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 OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts