dance wellness

Staying On Your Toes with a Physical Therapist

July 12, 2012 by 4dancers

Today’s post is the first of our Guest Writer contributions in Dance Wellness. Sarah Graham, PT, is a dance medicine provider working in Denver, CO, where she is Co-Director of Denver Dance Medicine Associates. Her article on working with a dance medicine PT is meant to give you information on what to expect when working with a physical therapist who specializes in dance medicine.

It could also be useful if you have a good PT who is interested in working with dancers, but does not have the background or dance knowledge base. You could give that person Sarah’s article, along with information on IADMS (International Association for Dance Medicine and Science), and that could help them get started. Many dance medicine PT’s are not former dancers themselves, but through a love of dance and dancers, became specialists by a dancer connecting them to the field in that way.

Jan Dunn, MS – 4dancers Dance Wellness Editor

Scan1 — Sarah Graham, PT & Co-Director of Denver Dance Medicine Associates

by Sarah Graham, PT

Since dancers’ bodies endure more than their fair share of physical use, working with a physical therapist is a natural partnership. Many companies have a PT on staff to regularly treat the dancers and provide care prior to and after performances. For those without a PT, finding a dance familiar physical therapist can impact how quickly a dancer returns to dancing as well as provide valuable education to prevent future episodes of an injury.

Most outpatient orthopedic physical therapists with strong manual therapy skills will be able to help a dancer with an injury. Manual therapy is a clinical approach using skilled hands-on techniques, including but not limited to manipulation/ mobilization to diagnose and treat soft tissues and joint structures to increase range of motion in the joint, decrease pain, facilitate movement and improve function. However, two important elements that an outpatient PT who is familiar with dance will bring are:

-an understanding of the physical demands on a dancer

– the ability to assess dance technique for alignment/technique errors which may be contributing to the injury

Often when an injury is sustained, a patient will need to avoid aggravating activities or take time off from certain aspects of their exercise routine. That works well for mere mortals who have a desk job, but won’t get a professional dancer ready for an upcoming show! A PT needs to understand the psyche of a dancer in order to effectively work with them. Most of the dancers I work with dance because they have to. Dancing is ingrained in them as part of their soul, and the need to dance is as natural and necessary as breathing is. [Read more…]

Keeping Dancers Dancing: Outside Conditioning – The Franklin Method Part II

June 15, 2012 by 4dancers

by Jan Dunn, MS

Today we continue our focus on the Franklin Method, with part II of thist series by Jan Dunn…

In the dance world, there is a long list of institutions / companies where the FM has been used and acclaimed– below are only a few of them:

-The Julliard School (NYC)

-Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (London)

-The Royal Ballet School (London)

-The Royal Danish Ballet

-“A Chorus Line” national touring company

-Cirque de Soleil

-Paris Opera Ballet

-Frankfort Ballet

-Hong Kong Modern Dance Academy

-The American Dance Festival

Articles about the FM have been in several dance publications over the years, such as Dance Teacher, Pointe, and Dance Magazine. These can all be found on the Franklin website www.franklinmethod.com, along with articles in other areas such as fitness and Pilates.

The FM is based on practical applications of neuroplasticity, and uses imagery as the primary tool to achieve positive changes in our bodies. There is much research to validate the use of imagery in teaching movement, especially in the sports world (there is research in dance as well, but only recently – whereas in sports, studies involving imagery go back many years). Experiential anatomy is also a major part of learning the FM. That means not only learning anatomy from a book perspective, but taking the knowledge into your body with movement – “embodying” it is a term often used for this, in Franklin as well as other movement education systems. Embodiment gives you direct physical awareness of the body’s function and design.

If you have never experienced working with the Franklin Method, the best way to start is by taking a workshop with a certified instructor. The FM is relatively new to the US – while the teacher training has been in Europe for over 20 years, here in the States it only started 8 years ago. There are still less than 200 instructors in the US, and as yet only a small percentage are also professionals in the dance world. You can find the list of certified teachers / their locations on the Franklin website, and also on the website www.franklin-method.us. I encourage you to take a workshop with whomever you find in your area, regardless of whether or not they are a dance person. Dancers usually relate instantly to FM, as it incorporates many concepts they have already had exposure to in their dance lives (Eric Franklin was, after all, first and foremost a dancer and choreographer J). Franklin himself gives several workshops a year in the US, so if you can locate one that works geographically for you, do it! You will most likely love it, and it will open your eyes to a whole new way of thinking about your body and movement.

If you do not have access to any workshops or certified teachers, there are still ways to experience the FM. All of Franklin’s books and videos are available through OPTP, a physical therapy supply house – www.optp.com. Two of his many books are especially useful for a dancer new to the FM, and are ones I recommended immediately:

-“Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery”

-“Dance Conditioning”

The second book has many actual conditioning exercises that dancers usually find very useful, and that will help give you that overall balance and strength that you need to avoid injury –something we’ve talked about before in this column!

If you are interested in becoming a Franklin-certified teacher, that information can also be found on the www.franklinmethod.com website. There are 3 levels of training, but you do not have to do all 3 in order to teach. You are allowed to teach whatever material is contained in each level that you complete, even if you do not go on to the next one. There are usually at least one or two Level One courses taught in the US each year.

Our next posting will continue with our topic of “conditioning”, only this time it will all about the importance of aerobic conditioning for dancers. Our guest author will be Emma Redding, PhD, who is head of Dance Science at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and current President of IADMS (International Association of Dance Medicine and Science).

Editor Jan Dunn is a dance medicine specialist currently based on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, where she is affiliated with Pilates Kauai. She is also a Pilates rehabilitation specialist and Franklin Educator.

Originally a dancer / choreographer, she became university dance faculty, most recently as Adjunct Faculty, University of Colorado Dept. of Theatre and Dance. Her 28 year background in dance medicine includes 23 years with the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) – as Board member / President / Executive Director – founding Denver Dance Medicine Associates, and establishing two university Dance Wellness Programs.

Jan served as organizer and Co-Chair, International Dance Medicine Conference, Taiwan 2004, and was founding chair of the National Dance Association’s (USA) Committee on Dance Science and Medicine, 1989-1993. She originated The Dance Medicine/Science Resource Guide; and was co-founder of the Journal of Dance Medicine & Science. She has taught dance medicine, Pilates, and Franklin workshops for medical / dance and academic institutions in the USA / Europe / Middle East / and Asia, authored numerous articles in the field, and presented at many national and international conferences.

Ms. Dunn will be writing a new column, “Dance Wellness” for 4dancers in 2012 and will also be bringing in voices from the dance wellness/dance medicine field to share their expertise with readers.

Keeping Dancers Dancing: Outside Conditioning — The Franklin Method Part I

June 14, 2012 by 4dancers

by Jan Dunn MS

Happy Summer! Our last few posts have been about conditioning, and we’re still on that topic…

Today is all about the Franklin Method (FM). The FM is not really an “outside conditioning” method, although it can be used for only that – but it is really much more. It is something which can be integrated into dance training and your daily life — a movement education system that can be very beneficial not only for learning new movement, but also for “re-patterning”. That term refers to when we have a poor movement habit or postural pattern, and want to change it to one that is more efficient and healthy for our body.

The FM is science-based, founded on principles from physics, biomechanics, evolutionary anatomy (how the human body has evolved over time in its movement capabilities), concepts from both Western and Eastern science —and is especially based on the new science of Neuroplasticity – i.e, the plasticity of the brain.

This has been one of the most important scientific discoveries of the late 20^th / early 21^st centuries. Science is only beginning to understand how amazingly flexible our brains are, not just when we are infants / young children, but though out our lifespan. How we live, what we do and think on a daily basis, profoundly affects and shapes our brain –constantly. We DO have the capacity to change our brain, and thus our bodies as well (“The Brain That Changes Itself”, by Norman Doidge, MD, is a terrific book about this field – available on Amazon and in bookstore). The FM gives us the tools to accomplish those changes ourselves.

The founder of the FM is Swiss-born Eric Franklin, a multi-talented man who is a:

-dancer

-choreographer

-educator

-author (10 English-language books currently on the market, 3 of them completely dance-oriented)

-movement scientist, who began developing his work nearly 30 years ago.

The FM is now taught and used world-wide, in dance as well in many other environments, such as:

-Music (The Music Conservatory of Vienna, for example)

-Pilates (many FM instructors are also Pilates teachers, and it has been presented at Pilates conferences in the US)

-Yoga (again, a number of FM trainers also are Yoga instructors, and it is taught at Yoga centers and conferences in the US and UK)

-Sports (Franklin has worked with world-class athletes, including those at Olympic level)

-Medicine (US PT’s are increasingly becoming certified and using it in their clinical work, and in Europe it has been used for many years in healthcare systems, including physical therapy and midwifery)

Tune in tomorrow for a closer look at the FM in the dance world!

Keeping Dancers Dancing: Outside Conditioning – GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®

May 30, 2012 by 4dancers

by Jan Dunn, MS

Summer is almost here, and if you’re still a student, you’ll be out soon for summer break — and if you’re a professional dancer, you might have at least some time off over the coming months (hopefully!). In recent articles, we’ve been talking about the value of outside-of-class conditioning for dancers of all ages, to help your body stay in great shape for a long, healthy career. Summer is a good time to investigate different forms of outside conditioning that are beneficial for dancers (if you aren’t already doing some!).

The last article I posted on this topic was about Pilates –this time we’ll talk about GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® (G & G, we will call them, when talked about together), exercise forms which are not as well known / widespread as Pilates, but one which many dancers enjoy.

Juliu Horvath, the creator / founder of the system, is a Hungarian “man for all seasons” – a former professional ballet dancer, yogi, and wood sculptor, now in his 60’s. Like many people who went on to develop unique methods to address concerns about the body, Horvath suffered career-ending injuries while performing as a principal dancer with the Houston Ballet. He moved to the Virgin Islands to recover, and began an extensive study and practice of yoga. His experience and research led to developing the G & G system, He states:

“I discovered Kundalini energy through my pain and agony, and somehow that awakened me. Being awakened energetically means that you can read the movement when it is not a movement yet. You are like a little child who is totally unconscious and not prepared to make movement happen. Children move because something moves them from within.”

The G & G movement system gently works the joints and muscles of the body, using key principles which are found in many forms of movement, such as yoga, tai-chi, gymnastics, swimming – and dance. It is an undulating, rhythmic, circular movement form, which is one of the appeals to dancers.

Horvath’s aim is to take the body “beyond its current limitations”. The exercises strengthen, lengthen, and stretch muscles, stimulating the connective tissue around the joints – improving balance, flexibility, coordination, and strength.

The system has two components, mentioned earlier: [Read more…]

Keeping Dancers Dancing: Outside Conditioning — Pilates

May 4, 2012 by 4dancers

by Jan Dunn, MS

Last month we talked about what ”conditioning” means for a dancer, and why working on this important aspect of your dance life outside of class is so important. This month and next, I’ll give you some specific information on what forms of conditioning you might consider incorporating — if you aren’t already doing so!

Let’s start today with Pilates, something with which many dancers are already familiar.

Pilates has been in the dance world a long time, so most dancers have at least heard of it, even if they’ve not had personal experience. It is of course now very much part of today’s fitness world (and rehab) as well, but that’s only happened in the last 20 years.

History:

Joe Pilates was German-born, always interested in the body / exercise / helping people, and began developing his system during WWI, while living in Britain. He began working with injured soldiers, initially with floor exercises (“mat work”), and later using the springs on the beds as resistance (which evolved into the Reformer).

Joe immigrated to the USA in the 1920’s, settled in NYC, and with his wife Clara, set up a gym to begin teaching his developing work. During the 1930’s, his gym and the fledgling New York City Ballet were located in the same building, and dancers from the company began working with him. Joe himself was never a dancer, but that’s how the work came to be integrated into the dance community. Many dancers in the NYC area worked with Joe over the years, as they could see how much it benefited and helped their bodies and dance life.

Pilates 1 Duggan — Photo courtesy of Christopher Duggan

Pilates exercise (originally called “Contrology”) remained primarily in the NYC area for many years, until several of Joe’s dancer students who had trained with him moved to other parts of the country, and began teaching on their own. This first generation of teachers, now called “The Elders”, include people like Ron Fletcher, who recently passed away at the age of 90, and studied in NYC with Martha Graham. He moved to CA, opening a studio in Beverly Hills which catered to movie stars, and helped to popularize and spread Pilates on the West Coast.

There was also Eve Gentry, who studied and danced in NYC for many years, and was in Hanya Holm’s company. She settled in Sante Fe, NM, in the 1960’s, and began teaching both Pilates and dance. Over the years she produced many teachers of the next generation, who, like Fletcher’s students, helped the spread of Pilates all across the country.

There were other dancers among that first generation who became teachers, and slowly Pilates became known in other parts of the country. Today, almost 100 years since Joe first started developing his system during WWI, the work is taught and used world-wide, not only in dance, but in medicine / sports / fitness / geriatrics, etc. [Read more…]

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