New Guelph Dance board member, Heather Finn,
recently attended PAMA and shares her experience with us here.
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Conference venue:
The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto
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Heather: As a new member of the Board of
Directors of Guelph Dance, I am thrilled to join an organization with a solid
foundation and a vision for the future of Guelph dancers.
On February 16 and 17, Artistic Director Catrina von Radecki and I attended the Performing Arts Medicine Association's regional meeting, "When the Artist’s Body Says No," at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
PAMA is an organization comprised of medical professionals, educators, and administrators with the common goal of improving the health care of both musicians and dancers.
On February 16 and 17, Artistic Director Catrina von Radecki and I attended the Performing Arts Medicine Association's regional meeting, "When the Artist’s Body Says No," at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
PAMA is an organization comprised of medical professionals, educators, and administrators with the common goal of improving the health care of both musicians and dancers.
Highlights of the weekend programme
included:
* Tips on implementing a dancer
screening program by Gary Galbraith from Case Western Reserve University in
Ohio. Dancer screening helps to collect
information on a dancer’s flexibility, strength, technique, nutrition, general
health, and wellness. This information
is used to set goals for the year, improve a dancers’ performance, and prevent
injuries.
* Recommendations on the prevention of
stress fractures in dancers through exercise and healthy eating habits by
Healthy Dancer Canada’s Carolina Rotondo and Stefanie Senior.
* A panel discussion on “When My Body Said
No” with professional dance artists musicians, and health professionals
including contemporary dance artist, Peggy Baker (like most of us, her body
said “Yes!” to dance, with a few aches and pains along the way).
* A compelling lecture by Dr. Gabor Mate, physician
and author of “When the Body Says No,” on mind-body wellness and how this
affects the artist in particular.
I am pleased to report that we will be
bringing these great ideas to Guelph; for example the Guelph Youth DanceTraining Program will implement their own dancer screening program. By engaging in these discussions and
conferences, Guelph Dance will meet their mandate to “[create] opportunities
for artists to push the boundaries of contemporary dance”; not only creatively
but physically, mentally and emotionally.
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Anita Vandenberg (President-Elect of Healthy Dancer Canada) and Heather Finn
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Heather Finn is a dancer and
physiotherapist in Guelph and a proud Board Member of Guelph Dance.
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Dance outside the box here!