Why exercise is good for your art (from the archives)

A dancer, a pianist and a vocal coach discuss the benefits of fitness on their respective practices.
three dancers sillouetted on stage

As well as helping maintain a healthy weight and reducing the risk of heart disease and other serious illnesses, regular exercise also has a demonstrated impact on our mental health – assisting with concentration, alertness, anxiety and general wellbeing. But is exercise also beneficial to our art?

In fields such as dance and circus, where fitness is an integral part of one’s creative practice, the benefits of regular exercise are a given, according to dancer and choreographer Stephanie Lake.

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Richard Watts is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre's volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts