FULL LENGTH VERSION Written by Elsa Urmston MSc PGCAP FHEA There is no doubt that the last year or so has been hugely challenging for us all, as we navigate our dancing lives amidst a global pandemic, in a context which has seen huge political, economic and social upheaval during an ever-more startling climate crisis. So many of us have adapted to new ways of working in this context, responding to the need to keep dancing by shifting our teaching online during periods of lockdown or isolation, dancing face-to-face when circumstances allow and continuing to find creative solutions to ensure that those who usually attend our classes can continue to do so safely, inclusively and socially. The dance teaching profession’s [...]

The news changes from day to day within every country of the world and we all bounce between lock down and slowly moving back into the studio. We have colleagues who are back in the studio already as well as some who are planning to go back to teaching soon, or to a blended, on site & online delivery. Of course, the preparation you need to undertake and how you manage your students and teaching when you do return to the dance studio changes, or indeed if you can return at all depends where you are in the world. Please, always remember, that guidelines, rules and laws will vary depending on where you live in the world, so it is [...]

To listen/ watch the full online discussion “Safe Dance Practice in Quarantine” presented by SiDI and IADMS leaders, please click below. This discussion was live streamed via Science for Dance Educators Facebook page. We invited dance educators (of any level) and dancers (student, pre-professional, or professional) to join, listen and share questions with the panellists. Please share with friends and colleagues. [...]

The first three months of the year can mean only one thing for dance students, auditions for summer intensives, for stage shows, dance projects and for small and large dance companies. Every weekend of last month and the coming two months are packed with auditions. I wonder how many dancers, including you have packed in as many auditions over the past weekends as is humanly, or even beyond humanly possible? Why do we do this? Fear of losing out? Fear of not getting to the Summer Intensive, company or show that’s favourite? Fear of not going where other dancing friends are going? Fear of failure? Fear of rejection? Fear, fear, fear. Fear is the operative word here and because many [...]

Harlequin Floors’ Mark Rasmussen is a familiar and friendly face at global performing arts events where he regularly lectures and advises architects, school administrators, local government, unions and teachers about creating a safe environment for dance and performing arts. In his article below for SiDI, he answers some key questions and outlines the advice he gives to the dance world about the important role the floor has in contributing to safe practice. Is it difficult to lecture and advise when you’re also representing a commercial organisation? Not at all, Harlequin work closely with our friends such as you guys at Safe in Dance International, One Dance UK’s Healthier Dancer team and the wider international dancers’ health community to ensure that the [...]

This article by Stuart Waters, covers some important questions that are being posed about the safeguarding of the dance artist, most specifically within the pressures and demands of the creative process. The article was originally commissioned by Disability Arts Online, www.disabilityarts.online. Stuart Waters is a UK based performer, choreographer and teacher who recently presented at the Once Dance UK Healthier Dancer Conference held at TrinityLaban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (November 2017). His session “Mental Health and Issue-based Work” proposed the development of support mechanisms for dancers when using emotional triggers in the creative process. " Safeguarding the artist, the studio and the creative process" by Stuart Waters Photo: Joe Armitage My personal “rock bottom” was a near death experience, [...]

By Sonia Rafferty, Co- founder Safe in Dance International The debate on whether icing an injury is help or hindrance to the healing process continues. At the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas in October 2017, a “duel”, entitled “Cryotherapy: Help or harm” was organised to try to persuade or dissuade therapists and dancers regarding the use of icing as a technique to manage injury. Two physical therapists, Valerie Williams (PhD) and Rosie Canizares (DPT) were charged with putting forward evidence both for and against respectively. Arguments on both sides drew on research studies to support the different viewpoints. The case FOR icing from Valerie Williams: A decrease in pain, swelling and inflammation [...]