Background The dance literature has been researching injuries risk factors but results are divergent. New factors need to be searched and the qualitative methods are a good way to search.

Objectives To search factors that affect the health of the dancers, from the dancer's representations.

Design This is a cross-sectional study using a qualitative approach, from the perspective of the dancers.

Setting Professional dancers of a public dance company in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Participants 22 dancers. All participants should be employed as dancers.

Interventions The methodology was the application of free lists to identify the elements of the cultural field of the dancers, asking: what influence your health in your work? Two focus groups were conducted to discuss the relationship between health and work. Data analysis was performed with the software ATLAS.ti by the concepts of Grounded Theory.

Mains outcome measurements The elements listed were coded and grouped for the development of the hypothesis through data analysis.

Results The dancers have described aspects of the organisation, as the dynamics of classes and tests, as well as management decisions, which generate changes in training load. The relationships between colleagues, directors and choreographers have been described as part of the health. The psychological aspects were represented in the duality of pleasure and suffering, beyond the great psychological pressure they are subjected to during the shows. They also describe strategies to prevent injuries, like social support, look for pleasure in the dance and changes in the way to do the classes and shows.

Conclusion The dancer presented as the work organisation and planning, the management, the working relationships, and psychological dynamics, which highlights the importance of including these aspects in future studies concerning the health of the dancer.