Somatics
Posture is an interesting topic that is addressed in wide-spanning areas from etiquette, to aesthetics, to science. A dancer’s posture is often revered, but it can also present some complicated inefficiencies and risks. In Episode 48: Posture of Choice, Adele Nickel, MFA, introduces the Alexander Technique and illuminates the unique phenomenon of a dancer's posture.
Episode 8: Somatics in the Studio
Somatics describes an approach to learning and a wide range of techniques typically aimed at improving movement function and efficiency. While that’s an apt description, there’s also so much more to somatic work which makes it effective, but also nuanced and hard to explain! In this episode, Alexandra Beller vividly articulates how and why she integrates somatic practices into the dance classes she teaches.
Episode 19: Therapeutic Pain Education
Pain is disruptive and sometimes debilitating to a dancer’s career and meanwhile, our broader culture’s dependency on pharmaceutical therapies for managing pain has led to an opioid crisis. Pain is problematic to say the least, and though we’ve all experienced pain, few of us understand it. However, there’s research suggesting that if we knew a little more about pain, we’d actually feel less of it! In Episode 19, Therapeutic Pain Education, dance medicine expert-extraordinaire, Dr. Marshall Hagins, PhD, PT, DPT, OCS explains a bit about the neuroscience of pain and how we can use our enhanced knowledge to ameliorate experiences of it.
Imagery is a free and accessible form of mental practice that can be used to enhance performance, confidence, skills and more. In Episode 68: Motor Imagery, Betsy Coker EdD, explains what motor imagery is and how it works, as well as why, when, and how dancers use imagery. She talks about applying her research on imagery to her teaching practice, and suggests that perhaps some day, imagery could contribute to a very different, possibly more inclusive understanding of what dance is and who gets to do it.
Episode 77: Attention and Focus
Effective attention and focus are known components of a successful artistic performance. As audience members, we know how powerful it can be to see a dancer who is supremely focused in the present moment. And as dancers, we know that an inability to maintain our attention on the task at hand can result in poor performance or even yield disastrous outcomes. In Episode 77: Attention and Focus, Clare Guss-West explains more about this important topic. She shares a bit of the existing research on attentional focus and explains the many ways in which certain attentional strategies enhance performance as well as offering practical ideas for improving attentional focus.
Episode 66: Dancing with trauma
Trauma is a complex experience that varies from individual to individual. Research suggests that dancers experience PTSD at higher rates than athletes or the general population. In this episode, dance-movement therapist, Erica Hornthal, explains a bit about her field, and we discuss ways in which the body houses trauma as well as how dance can be both problematic and curative to people who are living with trauma.