The training of elite dancers has not changed in the last 60 years; it is often only those that have survived the training that go on to have a career, not necessarily the most talented. It is time to challenge and change how we train tomorrow's professional dancers. This book brings you the reasons why and all tools to implement change.

10 years ago, Matthew Wyon and Gaby Allard introduced a new pedagogical approach to training vocational dancers: Periodization. This ground-breaking new methodology provides an adaptable framework to optimise training - it's goal-focused, fits to performance schedules, and is highly sustainable for the dancer. It is the future.

For the first time, Wyon and Allard have put their discoveries to paper. Periodization provides clear context to why change is needed, and explores the theoretical underpinnings of this new approach and how it can be effectively applied to a dance environment.

Matthew Wyon, PhD, is a Professor in Dance Science at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. He is a founding partner of the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science, UK and was the President of International Association for Dance Medicine & Science between 2015-17.

Gaby Allard, PhD student, conducts research on dance, both in the professional field and in dance education. She trained as a classical dancer at the Royal Conservatory in The Haque and had an extensive career as contemporary dancer at Danceworks Rotterdam. During her time as director of the ArtEZ Faculty of Theatre and Dance in the Netherlands, Allard initiated several research studies in support of designing a radical new philosophy on 21st Century learning.