Safe Dance ®

Safe Dance ® practice

These Safe Dance ® practice guidelines include how to set up a safe learning environment, what makes a practice or performance venue safe, the importance of cater for physical different bodies and abilities, how movements might impact on the body, and simple injury prevention and management strategies.

Recommendations arising from the Safe Dance IV research project

In professional dance, as with all physical and athletic endeavours, there will always be a realistic expectation of some musculoskeletal complaints. The information gathered through the Safe Dance research studies develops a better understanding of the changing profile of professional dancers in Australia and their experience of injury. The findings can be used to assist in the tailoring and evaluation of evidence based injury prevention initiatives with the long-term goal of safely sustaining dancers in their professional dance careers for as long as they choose.

Safe Dance IV research survey: data reveals life dedicated to learning & training

In February 2017 we wrapped up data collection for the 4th Safe Dance research project, Safe Dance IV – Investigating injuries in Australia’s professional dancers. This is a continuation of the important work started by Ausdance National almost 30 years ago, which aims to better understand the occurrence of injuries in Australia’s professional dancers as the landscape of professional dance continues to change.   

A vast amount of rich information will be analysed and interpreted in preparation for the launch of the 4th Safe Dance report in late 2017.

Safe Dance IV—it would be nothing without you!

From January 2017 we will start analysing the rich and valuable data provided though the Safe Dance IV questionnaire. We will also be writing the 4th Safe Dance report, which will be made available to the dance community via the Ausdance National website. In particular this report will detail the current prevalence of injuries in Australia’s professional dance population and describe progress that has been made in injury prevention and management since the 3rd Safe Dance report was published in 1999. The major study conclusions will be used to help set priority areas for future dance research and action, make updated safe dance practice recommendations and assist with evaluations of current injury prevention initiatives.  

Dance research and the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science Conference 2016

The International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) 26th Annual Conference was held in Hong Kong on October 20–23 2016. A group of Australian academics, clinicians, dancers and students were thrilled to be able to travel to Hong Kong to present our work to the dance research community.  Australia should be proud to be at the forefront of this field, and a presentation on bibliometric analysis of dance publications identified Australia as one of the top countries in the world for quality and collaborative dance research!

Safe Dance: what does it mean and what’s changed over the past 20 years

The words ‘safe dance’ mean many different things to different parts of the dance community. It could be safe dance practice recommendations for teachers and studio owners, safe physical dance environments, injury prevention and safe return to dance practices, supporting the mental and physical development of dance students, the list goes on.

But how far have we come in preventing and managing injuries in Australia’s professional dancers? And are our dance practices safe?

Fuelling the dancer

What professional or serious dancers should be eating and drinking to train and perform at their best and minimise risks of injury and/or burnout.

Work health & safety for the dance industry

Some general advice for studio teachers and/or managers about meeting OH&S requirements for maintaining a safe dance environment and for caring for the participants in a dance class.

Eating disorders and dancers

How can dance teachers recognise students who might have an eating disorder, and how might they help them to acknowledge and deal with this complex and debilitating condition?

Caring for the dancer’s body

Traditionally, teaching and training concentrate on technique, alignment, flexibility and aesthetics. With advances in sports medicine and dance science research, there are easy-to-apply techniques to evaluate strengths and weaknesses.

Healthy bones for female dancers

This information is especially for young female dancers who can do much to prevent or minimise a common condition called osteoporosis by eating plenty of calcium during the growth years.

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