The type of wood dance flooring used for lessons and performance is an important feature of which all teachers and students should be aware. All types of dancers can benefit from wooden floors that are sprung, because they have a degree of spring to them when a dancer jumps on them. There are two types of floors commonly used in dance studios and theatres today, and they include wood dance flooring and Marley dance floors. They have distinct differences and each can be more appropriate for certain types of dance.
Marley dance are crafted with durable and slip-resistant vinyl top layers. It can vary in thickness from approximately one-quarter to two-thirds of an inch. The Marley floors can be rolled up, and are therefore portable. The vinyl layer should be used over the top of a sprung wood dance. A Marley vinyl floor top can be a good choice for dancers of ballet, jazz or modern styles.
A wooden dance of the highest quality should meet several criteria. The floor should consist of a top layer made of preferably hard wood under which is flooring that is sprung, or offers a slight bouncy quality when danced upon. Tap dance floors must also be resonant, in order to get the best sounds from the floor and the taps on the dancers’ shoes. Any dance should be maintained and kept in good shape, so that no cracks, nails, tape or adhesives are showing through the dance floor surface. Dance floors can be polyurethaned in order to protect the floor’s surface, and regular street shoes should not be worn on a surface intended for dance, due to the amount of dirt that is on the bottoms of street shoes, which can damage the floor’s surface.
Using the proper flooring for the types of dance activities you conduct is very important for the dancer’s physical health. Repetitive stress injuries can occur when dancers repeatedly perform leaps and pounding of the feet on a dance floor if that floor is not constructed to give a bit under pressure, as a sprung floor is designed to do. The spine and joints over time can be affected, and these types of injuries can go unnoticed until they become major ones. It is wiser to use appropriate dance flooring for the type of dance you wish to do, and Marley dance floors used with sprung wood dance flooring can provide you with the perfect flexible combination.
