Webinar: Enhancing Dance Performance and Reducing Injury Risk: Applying a True Holistic Model of Wellness
Thu, Jan 9, 2025 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST
Human Kinetics
The desire to enhance performance is fundamental to dance, but pain and injury seem to be, too. However, a true holistic approach—built on the six dimensions of human wellness—offers a way to maximize performance while reducing the risk of injury. The physical dimension of wellness is the most obvious of the six; it presents us with a gateway into the other dimensions. This webinar by Dr. Jeffrey Russell will explore the application of all six of the wellness dimensions by using a surprising metaphor and show how, when managed properly, these essential facets of humanness can benefit any dancer. Jeffrey A. Russell, PhD, ATC, editor of Dance Injuries, is an associate professor of athletic training and the director of Science and Health in Artistic Performance (SHAPe) at Ohio University, where he studies artists in dance, music, theater, circus, film and television, and marching band. His PhD in dance medicine and science is from the University of Wolverhampton in England. He has served on the boards of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science and the Performing Arts Medicine Association. He is a founding board member of The Bridge Dance Project, the founder of the International Task Force on Head Impacts and Trauma in Stunts, and an ambassador and research advisor for the Australian Stunts Organisation. His international research group focuses primarily on concussions in film and television stunt performers as well as health care access for dancers in the commercial industry and on university dance teams. Other research from his lab includes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the ankle in ballet dancers and the use of dance socks to reduce forces on dancers’ feet.
