Have any of your singers ever experienced dizziness or faintness during a recital! concert? While it may occur only infrequently, steps should be taken to see that it never happens. Some contributing causes of fainting can be an over-heated performance hall and overcrowding on choir risers. Over-heating can lead to increased skin blood flow which dissipates and thus “steals” blood that would have gone to the brain. Also, obviously, illness of the singer can cause fainting. However, the primary cause is venous pooling, or a lack of blood being returned through the veins to the heart where it can be pumped to the brain and other parts of the body. This fact is seemingly not well-known or understood. Some directors believe that fainting is psychological and that one incident will provoke others to follow. It is possible that some subsequent fainting occurrences may be caused by psychological influences, but only in very emotional situations. Whatever the cause, it is essential that directors and their singers understand just how the circulatory system functions.
(from the Choral Journal article “The Singer’s Posture and the Circulatory System,” by Robert L. Garretson.)
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