international association for dance medicine and science

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.

10 Tips For Navigating The Dance Conference

January 5, 2015 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

Whether you are attending your first dance conference ever–or your twentieth, there are certain things you can do to help maximize the time you spend there. We have assembled a list of ten that we think are pretty important, but we’re also pretty sure that readers will have more to add…

Feel free to leave a comment for us on anything you have found to be useful. We’d love to hear from you! In the meantime, take a look at these as you begin to map out your schedule for the coming year…

Create your own plan

No matter what the dance conference is you are attending, there is a reason why you are going to that particular one. Keep your goals in mind when you are planning what sessions you are going to attend. And don’t feel like you have to do it all!

Take a good look at the sessions that are offered on the web and map out a plan for what you’d like to see/experience. Customize your schedule so that you can get the most out of the time you spend there. Having a plan is half the battle.

Try to stay flexible. Keep in mind that once you get to the conference you may need to alter your schedule depending on what comes up.

Utilize the business card

Business cards aren’t used that often anymore, but conferences are the perfect place for them. Bring a big stack of cards with you and pass them out whenever you can. Make sure your social media information is on them (if applicable) as well as your contact info.

As you get cards from other people, jot down any information you can that will help you remember who that person is and why you might want to follow up with them. It will be really hard to remember these things later—especially after meeting lots of people and getting lots of cards.

Plan some meetings ahead of time

[Read more…]

Nourishing Your Dancer Body: Understanding The Fundamentals of Making Good Food Choices

October 25, 2012 by 4dancers

by Diana Clanin, M.F.A., AT

Dancers have such a love-hate relationship with food! Of course we need it: it gives us sustenance, repairs our over-worked bodies, and provides us with energy. And of course we enjoy it: it not only tastes good, but is part of every cultural and social life-occasion from birth to death. Yet, we are often afraid that it will make us – and I shudder to even write the word – fat. So we teeter between trying to be super vigilant about nutrition, and the fear of gaining weight. And the less food we eat, or the more we try to avoid eating, the more we focus on it. It’s an ongoing internal conflict.

As The Stomach Growls

So why is this so hard? Seems like balancing food intake, good nutrition, and weight would be as straight forward as a tendu devant. But dancers have a unique challenge: how to get the optimal nutrition we need in the fewest possible calories.

To complicate matters further, between the print and broadcast medias, and our hyper-immersion in “smart” electronic communication gadgetry, we are on information overload. Sadly, very little of what passes for nutrition “news” is fact or evidence based. If you are increasingly confused about what to believe, you are not dancing solo. Much published nutritional advice or claims are dubious attempts to sell you some product, which may or may not perform as described. Influencing you to purchase a supplement or special “food” often means convincing you that you have some critical deficiency, or are needlessly suffering from a chronic lack of energy. It is fear-based marketing psychology and you are the target.

Keeping It Simple

So let’s start by laying down a few basic guidelines for making sane and healthy – and economical – choices:

1. Eat food as close to how Mother Nature packaged it as possible.

Avoid pre-packaged food mixes (Bisquick, Hamburger Helper, etc.).
Stick with whole grains: 100% whole grain cereals, breads, and pastas. If it is white, Don’t Bite! (In the grain department, that is.)
And…if it came through the car window, is it really food?

2. Eat several small meals a day and include components from each of the macro-nutrient food groupings each time.

This means be sure you have protein, fats, and carbohydrates in your selections each time you eat. Examples: yogurt and fruit with granola, or cheese and whole grain crackers with vegetable sticks.
Try eating five or six small meals instead of three larger ones. This will give you more even, sustained energy and allow you to metabolize the food more efficiently.
And yes, this DOES mean that you may have to do a little food research!! – to learn which foods fall into which the various macro-nutrient categories (i.e., is it a protein? A fat? A carbohydrate?). In general, for dancers trying to eat healthy / maintain weight, and get good nutrition for energy, these guidelines are recommended for daily intake:

+ Protein                      12-15%
+ Fat                             20-30%
+ Carbohydrates        55-60%

Speaking of carbs, it’s good to learn what are healthy carbs (called “complex carbs”, like fruits / veggies / bagels, breads and pastas made with whole grains) and what are not-so-healthy-carbs (called “simple carbs”, like sugars and white grain products).

IADMS – the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science – has an excellent fact sheet on Nutrition for Dancers under the “Resources” tab on the left side of the home page – if you aren’t that familiar yet with different foods and nutritional information, this can be a great start.

3. Eat a wide variety of foods. [Read more…]

Keeping Dancers Dancing: “Help I Have An Injury – What Do I Do?”

March 8, 2012 by 4dancers

by Jan Dunn, MS

So you have a dance injury? What do you do….????

Last month we covered the various causes of dance injuries, and I’m hoping that information is helping you to stay injury-free. But hey, it can still happen, despite our best preventative efforts. So, the next piece is knowing what do if / when an injury occurs.

First off, you have to be sure you recognize that it IS an injury….i.e, knowing the difference between “good” and “bad” pain. This may sound like first-grade language (it is), but it’s the easiest way to understanding the signals your body may be giving you:

-“good” pain is the discomfort we feel when we are doing a new activity our body is not used to, like taking a jazz dance class for the very first time, when all your training has been ballet. It’s the normal response of our muscles / joints to the new movements, and is characterized by:

-a dull aching discomfort (not what we usually call ‘pain”) which is wide-spread through the body area you were using in a new way. For example, in a jazz class you use the ribs / pelvis in very specific non-balletic movements, and the next day you may feel over-all sore in those areas.

-“bad” pain is when your body is saying very clearly “STOP! I am HURT!”, and is characterized by:

-pain in a very specific place, much more localized than the discomfort described above. It may be in that one spot constantly, or only when you use the body part / joint in a specific way. It is usually a sharper type of pain than the “good”kind, but the key point is that it’s NOT wide-spread, but much more in one place.

2. Ok, so you’ve recognized that you have a “bad” pain, an injury —what do you do? The very first step is often abbreviated as PRICED (we used to say “RICE”, but you’ll see below where the “P” is now added in: [Read more…]