My role at the DanceEast Academy is as Dance Scientist and Health Educator for children and young people aged between 10 and 18 years old. This means that I teach classes in body conditioning and fitness as well as contextual studies in performance psychology, goal setting, motivation and mental skills training. I coordinate a team of practitioners and health professionals so that we provide a varied, relevant and targetted programme of work, which can adapt to the students’ interests and needs, as well as advance their understanding of their dancing bodies.
The work intersects closely with the technique provision (ballet and contemporary) on the CAT, so I spend a lot of my time working remotely with staff, discussing pedagogy, language and anatomical understanding. I also co-teach with technique staff in order to aid the students’ transference of learning from health studies to technique studies. This is especially effective in the earlier years of training, as students hopefully understand the relevance of dancer health in achieving a long and successful career.
We are currently undertaking a curriculum review, so watch this space for blog posts about this!
elsaurmston 