Blog
Blog
Stability of the foot and ankle: the impact of daily habits on dance training
Authors: Nancy Romita and Allegra Romita on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators' Committee
As you read this, freeze. Hold the position in which you currently find yourself. Do not adjust anything. Without judgment or shifting, notice the position of both feet. Does one foot have more weight on it than the other? Are both feet on the floor? Is there an even weight distribution? Is one foot or ankle a little more turned or rolled in or out? Are you sitting on one foot? Is a leg crossed and how does that affect the shape of foot and ankle?
Read ArticleRegional Meeting Edinburgh 2019 – Control
Author: Leanne Steel on behalf of the IADMS Student Committee
Between 29th-30th April, in collaboration with ACPSEM and the University of Edinburgh, IADMS hosted their regional meeting in Scotland which focused on the topic of ‘Control’. The meeting consisted of a full day Saturday exploring topics relating to control in aesthetic sports as well as an optional evening session on Friday about ‘Controlling hypermobility’.
Read ArticleTrait versus Process Correction and Praise
Author: Dr. Kveton-Bohnert on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators' Committee
Every dance class includes correction. Teachers serve as talking mirrors. Without feedback, dancers cannot develop discernment of detail or learn to self-correct. However, teachers must realize that what they say and how they say it has a marked influence on the dancer’s self-beliefs that manifest as confidence or anxiety. Instructors must be mindful of their phraseology when giving correction and praise.
Read ArticleAging and range of motion for dancers: An introduction to a three-part series
Author: Janine Bryant on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators’ Committee
The learning objectives of this article: To broadly understand the aging process and its impact on function and quality of life for dancers, to understand how this information can help dancers age well and therefore affect career longevity, to encourage dancers to create an awareness statement based on this information on how they can help themselves age well as a dancer-athlete, and to help dancers understand how how the very act of dancing puts them at an advantage over the aging process in some ways.
Read ArticleMeasuring a Pirouette: Tackling the challenge of quantifying dance
Author: Catherine Haber on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators’ Committee
Pirouettes are incredibly challenging for dancers to perform, but also for scientists to study! As we heard from January’s post, physical principles – such as torque, force couples, angular acceleration, and conservation of angular momentum – can help us gain better insights into performance. However, beyond these principles, there are a multitude of crucial elements that go into the performance of a pirouette.
Read ArticleIntroducing 'Dance for Health'
Authors: Clare Guss-West and Emily Jenkins on behalf of the Dance for Health Task Force
The forthcoming IADMS 2019 conference in Montreal will see an exciting development that reflects the evolution of the IADMS mission statement in the visionary field of Dance for Health (DfH). Capitalizing on IADMS Health for Dance (HfD) expertise, the Association enlarges the focus of its medical, scientific and educational research and activities to validate the role of dance in society and enhance the health of all dancing publics.
Read ArticleDoes dancing in heels hurt your knees? This may be why.
Author: Pamela Mikkelsen on behalf of the IADMS Promotion Committee
Dancers know that the shoes we wear impact how our bodies feel after dancing. I know that dancing full production shows in heels left my knees sore in ways that wearing flat shoes didn’t. Some of this soreness can be explained by differences in choreography demands but how much of the soreness could come down to the shoes?
Read ArticleCan Physics improve your pirouettes?
Authors: Margaret Wilson and Jennifer Deckert on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators' Committee
Successful completion of a pirouette (turn on one leg) can sometimes feel like an impossible task, but understanding more about the mechanics behind the turn may help you find more stability, produce more rotations and have better balance. There are several principles from physics that are useful in understanding the preparation and turning action in a pirouette.
Read ArticleIADMS 2018: A Dance Teacher’s Perspective
Author: Fiona Wallis on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators' Committee
I’ve been teaching ballet for over twenty years (the last twelve in Higher Education) and have been aware of IADMS for some time. 2018, however, was the year that I decided to make direct contact with this organisation and began to consider how dance science might enhance my studio-based practice. As a new member of IADMS, I was encouraged by Dance Science colleagues at The University of Chichester to attend the 2018 Helsinki conference.
Read ArticleMy First IADMS - Magical Helsinki
Author: Steffi Hai-Jung Shih on behalf of the IADMS Promotion Committee
Despite a long, overnight trip delay as well as a baggage delay, I was immediately in love with the IADMS conference and its community the very first day. I’ve been looking forward to participating in the IADMS conference ever since I became a PhD student, when I heard about the conference from Danielle and Michael who are actively participating and spoke highly about it.
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