Aesthetic athletes and dancers; training and optimising performance

[John Mallinson]

This Dance UK symposium is to be held on April 7 at the Royal Society of Medicine, London. Interesting topics. Full details here.

 

"This conference aims to build on the London 2012 Dance and Sport legacy to optimise performance enhancement for British Talent. The conference will provide a platform for collaboration amongst the interdisciplinary teams working with aesthetic performers. The key areas for discussion and debate will focus on optimising body composition and performance, injury prevention and problematic dieting. It will discuss the difficulties of striking the balance between fine-tuning aesthetics, performance and injury prevention. This conference will aid in the sharing of best practice amongst professionals working in aesthetically demanding art forms and Olympic level sports."

[JulieW]

Looks really interesting - hope they get lots of people along to it!

[John Mallinson]

I was amused by the 13 different categories of potential attendees with different price levels!

[taxi4ballet]

This conference will aid in the sharing of best practice amongst professionals working in aesthetically demanding art forms and Olympic level sports."

 

It is pleasing to note that they are putting professional dancers on a par with Olympic level sports

[Michelle_Richer]

Well this gal is thinking of going as I will already be in London after the LAB Spring Intensive at RBS, so it makes sense to stop the extra day and take this in.

[Jan McNulty]

Michelle, I do hope that if you are able to go you will give us a full report afterwards.  It sounds fascinating.

[LinMM]

So what do you register yourself as though Michelle. I assume they mean professional dancer when they use the category "dancer/ athlete" etc

What does AHP mean......second category.

 

It does look interesting but not sure how I would qualify to register my attendance

[LinMM]

Possibly seen a category under" non medical professional" .......which could cover quite a few people who weren't doctors dancers or athletes.

[Moomin]

AHP is allied health professional

[LinMM]

And what does that mean??

 

I am a fully qualified massage therapist and used to belong to The Society of Holistic practitioners .

But as I haven't practiced for about six years now that has lapsed and so has my Insurance etc.

 

It's something I might get back into.....even have a lovely new massage table.....but not just yet. I stopped when my dad was ill as I had no spare time and never got back again after he died.

But I am a retired ordinary teacher so maybe this category of non medical professional could fit am not sure. Although I love dancing I wouldn't classify myself as a dancer as I'm sure they mean professionals!!

[Michelle_Richer]

This Gals a dancer, full stop!

[drdance]

Allied health professional encompasses physio, nurse, osteopath, nutritionist, psychotherapist, sports (massage) therapist etc etc

 

I wish I could attend but we have MIDAS classes on the first Sunday of each month.

 

While I like taxi4ballets post saying "it's about time they put dancers with elite athletes" it's probably more the other way really - it's the dance world finally accepting that we can learn from elite athletes rather than being afraid of being 'tarnished' by the term 'athlete' (and I say this having been at many IADMS conferences and similar, where the mere idea of dancers being like athletes sends ripples of disdain and lots of tutting around a room!

[drdance]

Oooh I take it back - I might still be able to attend as it's on a Monday!

[Moomin]

http://www.ahpf.org.uk/member_organisations.htm

 

Usually only those professions which require a

Vocational degree and registration by law, not including medicine, pharmacy or nursing. They usually ask for your professional reg. number.

 

I would tick dancer if I was you as that is the capacity that you are going in rather than for training for paid employment/ profession.

[LinMM]

But they might ask which Company you dance with!!!

 

Though I could say The Company of the Third Age I suppose

 

I was going to google Dance UK to see what that's about and membership of that.....it's £10 cheaper than the non medical Professional category!

So fully trained teachers with degrees aren't good enough for them then!! Actually teachers did have to register and pay £33 I think it was for the privilege but then they stopped it a few years ago....anyway am retired now.

[drdance]

I would think that teachers would come under 'non medical professional'?

[Michelle_Richer]

Lin its not qualified by their application form, so I really don't know what you are worrying about, unless you are after the cheapest possible price, then I guess you could always gate crash, or come in pigtails and mini skirt as a young student.

[LinMM]

Well although this does look very interesting I don't feel there's a category I can attend under now so looks like will give a miss though I may just ring them and see what they think. I might feel down the line that if there are a lot of spare places then I could justify attending in the category of dancer (and say I thought it applied to amateurs as well!) but I don't want to take the place of someone who qualifies fully under their categories if its very popular etc.

[LinMM]

So would I Drdance but apparently teachers are not in the registered professional class!!

[Moomin]

My bit above was referring to the allied health professionals Lin, to clarify what it meant. You are a 'non medical professional' but personally I would also say 'dancer' is fine unless they have clarified that somewhere.I don't think there is any issue with you attending, training at the RSM is usually heavily biased towards the medical profession but open to anyone interested

[drdance]

I do think it's odd that there isn't an option for coaches and teachers...

[LinMM]

Thanks Moomin for clarification

 

It's just that there are alot of talks being given on this day which I am interested in for a variety of reasons but realise the day is really aimed more at still working professionals in their fields.

 

I wouldn't feel guilty if it wasn't fully subscribed though!

So I think the best thing is to ring and see what they say.... they might put me on some reserve list!!

[Thecatsmother]

I will go as sounds interesting.

[Anna C]

If those who attend could put their thoughts in this thread afterwards, I think that would be very useful and interesting to many of us. I'm particularly interested in hearing about whether hypermobility is considered an asset or a liability. :-)

 

Thank you in advance; it sounds like a fascinating day.

[taxi4ballet]

While I like taxi4ballets post saying "it's about time they put dancers with elite athletes" it's probably more the other way really - it's the dance world finally accepting that we can learn from elite athletes rather than being afraid of being 'tarnished' by the term 'athlete' (and I say this having been at many IADMS conferences and similar, where the mere idea of dancers being like athletes sends ripples of disdain and lots of tutting around a room!

That's not really what I said, which was "on a par with Olympic level sports".

 

I was meaning that it is nice to see that dancers and Olympic athletes are being considered as equals in their respective fields of endeavour.

[drdance]

And I agree with you. I'm pretty sure that Olympic athletes have always considered professional dancers to be equals - footballers, rugby players and skiiers have been using ballet/dance training to enhance their performance for years. But the idea of dancers using ideas from sport? Well, that would be scandalous! ;-P (insert tongue-in-cheek smiley!)

[Anjuli_Bai]

Having had many football players (American version) and other athletes (skaters, baseball players, basketball,  tennis, even an orchestra conductor, (and a preacher!) , etc.) take my class when I taught in a college - they told me they were taking ballet class to  improve specific skills.

 

But - exactly what would a ballet dancer gain from taking football practice or basketball?  

 

We have to keep in mind here that in the ballet the shape/form/lines of the body do matter. In sports less so - no one much cares what a football player's body lines look like.

[drdance]

It's the training principles that the dancers can learn from, not the sport-specific actions. Besides, this conference is about sharing among AESTHETIC sports....

[Anjuli_Bai]

It's the training principles that the dancers can learn from, not the sport-specific actions. Besides, this conference is about sharing among AESTHETIC sports....

Sorry, my error.

 

What training principles could a dancer learn from an ice skater?

[TippyTippy]

I believe there is always something to learn from others that are at a high level of what they do. Perhaps it's psychological, perhaps it's work ethic, perhaps... well anything. But ALL at a high level have things to share that all can learn from and think about to better what they do themselves.

[Anna C]

I agree. Nothing ballet-specific perhaps, but stamina, performance psychology, confidence - all these are surely interchangeable between high level aesthetic sport and dance?

[Thecatsmother]

There could most definitely be overlaps in terms of psychology. I think there is also much that other athletes can learn from ballet dancers and it is just good to have a conference where people can come together and learn new things.

[Moomin]

I agree, there is always something to be learnt from others and it may not be possible to identify exactly what it is beforehand! Given the joint problems that a lot of dancers experience perhaps there is something to learn from others about isometric exercises. Or better ways to increase flexibility than traditional stretches? Who knows but it does sound interesting and I hope someone will be kind enough to report back!