iadms – Page 2

Should Dancers Run?

October 6, 2016 by 4dancers

Dancer Running

Aloha! Today we have another excellent post from Matt Wyon, PhD, President of IADMS / Professor of Dance Science at Wolverhampton University (UK) — this one is on running!

I was always told never to run, as a dancer –
Unless you can run in good leg alignment! So many dancers end up running in turn-out (because of the muscle imbalance in the leg and hip), and that isn’t so good for you. But Matt has some excellent current thoughts on the subject…

Enjoy, and Pass It On !!
Jan Dunn, MS, Dance Wellness Editor
[Read more…]

Safe Dance Practice: What Is It And Why Do We Need It?

April 4, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

Kai Downham photography: Instep Dance Company — Kai Downham Photography: Instep Dance Company

Aloha All 🙂

New dance medicine book to share! “Safe Dance Practice” is written by three British colleagues of mine in the dance medicine world, Edel Quin / Sonia Rafferty / Charlotte Tomlinson. All three are involved with IADMS (International Association for Dance Medicine and Science), Safe in Dance International (SIDI), and are all MSc graduates of the Dance Science program at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (London UK). They have been long-involved in dance medicine and science, aka Dance Wellness, aka Safe Dance Practice (a British term), and have put together their invaluable knowledge and experience in writing this book – giving teachers and dancers a solid grounding for training healthy dancers who will be better equipped to dance many long years, in the best possible condition. The book is a great addition to your dance medicine and science library – Please pass it on!
Aloha
Jan

by Sonia Rafferty, Charlotte Tomlinson and Edel Quin

What It Isn’t!

The term “safe dance practice” often conjures up the vision of a checklist of boring, restrictive, and often unnecessary health and safety regulations. As dancers, choreographers, and teachers, we certainly don’t want to be held back in our artistic endeavours by recommendations that we think will limit our creative risk-taking capacity.

Fortunately, the upsurge of interest and increasing knowledge in safe dance practice will help us to do exactly the opposite. We can support artistic challenge by helping dancers to train and work at their best, but also heed the potential reasons for the high injury rate that has been observed in a wide variety of different dance styles.

Who Is It For?

Safe dance practice is important for dancers of any age and any ability. It is not simply for the elite “racehorse” of a dancer, at risk because of high-level demands, or the dancer who perhaps could be seen to be more prone to injury because of lack of technicality or physical ability.

Knowing how to work safely and effectively is relevant for everyone – for dancers themselves who can take responsibility for protecting and maintaining their readiness to dance, and for teachers who are trusted with instructing the dancing bodies. Add to that list the choreographers who use the expertise and abilities of dancers to create innovative and challenging works, and the artistic directors and managers who rehearse those dancers and organise their schedules.

[Read more…]

Dance Medicine: IADMS 25th Annual Meeting

October 24, 2015 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

The International Association for Dance Medicine and Science held their 25th annual meeting in October at the Marriott City Center in downtown Pittsburgh, PA. Starting off with a day for teachers, the gathering spanned a four-day period that offered networking opportunities, information-sharing, and an overall sense of purpose that was clear and heartfelt.

As a first-time attendee, I thought I’d share some thoughts on the meeting with those who may be interested, and those who might want to consider going in the future. After all, next year’s meeting is in Hong Kong, which would make a lovely trip!

I have to say that I really enjoyed my time with this unique group of professionals, and felt the experience was definitely worthwhile. As most of you are already aware, I’m very passionate about the topic of dance wellness, and I’d love nothing more than to see IADMS continue to grow and connect with dancers and dance teachers everywhere.

So…here are some thoughts on the experience from my perspective, along with a few photos that should give a little context to my narrative.

Networking

Without question the single largest benefit to attending this meeting is the networking. The IADMS gathering brings professionals together from all over the world, giving them a chance to compare notes, talk dance medicine, and, perhaps most importantly, get to know one another.

Even with the magic of connecting via the web, there is just no substitute for face-to-face interaction. To that end, I enjoyed having the chance to meet the members of our own Dance Wellness Panel in person for the first time, and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the planning time we had to solidify topics we’ll share with readers throughout the year (stay tuned!).

Although IADMS is smaller gathering of professionals than conferences such as Dance USA and the Dance Teacher Summit, it actually works to the advantage of the organization in this case. It simply felt much easier to connect with people here. Faces became familiar after a day or two, and because of that, it made approaching people less intimidating–even for a somewhat introverted person, such as myself.

Several events were incorporated into the meeting’s overall framework that allowed participants the chance to just relax and mingle a bit. Among these were the welcome reception Friday evening, and the “dance party” on Saturday night.

Information

The information presented at the IADMS meeting fell into three primary formats: lectures, movement sessions, and poster presentations. There were also a number of tables on-hand from various supporters and exhibitors. To try and summarize everything offered is quite an impossibility, so an overview of the main categories is offered here instead…each with a few examples…

Lectures

Throughout the event there were numerous lectures available for attendees to take in — from “Nutritional concerns in vegetarian and vegan dancers“ to “The science of motor learning: creating a model for dance training” to “Anterior hip pain in a dancer – an alternative diagnosis.”

Injury prevention/treatment, teaching strategies, metabolism, and dancer fitness were just some of the topics addressed by professionals from the podium. Lecture sessions were typically brief and specific, with accompanying slides. Following each lecture there was an opportunity for questions/comments.

Poster Presentations

Poster presentations offered another approach in terms of information sharing and engagement. Posters were displayed in a room where attendees could peruse them and discuss ideas with one another at a leisurely pace. These sessions were lively, and many people took advantage of the opportunity to join in the conversation.

There were two poster presentation slots during the span of the meeting, and a wide range of topics were covered, such as, “Differences in sway area observed in ballerinas en demi pointe and en pointe,” “Can textured insoles improve ankle proprioception and performance in dancers?” and “Building a safe environment for private dance sectors: a business model to provide healthcare for dancers.”

Movement sessions

In addition to the posters and lectures, the IADMS meeting also provides numerous “movement sessions” where participants have the chance to explore thoughts and ideas in a more “hands-on,” active environment.

Some of the movement sessions included: “Using technology for movement analysis in the dance studio,” “Incorporating conditioning into a modern dance technique class,” and “Gaga, Ohad Naharin’s movement language,” among many others.

Unlike the lecture sessions which are generally rather short in length, the movement sessions typically run about 50 minutes, giving attendees the chance to dig in a bit and try some things out for themselves.

Camaraderie

In my time at the meeting I met a wide range of educators, students and dance medicine professionals — from seasoned, founding members of the field — to brand new faces just joining the ranks after graduation.

It was wonderful to see such a large span of ages and experience levels in attendance, and exciting to think about the possibilities that bringing this group of people together offers to the dance community throughout the world.

For more information on IADMS, please visit their website, and be sure to keep an eye on their blog. Those hoping to attend the 26th annual meeting in Hong Kong can keep an eye out for details on the site, and membership information is there as well.

Disclosure: 4dancers attended the 25th annual meeting on a press pass granted by IADMS, but no monetary compensation was received for coverage of the event. All transportation, lodging, and meals were paid for by 4dancers.

Introducing Our Dance Wellness Panel

May 13, 2015 by 4dancers

Aloha to all!

This is a very special post regarding the Dance Wellness segment of 4dancers.org:

In the fall of 2011, Catherine Tully (whom I had never met) contacted me and asked me if I would like to write an article about Dance Medicine and Science – aka Dance Wellness – for her online site, just to introduce readers to that aspect of information in the dance world. I was pleased to do so, and so in January of 2012, we posted that first article. Your response, as readers, was so overwhelmingly positive that Catherine asked me to start a new on-going segment of 4dancers, entitled “Dance Wellness”. I did, and the rest is history. Over the last 3+ years we have posted, 36 articles, written not only by myself but by guest contributors whom I have brought in.

Your eagerness to learn more about this important field has prompted us to take the next step, to continue “spreading the word” online about the many aspects of Dance Wellness, and how all of this information can help dancers to “dance longer, dance stronger”. We are so pleased to announce the 4dancers.org Dance Wellness Panel–a distinguished group of people from the Dance Medicine and Science field, who have agreed to join us in this new endeavor.

Below you will find each of our panel members, along with information about their backgrounds, associations and areas of specialty. We are thrilled to have them on board, and we look forward to sharing more dance wellness information with you in the coming months!

My best to everyone-
Jan

Jan Dunn, MS
Dance Wellness Editor – 4dancers.org

James Garrick, MD., is an orthopedic surgeon and the founder and Medical Director of the Center for Sports Medicine, at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, California. When founded 35 years ago, the Center had the first Dance Medicine department on the West Coast, and had one of only two West Coast Pilates facilities. For forty years he has been one of the leading figures in the dance medicine field, with particular research interests in the epidemiology of dance and sports injuries. His research includes a cost analysis of dancers’ workman’s comp injuries, insurance coverage of independent dance companies in San Francisco Bay area, and injury patterns in young dancers.

Dr. Garrick was physician for San Francisco Ballet Company, founded the clinic for dancers at San Francisco School for the Arts, and is currently on the physician panel for the San Francisco Ballet School. He also founded the Sports Medicine Division at the University of Washington, and is a founding and former board member of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. He is a clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and serves on the editorial board of several journals. He has authored / co-authored five books, including Ski Conditioning (1978), Peak Condition (1986), and Sports Injuries – Diagnosis and Management (1990), as well as numerous articles for medical journals and book chapters.

Dr. Garrick is a member of American College of Sport Medicine, American Orthopedic Surgeons, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA), and International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS).

Gigi Berardi, PhD has an academic background and performing experience that allow her to combine her interests in the natural and social sciences with her passion for dance, as both critic and writer. Over 300 articles and reviews by Dr. Berardi have appeared in broadcast and print media, including Dance Magazine, Dance International, the Los Angeles Times, the Anchorage Daily News, The Olympian, The Bellingham Herald, LA Style, IDEA Today, LA Reader, LA Weekly, and scientific journals such as Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, Kinesiology and Medicine for Dance, Dance Research Journal, Your Patient and Fitness, and Impulse: The International Journal of Dance Science, Education, and Medicine. She has written as a national advocacy columnist for the Dance Critics Association Newsletter and has served on performing arts panels for the Alaska State Council on the Arts. She currently serves as a contributing editor and writer for and a correspondent for Dance Magazine. She is a founding co-editor of Kinesiology and Medicine for Dance and currently serves as Book Review Editor for Journal of Dance Medicine & Science. Her public radio features (for KSKA, Anchorage) have been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Dance Critics Association, and is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

A professor at Western Washington University, she received the university’s Diversity Achievement Award in 2004. Finding Balance: Fitness and Training for a Lifetime in Dance is her fifth book. The completely revised edition appeared in 2005, a seminar on the earlier edition was noted in The New Yorker; both editions had second printings. Her technical training, residencies, and seminars are listed in her resume. In winter, 2000, she was a Fairhaven College Distinguished Teaching Colleague for dance.

Robin Kish, Dance Wellness — Robin Kish, MS, MFA

Robin Kish, MS, MFA, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dance at Chapman University. Robin blends her background in dance and science to creative innovative educational programs supporting the development of safe and effective dance training programs.

She has presented research and developed education lectures for the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) and the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS). In 2013 she developed the first online dance kinesiology class for the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). As a product of the private studio / competition environment she is passionate about bringing dancer wellness and safe teaching practices to the industry.

Moira McCormack, MS, is Head of Physiotherapy at The Royal Ballet Company in London, UK.

After a professional dance career in classical ballet she trained as a dance teacher and then as a Physical Therapist and has worked with dancers for the last 20 years. She teaches anatomy, dance technique and injury prevention internationally, with a main interest in the management of the hypermobile dancer.

Janice Plastino, Dance Wellness — Janice G. Plastino, PhD

Janice G. Plastino, PhD is Emerita Professor from the University of California Irvine (USA) in the Department of Dance. Her book with James Penrod, The Dancer Prepares: Modern Dance for Beginners has been in continual print with revisions since 1970. She has published extensively with papers, journal articles, and several book chapters. She has danced professionally on television, stage, and in dance companies for national and international venues.

Dr. Plastino’s choreography of over 50 works includes 15 years as co-director of Penrod Plastino Movement Theatre, directing opera at Lincoln Center, New York, and creating works at NBC and the BBC television. She is regarded as the founder of the field of Dance Science, and established the first dancer screening / wellness program in an educational setting at UCI in 1982. She introduced the Pilates Method in the UCI Dept. Of Dance in 1983, the first such program in higher education.

She was instrumental in the formation of the National Dance Education Association (NDEO), and a leader during the organization’s early years. She has been a member of Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) since 1989, served on the BOD for four years, and in 2013 was awarded the Dawson Service Award. In 2015, she became the first recipient of the International Association for Dance Medicine’s (IADMS) Dance Educator Award.

Dr. Plastino has reported her findings in dance science to scientific societies and medical associations throughout the United States and abroad. She was an invited guest of the USSR government in 1988 (before détente), observing the Bolshoi and Kirov ballet companies while consulting and lecturing about dance injuries. The Olympic Committee invited her to lecture on dance injuries at the 1984 Olympic Scientific Congress held in Eugene, Oregon and in Seoul, South Korea in 1988. Her pioneering and continuing work in the pre-participation screening of dancers has been lauded by the medical, research and dance communities. Many of her students have established wellness programs at their colleges, universities, private studios, and private practices.

Dr. Plastino is currently adapting her movement theories for use in for the private dance studio. She is most passionate about the private studios having easy access to new research in training methods of the young dancer. Currently she consults on dancer wellness, evaluation of public and private dance programs, gives dancer wellness workshops, and continues to present papers at conferences.

Emma Redding, PhD is Head of Dance Science at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

Emma originally trained as a dancer and performed with the company Tranz Danz, Hungary and for Rosalind Newman, Hong Kong. She teaches contemporary dance technique at Trinity Laban and lectures in physiology alongside her management and research work. She has been Principal Investigator for several large-scale research projects including a 3-year government funded study into dance talent identification and development as well as studies into the physical and mental demands of music playing and the role of mental imagery within creative practice.

She has published her work in academic journals and is a member of the Board of Directors and a Past President of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS). She is also founding Partner of the UK National Institute for Dance Medicine and Science (NIDMS).

Erin Sanchez, MS is the Healthier Dancer Programme Manager (job share) at Dance UK in London, administrates the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation’s Medical Website for healthcare professionals and dancers and manages the Dance Psychology Network.

Erin pursued vocational dance training with American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet School and the Alvin Ailey School. She also holds a BA (Hons) in Dance and Sociology from the University of New Mexico and an MSc in Dance Science from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.

Erin is a registered provider for Safe in Dance International, a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science and holds the qualification in Safe and Effective Dance Practice. She has lectured in dance science and taught dance technique in the United States, UK, Egypt and Malta.

Selina Shah, MD, FACP is a board certified sports medicine and internal medicine physician and the Director of Dance Medicine at the Center for Sports Medicine in San Francisco, CA and Walnut Creek, CA. She has lectured nationally and internationally on various dance medicine topics and has published papers in medical journals and books including her original research on dance injuries in contemporary professional dancers. She is the dance company physician for the San Francisco Ballet School, Liss Fain Dance Company and Diablo Ballet. She is a physician for Berkeley Repertory Theater, Mill’s College, St. Mary’s College, and Northgate High School. She takes care of the performers for Cirque du Soleil and various Broadway productions when they come to the San Francisco Bay Area. She has taken care of several Broadway performers (i.e. American Idiot, South Pacific, Lion King, Book of Mormon, MoTown, and Billy Elliot). She is a team physician for USA Synchronized Swimming, USA Weightlifting, USA Figure Skating and travels with the athletes internationally and nationally. She is also a member of the USA Gymnastics Referral Network. As a former professional Bollywood and salsa dancer, Dr. Shah is passionate about caring for dancers. She continues taking ballet classes weekly and also enjoys running, yoga, Pilates, weightlifting, and plyometric exercise.

Nancy Wozny is editor in chief of Arts + Culture Texas, reviews editor at Dance Source Houston and a contributor to Pointe Magazine, Dance Teacher and Dance Magazine, where she is also a contributing editor. She has taught and written about Feldenkrais and somatics in dance for two decades.

Dance Wellness Contributor Matt Wyon — Matt Wyon, PhD

Matthew Wyon, PhD, is a Professor in Dance Science at the University of Wolverhampton, UK and a Visiting Professor at the ArtEZ, Institute of the Arts, The Netherlands.

At Wolverhampton he is the course leader for the MSc in Dance Science and Director of Studies for a number of dance science and medicine doctoral candidates. He is a founding partner of the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science, UK.

Prof. Wyon is Vice President of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science and a past chair of the Research Committee. He has worked with numerous dancers and companies within the UK and Europe as an applied physiologist and strength and conditioning coach.

Lauren Warnecke On “The Year Of The Conference”

December 22, 2014 by 4dancers

by Lauren Warnecke

Some say, “If you’ve been to one conference, you’ve been to them all,” but having attended four conferences this year I’m not so sure I agree. 2014 was “the year of the conference” for me, mostly because I’ve been excited to share some of my survey research on dance injuries and cross-training. Plus, as a first year PhD student (you knew that, right?), it seemed like a great way to insert myself into the academic community. My work was presented three times: in Bowling Green, Ohio last February at the Midwest Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium (MSEPS), in October at the Annual Meeting for the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) held in Basel, Switzerland, and again last month at the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO)’s annual conference in Chicago. I also attended Dance/USA’s conference in June, sans my science-y hat. I presented twice with my research assistant Molly, and each was slightly different in length, but on the whole each presentation was roughly the same.

Why give the same information at three conferences? Three reasons: practice, pointers, and pageantry.

Let me explain.

When you’re involved in research, it’s really easy to get lost in your work. It’s big. It’s overwhelming. Sometimes, you forget the point. Continually putting myself into situations that force me to articulate and defend my work is a really important part of the process. Otherwise, I might get in front of my committee, years from now, when it really counts, and totally bomb it. So, in my view, the more times I can talk about what I’m doing, the better (practice).

Practicing in front of audiences full of draconian observers from all different fields is better still. In the three conferences at which I presented, I yielded opinions and observations from exercise psychologists, physical therapists, athletic trainers, body conditioning specialists, medical doctors, and dance educators. I can say quite confidently that the dance educators were the toughest crowd. It is vital to the success and longevity of researcher that we communicate with individuals working in the field – those putting our ideas into practice. I consider the feedback I received from guests at my NDEO presentation to be critical information that can inform the future directions of my research (pointers).

Finally, conferences are awesome. Though often overwhelming and exhausting, there’s quite a pomp and circumstance surrounding the coming together of like-minded individuals. I mean, I went to Switzerland (Switzerland!) for a 10-minute presentation. Plus, the schmoozing, the fancy parties and catering (pageantry)….

Though the format, the networking, the light appetizers and harsh scrutiny are par for the course at any conference, I found each conference I attended this year to be a unique experience. The exercise psychologists we spoke to in February had no idea about dancers, and helped me draw connections between dance companies and athletic teams. IADMS opened me eyes to a rich pool of dance researchers that I hardly knew existed. As the sole dance researcher at a university with no dance program, I often feel like I’m on an island. IADMS assured me that there are many dedicated individuals in the world who have similar passions and goals. NDEO allowed me to interact with the educators who may actually benefit from this research. And without application, research is pretty much pointless.

One thing is clear: dancers, researchers and educators are passionately committed to dance. We have different skills, experiences, and approaches, but ultimately we all want the same things: inspired performances, health and wellbeing among dancers, longevity of the dancer’s career, and intelligent training practices. By working my way through the conference circuit this year I have never been more certain of that.

Contributor Lauren Warnecke is a Chicago-based dance writer/researcher and educator. She holds degrees in Dance (BA, ’03) and Kinesiology (MS, ’09), and is currently a full-time faculty member and doctoral student in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Lauren researches trends in dance injuries, cross-training, and performance, and created the dance blog Art Intercepts in 2009. She is a dance critic for SeeChicagoDance, columnist at Windy City Times, a Huffington Post blogger, and a contributor to the websites Dance Advantage and 4dancers. Lauren has freelanced as a production/stage manager, curator, choreographer, and grant writer, doing nearly every job in the dance world at some point. She is a Certified Personal Trainer (ACSM) and Functional Training Specialist (ACE), enjoys coffee and vintage apparel, and believes in the Oxford comma. Follow Lauren on Twitter @artintercepts.