IADMS Seeks Nominations for the 2018 Dance Educators’ Award

The Dance Educators’ Committee of IADMS seeks to recognize teachers who integrate principles of dance science in their teaching and is seeking nominations for the 2018 IADMS Dance Educators’ Award from around the world. 

5 Questions With... Jill Descoteaux

Author: IADMS Student Committee 

Student representative Jill Descoteaux tells us a bit about herself and her role in IADMS. Jill was previously a member of the IADMS student committee and is currently a doctoral candidate in the Interdisciplinary Program at Ohio University, combining professional counseling with athletic training. 

Can creativity be measured? A Duel

This post derives from a duel held at the symposium for the In the Dancers’ Mind project at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance on December 7, 2017. Here, speakers Dr Kerry Chappell and Professor Jon May, recreate their discussion with the aim of provoking your thoughts. Tell us what you think in the comments below or on social media. Can and should creativity in dance be measured?

Mental Imagery and Creativity

Authors: Klara Łucznik and Rebecca Weber on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators' Committee 

Just like dancers practice physical skills in their technique classes, so too can we practice mental skills. Though we often think of imagery as creating a ‘picture’ in our mind’s eye, imagery is the ability to create mental constructions of any sort--including visual imagery, sounds, movement, emotional content, spatial concepts, or language. These constructions are all forms of mental imagery...

Imagery, Research, and Practice

Author: Katie Pavlik on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators’ Commitee 

We start our new year with a series of posts by leading experts in the world of dance imagery and creativity. This first post by Katie Pavlik introduces simple and immediately usable ways for us to embed the use of imagery in our classes from both teaching and dancing perspectives, a great way to invigorate our practice.

One Dance UK Conference 2017

Author: Janine Bryant on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators' Committee 

The beginning of the academic year brought an exciting announcement from One Dance UK with the programme for its first-ever Conference Season to be held at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. The conference, held in November, spread three separate programmes over two days and combined the best of the UK's dance sector knowledge and delivered an outstanding weekend of insights and conversations. One Dance UK presents an incredibly wide range of expertise and this conference was demonstrative of all the organisation has to offer. There were three conferences on the programme – the Dance Teaching and Participation Conference, a Choreographers' Conference, and a Healthier Dance Progamme Conference.

Healthy Dancer Canada Conference 2017

Author: Alyssa Perron on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators’ Committee 

This year’s annual Healthy Dancer Canada (HDC) Conference, held in Calgary, Alberta, brought together a diverse community of dance educators, medical practitioners, researchers, and artists from across Canada and around the globe. A breadth of topics were covered, all fitting within the conference theme: “Science to Studio to Stage”. Particular emphasis was given to the role of the dance educator, and on actively translating research into practice, which was definitely a highlight of all presentations.

Irene Dowd: The relationship of the scapulae and thorax whilst dancing. Reflections from the IADMS Annual Meeting, Houston, 2017

Author: Elsa Urmston on behalf of the IADMS Dance Educators’ Committee 

This is the first in a series of blog posts about the shoulder. The IADMS Dance Educators’ Committee will soon be publishing a new resource paper to help dance teachers, educators and students to understand the complex anatomy, function and mechanics of the shoulder girdle. We will include activities to aid your understanding in an applied context. Keep an eye out for our next post. Meanwhile, after attending a workshop focussed on optimising shoulder mechanics, specifically focussed on the relationship between the rib cage and shoulder blades, Elsa shares some of the outcomes of the session led by Irene Dowd.

IADMS 2017 DUEL: Cryotherapy - help or harm?

This year's Annual Conference will host a few IADMS DUELS!

Here, we will introduce you to the two duelists debating CRYOTHERAPY - HELP OR HARM?

IADMS 2017: Student Events!

The Annual Meeting is upon us and there are some exciting student events this year!