Heart Rate During Pair and Solo Performances in Competitive Standard Dancing: Within-Subjects Dataset

This dataset contains individual-level heart rate (HR) data collected from 16 competitive Standard dancers (8 men and 8 women, forming 8 couples) during simulated competition rounds performed under two conditions: with a partner (pair) and individually (solo). Data were recorded across all five Standard dances — Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, and Quickstep — performed for 90 seconds each at competition-prescribed tempos, in accordance with the structure of an official competition final. HR was monitored continuously using Polar H10 chest-strap sensors (Polar Electro Oy, Finland), which have demonstrated high validity for field-based exercise monitoring. Mean HR for each dance was computed by the Polar Team software over the 90-second performance period; maximum HR was defined as the highest value recorded during that period (5-second resolution). Both testing sessions were conducted in the same facility and under comparable environmental conditions, separated by one week. All participants completed the solo condition first and the pair condition one week later. All participants competed at the A or S performance class of the Slovak Dance Sport Federation, representing the highest levels of the national classification system. Participant identities have been anonymised; each individual is assigned a pseudonymous identifier (P01–P16) and a couple identifier (C01–C08) indicating their competitive partnership. The dataset is provided in tidy (long) format as a single CSV file (160 observations: 16 participants × 2 conditions × 5 dances) with the following variables: participant identifier, couple identifier, biological sex, performance condition (pair or solo), dance, mean HR (beats·min⁻¹), and maximum HR (beats·min⁻¹). A README file with full variable descriptions and study context is included. These data accompany the following manuscript (currently under review):Chren M., Špánik M., Kis T.K., Kuliś S. Acute Cardiovascular Responses to Pair Versus Solo Performance in Elite Standard Dancers: A Within-Subjects Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Comenius University in Bratislava (No. 4/2024) and conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.