**5. Conclusions**

This study provides evidence of the negative influences of age and experience on injury occurrence among adolescent dancers. This is a logical consequence of greater sport demands (as a result of increased complexity in dancing routines and choreography) and a higher volume of training. Therefore, even in youth dancers, in order to prevent injury, special attention should be placed on more experienced dancers.

Higher risk for injury was found in dancers with lower results in the SEBT. While this testing protocol is simple, reliable, cheap, and applicable in di fferent circumstances, we sugges<sup>t</sup> that regular screening of dynamic balance in dancers should occur. This will allow the identification of dancers with a potential risk for injury occurrence.

Analyses performed in this investigation showed that dynamic balance is a more important predictor of injury occurrence than age (experience in dance). Therefore, it is expected that improvement in balance could diminish the risk of injury in dancers, irrespective of their age/experience. In order to achieve a stable position during choreographed movements, dancers must continually improve their balance and thus reduce their injury risk. Collectively, we sugges<sup>t</sup> that specific interventions/training aimed at the improvement of dynamic balance are important components of injury prevention for adolescent dancers.

**Author Contributions:** Data curation, D.P. and P.Z.; Formal analysis, D.S.; Investigation, D.P., M.P. and P.Z.; Methodology, D.S., A.Z., M.P. and P.Z.; Writing-original draft, D.S., A.Z. and M.P.; Writing-review & editing, D.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Acknowledgments:** Authors are grateful to Slovenian Dance Federation. Special thanks goes to all dancers who voluntary participated in the research.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
