Developing a Dance for Health Project: Considerations

Author: The IADMS Dance for Health Committee

It has been exciting to see the growth in the number of teaching-artists delivering dance in participatory settings to promote health and wellbeing among different populations. Alongside this, attempts are being made to capture data from their projects to build evidence of the value of dance as an activity that improves health and wellbeing. As a way of supporting the potential for collaboration between teaching-artists and researchers, the IADMS Dance for Health Committee created a set of guiding questions to help those who are planning dance for health projects in the form of an infographic, available in both English and French. 

31st Annual Conference Special Interest Group (SIG) Day: A Day for Dance for Health

One of our Special Interest Group (SIG) days this year is: A Day for Dance for Health organized by the IADMS Dance for Health Committee. 24th October 2021 - 8am-2pm (MST)

Here, the Dance for Health Committee provide details of two of the events happening as part of this day: Presentation on the Colorado Ballet’s Dance and Down Syndrome Program BBBY – ‘Be Beautiful – Be Yourself’, and a Research Brainstorm Event entitled ‘Data Talks’. The day will also include Dance for Health focused lecture and movement presentations from a variety of presenters on topics including Parkinsons, dementia, multiple sclerosis and more which are not to be missed!

iConference 2020 Enduring Materials - Part 1: Dance for Health

From March through to August we will be sharing select presentations from our 2020 iConference; free and open access here on the IADMS blog and on our eLearning page. Up first we have two presentations from the ‘Dance for Health’ theme. We also asked the presenters some questions regarding their experiences of being involved in our 2020 iConference.

Ballet for All – shifting focus to adapt practice

Authors: Clare Guss-West, MA and Irma Becker, BA

More than any other dance form, ballet presents perhaps the greatest challenges to all aspects of accessibility with its prevailing focus on the physical achievement of the form and on conformity to traditional aesthetics and yet the demand for adapted ballet practice is growing fast. Institutions such as the Royal Academy of Dance and the Joffrey Ballet school’s Adaptive dance program embrace such diversity and inclusivity and in many cases, integrate children with motor challenges into regular class. 

Healthy Dancing for Every Body

Authors: Rebecca Barnstaple, Lucie Beaudry, Sylvie Fortin

IADMS has recently expanded its mandate to include a focus on Dance for Health (DfH) with the aim to promote and validate dance as a life-long partner for health and well-being for all publics. The development of innovative research related to a variety of healthy dance practices is a key aspect of this initiative. In this brief report, we present core aspects behind the rationale for this new direction of IADMS, followed by a description of a substantial DfH research collaboration in Montreal, Québec, Canada, host city of IADMS 29th Annual Conference.

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.