Aging 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.

Measuring 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. 

Introducing '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.

Does 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?

Can 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.

IADMS 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.

My 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.

Does Pilates breath inspire dance?

Author: Adriano Bittar on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators’ Committee

Following on from the exciting and intriguing posts from Christine Bergeron (How effective is Pilates as an additional training program for dancers?), and Jennifer Deckert (Breath: A Back-To-School Basic), the focus here is on Pilates and breath, specifically touching upon how they influence the performance of ballet.

2018 Dance Educator Award Winner - Stevie Oakes

Congratulations to our Dance Educator Award winner - Stevie Oakes! While she couldn't join us in Helsinki this year, check out this awesome video taken by her students of her being presented the award!

Getting ready for IADMS 2018

Author: Nicola Stephens

It’s nearly time for IADMS 2018 and I am getting excited. I’ve got tape packed for the shin-pain workshop I am presenting with my fantastic colleague Amanda, who is just starting out on her dance medicine career. Encouraging her to come along and co-present got me reflecting upon my years of being an IADMS member.