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 important to follow the recommendations and requirements of your own government /state and use the information below as it is relevant to your own country’s position.
In this newsletter we share with you links to some of the organisations that are providing information about returning to dance and the studio following Covid19 and addressing ways to support your mental health when returning and adapting to the ‘new normal’. Much of the advice below is common sense and wisdom but most importantly it is information produced by experts in the field of dance teaching, dance and dance science, following their own country specific guidance.
We hope you find it useful.
NIDMS and One Dance UK Weekly Webinars
One Dance UK and NIDMS are running weekly Return to Dance Q&A webinars, co-hosted by the Dance Medicine and Science Expert Panel.The series of webinars are available to catch up on their website and the following topics have been covered:
Webinar 1: Returning to Dance, what you need to know to get back to the studio.
Webinar 2: Preparing to Return to Dance – Risk assessment, legality,
responsibility when hiring a venue, and cleaning.
Webinar 3: Social Distancing in dance, part 1 Fixed groups and bubbles,
indoor exercise, ventilation and face coverings.
Webinar 4: Social Distancing in dance, part 2: Specific dance activities and risk,
class structure, floor work and contact.
Webinar 5: Considerations for vulnerable groups (BAME/BIPOC, Disability)
IADMS: Performing Artist’s Mental Health and Covid-19 – Webinars Series
The International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, is offering free weekly webinars on mental health for performing artists, and the multidisciplinary professionals who work in performance science, medicine, education and psychology.
Experts in mental, and performance health and well-being provide insights, practical tips and sage advice for those helping performers and for performing artists themselves.
In the webinar series:
Webinar 1: How is COVID-19 affecting us?
Webinar 2: Why am I feeling this way? And what can I do?
Webinar 3: Stress and Coping
Webinar 4: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream, During COVID-19
Webinar 5: Sensitive and Resilient: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Webinar 6: Re-Entry: Navigating the New Normal with COVID-19
Webinar 7: Psychological Readiness: Navigating the New Normal with COVID-19
COMING SOON
Webinar 8: Depression: Dark Night of the Soul
Webinar 9: Loss and Grief
Performance Medicine (Australia)
Performance Medicine are a leading rehabilitation and treatment centre in Australia, catering to the full spectrum within the performing arts industry. They have shared their guidance on returning to dance safely, with four key points in a simple and effective way to apply scientific loading principles and research to your dance studio, so that your dancers can return to dance in a safe and sustainable way:
1. Dance Questionnaire
2. Dance Specific Baseline Profile
3. Check in
4. Graduated approach to dance and training in the studio
Check out their blog post HERE
Healthy Dancer Canada
If you are a dancer in Canada, Healthy Dancer Canada are one of our partners and have a very useful resource page HERE and they have also advised us that Canadian Dance Assembly (CDA) are providing a lot of information for Canadian dancers HERE
Most of the discussions in Quebec, on Zoom and online directly, are happening with the Regroupement Québecois de la Danse, and some information on this can be found HERE
The Dance Docs
The Dance Docs podcast answers questions from the treatment table to help dancers better understand their bodies, and most recently covering topics like Dancing in a Mask, Coping with Covid-19 and Facing the Unknown. This is hosted by Dr. Kat Bower PT and professionals from the dance medicine community.
This podcast is for everyone from health-conscious dancers, teachers, dance medicine professionals, or anyone in between. The Dance Docs want to inspire, educate and fuel your dance journey.
We hope you find all of this useful and will help answer some of the questions you have or anxiety about returning to dance and the studio. We are still running the ‘Ask SiDI’ programme so please do send us any questions and we will answer them, or refer you to someone who can.
Stay safe and best wishes
The SiDI Team
