a compulsory health education course for first-year music students at UP. The course is the first of its kind at a tertiary institution in South Africa, and addresses health-related and injury prevention issues among student musicians, placing emphasis on physical, psychological and hearing health, among others. 

  A pivotal moment in Prof Panebianco’s career was attending the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition in Bologna, Italy in 2008. This, she says, is where she first recognised her interest in and passion for the field of music psychology. Key figures that inspire her research are Prof Rick Ashley (USA), Prof Gunter Kreutz (Germany) and Prof Jane Ginsborg (UK), to mention a few.

  Although the arts and artistic performance are integral to humanity, artists are poorly valued in society, Prof Panebianco says. The health and well-being of artists are also under-represented in policy, education and medical training in South Africa. As such, she hopes to advocate for interdisciplinary, scholarly activity between researchers, institutions and professionals to stimulate research that focuses on health promotion and well-being interventions for all artists in South Africa.

  The merging of music and medicine is well established internationally – medical practitioners and healthcare providers are trained to specifically help performing artists. South Africa is lagging. “It is my dream that my research will ignite scholarly interest and advocacy for the health and well-being of artists in South Africa,” Prof Panebianco says.

  She recommends that learners who are curious about the ways in which they as musicians respond, learn and interact with music should search online for the term “music psychology” for an overview of the field. From their third year of study, undergraduate students may enrol in UP’s Music Psychology course, which will provide a good foundation for postgraduate study.

  Prof Panebianco’s hobbies include cycling, painting, reading, knitting (a pandemic-inspired hobby) and watching Netflix.

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  Research explores the role of music in ballet dancers' experience of flow