Category: Dance Research

Representaion in Dance and Academia

2/22/2021

HDC Past President and BIPOC Advocacy Working Group member, Andrea Downie, had the opportunity to interview Dr. Janelle Joseph of University of Toronto about the importance of representation in dance and academia.

AD - How does lack of representation impact dancers’ / athletes’ health, wellbeing, and performance?
JJ - Lack of representation impacts dancers’ / athletes’ health and wellbeing as it can lead to enhanced feelings of being an imposter and doubt over one’s inclusion and talents. When Black dancers don’t see themselves represented in the teachers, dance school owners, administrators, or educators they may not imagine that those roles are for them. They might limit their imaginations and restrict their roles. As a Black dance teacher and educator, I have acted as a role model and mentor for many people. Black leaders provide guidance to all learners, but especially People of Colour, to understand how to navigate their careers.

AD - Please discuss the importance of representation in academia.
JJ - Representation in academia is essential for the same reasons. Faculty have to not only guide students but decide on curricula, syllabi, and do committee work within the department that helps to shape the departmental and faculty culture. Without racialised and specifically black faculty the knowledge that is produced about black communities will be limited. This will affect student learning, which ultimately has an impact on the broader culture as students with understanding of and respect for Black peoples and cultures will end up influencing many different industries in anti-racist ways.

AD - What are some of the barriers that Black dance scholars face in the academy?
JJ - The barriers faced by Black dance scholars are replicated in many different faculties. It is clear that hiring practises are not equitable. In addition to being excluded from hiring and promotion, there is an over-burden of equity work in addition to academic work even if one’s research and teaching do not focus on Black issues. Many Black faculty feel obligated to make things more fair for the next generation to come and end up doing more service work. The burden is especially heavy for those socialized as women who feel pulled into caring and administrative roles. Another important issue for black dance scholars is that we often have to be away from our campuses for research. There is great research happening on black dance in Canada. However, many dance researchers need to travel to Brazil, the U.S., the African continent or across the Caribbean for their research. This can add additional strain to our faculty members role and our personal lives. I don’t think scholars in bench science or humanities consider these additional pressures.

AD - How would you describe your research to those not in academia?
JJ - To those not in academia I say my research relates to ideas of movement (including dance, sport, and martial arts) and ideas of culture (including race, multiculturalism, and nationalism). I love exploring the meanings we make from, communities we form within, and stories we tell about the moving body.

Dr. Janelle Joseph is an Assistant Professor in Critical Studies of Race in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education and Founder and Director of the Indigeneity, Diaspora, Equity, and Anti-racism in Sport (IDEAS) Lab. Dr Joseph studies broadly defined movement practices including dance and carnival culture, and produces award-winning research including three books. https://kpe.utoronto.ca/faculty/joseph-janelle

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Research Project

5/13/2020

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Texas Tech University Associate Professor of Dance, Dr. Ali Duffy seeks participants in a research project about women’s negotiations of their careers in dance with pregnancy and/or motherhood. Participation in this study consists of an online survey which will take approximately 20 minutes to complete, and a virtual (video conference or phone) 60-90 minute follow-up interview. Interview questions focus on the participants’ experiences in their careers in dance relevant to their experiences with pregnancy and/or motherhood. Participants’ names and contact information will be kept confidential and no names will be used in published or presented materials. The results of this research will be published in the forthcoming book, Dancing Motherhood: Contexts and Perspectives from Working Mothers in Dance, under contract with Routledge. To participate, individuals must: be over the age of 18, have experienced pregnancy and/or motherhood in any form (through pregnancy, surrogacy, adoption, etc.), and have held at least one job in the dance field during pregnancy and/or motherhood. Please participate by clicking on the survey link below. Please contact Dr. Ali Duffy ([email protected]) with any questions. This study has been approved by the Human Research Protection Program Institutional Review Board at Texas Tech University.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DancingMotherhood

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2018 HDC Research Award - Dr. Sarah Kenny

9/30/2018

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Congratulations to Dr. Sarah Kenny, Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, recipient of 2018 HDC Research Award. This is award is granted for her research, Sleep Quality and Self-Reported Health Problems in Pre-Professional Dancers: Are they associated?, in recognition of research quality and significance to Healthy Dancer Canada’s mission to foster and facilitate communication and collaboration among the dance community, health professionals and researchers, with the aim to enhance the health, well-being and performance of all dancers.

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2018 HDC Lifetime Achievement Award - Dr. Donna Krasnow

9/29/2018

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Dr. Donna Krasnow, one of Healthy Dancer Canada's founding members, was honoured at the Healthy Dancer Canada (HDC) 10th Anniversary Conference 2018 with the first HDC Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Krasnow is Professor Emerita of Dance in the Department of Dance at York University in Toronto. She has a distinguished career as a performer, choreographer, educator, author, and researcher. She was the founder of both the York Dance Ensemble (Toronto) and Dance Source (San Francisco), where she was also Artistic Director of it's resident company Möbius. She has taught dance and dance conditioning extensively in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan. She specializes in teacher training courses and workshops, and has certified teachers across North America in the conditioning system she created, C-I Training (conditioning-with-imagery training). Dr. Krasnow also specializes in dance science research, concentrating on injury prevention, conditioning for dancers, and motor learning and motor control. She has published numerous articles in distinguished journals, and educational resources for organizations such as HDC and the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS). She is the co-author of Conditioning with Imagery for Dancers with dance artist Jordana Deveau, co-author of Motor Learning and Control for Dance: Principles and Practices for Performers and Teachers with dance educator and research professor Dr. Virginia Wilmerding, and the co-editor of Dancer Wellness with Dr. Virginia Wilmerding. Healthy Dancer Canada would like to thank Dr. Krasnow for her service, and to recognize her outstanding contributions to dance education, dance science, and dancer health and wellness.

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Call for Proposals - 10 Anniversary HDC Annual Conference 2018

4/9/2018

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A Successful 2017 Conference in Calgary

11/13/2017

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Thank you to Conference Coordinator Hailey McLeod and the HDC Conference Committee for their excellent work on HDC's Annual Conference 2017, from November 10-12 in Calgary, AB. Canadian and international attendees and presenters enjoyed an educational weekend of eclectic performances, thought-provoking presentations, lively panel discussions, engaging workshops and plenty of networking opportunities.

Congratulations to Siobhan Mitchell, recipient of the 2017 HDC Research Award.

"I have a greater understanding of the issues involved in maintaining dancer wellness, particularly in young dancers. I enjoyed seeing young dancers, experienced dancers, teachers, and healthcare professionals come together to network and discuss how to make dance better for everyone. I particularly enjoyed the panel sessions, where people from a range of backgrounds (academic, studio-based, healthcare-based, performance-based) shared insights on the same question or challenge posed. I also thoroughly enjoyed attending an open rehearsal of Decidedly Jazz Dancework’s upcoming show, and appreciate how dance from the host city of the conference was represented.
I was particularly impacted by Erika Mayall's session about dance’s role in social media, and how what we endorse or post on social media impacts dancers’ aspirations for their bodies and careers. I am inspired to create positive content for social media in different ways moving forward. I also enjoyed the session on the healing power of hoop dancing, and would love to see dance from more cultures represented at these conferences in the future. I am grateful to the Healthy Dancer Canada Financial Assistance Program for providing me with funding to attend this conference." (Mariel, Masters Student)

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ICPAM 2018 - The Hague

11/2/2017

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HDC is proud to be a collaborator for ICPAM 2018.

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Call for Abstracts - ICPAM 2018

11/1/2017

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Call for abstracts International Conference on Performing Arts Medicine (ICPAM2018)
Thursday 29th - Saturday 31st March 2018 The Hague, The Netherlands
“State of the Art in Performing Arts Medicine”
Abstract deadline: December 1st, 2017 23:59 CET

The scientific committee of the ICPAM2018 now welcomes abstracts for oral presentations as well as poster presentations for the International Conference on Performing Arts Medicine 2018 in The Hague The Netherlands. The goal of ICPAM2018 is to share state of the art medical scientific knowledge on the topics of dance, music, voice, hearing and mind.

The first day of ICPAM2018 is devoted to Musicians’ Medicine and the third day to Dance Medicine. On the ‘overlapping’ middle day, presentations with a more general character, appealing to a broader audience from both fields will be scheduled. The scientific committee invites presenters from all fields that connect to the theme: State of the Art in Performing Arts Medicine, including, but not limited to, clinical medicine, medical research, education, policy aspects and international relations in performing arts medicine. The conference aims to be a meeting point for this passionate group of researchers and clinicians, that share a common interest in this specific field. Besides physicians in the field of dance and music, we especially invite also otolaryngologists to submit abstracts.

Abstract guidelines
Prospective presenters must submit an abstract in clear and concise English with a maximum of 300 words containing the following sections:
Topic: Dance / Music / Voice / Hearing / Mind / Other (please choose one)
Objectives: What were the study aims
Conclusions: Conclusions and relevance for Performing Arts Medicine.
NB If the topic of the presentation fits a research-based format, then, in addition, please make sure to describe the Study design, Methods and Results.

All abstracts must be submitted before December 1st 2017 23:59 CET via the official conference website: www.icpam2018.org . If you need assistance, please contact [email protected] . The abstracts will be evaluated by the Scientific Committee and selected presenters will be notified before January 1st 2018. All presenters must register for the conference in order for their abstract to be officially accepted for a presentation at the conference.

Looking forward to seeing you in The Hague!

Saskia Haitjema, MD, PhD,
Chairman Scientific Committee ICPAM2018.

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HDC at PAMA Snowmass

7/2/2017

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HDC Board Member Jo-Anne La Flèche, Conference Coordinator Hailey McLeod, and Board Members Karen Sudds and Sarah Kenny presented at the PAMA Conference in Snowmass.

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Providing Support to Dancers

5/25/2017

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"Dancing affords many benefits but also provides many challenges. Dancers need support from people who understand their passion and can help them manage the demands of dancing. A strong support network contributes to a dancer’s success, health, and sense of well-being." Learn more about how to support dancers as they navigate the benefits and challenges of dance, in HDC's resource Providing Support to Dancers.

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