Literature review - 'Fit to Dance 2' by Helen Laws

This literature review covers how I found the resource, its compilation, an assessment of its validity and possible limitations and how the resource has increased my knowledge.

 

Fit to Dance 2 by Helen Laws (2005)

I found the study on Dance UK’s website followed by a discussion with my tutor who mentioned that ‘Fit to Dance 2’ might be useful for my research.

It is a report of the second national inquiry into dancer’s health and injury in the UK by Dance UK. This 2002 inquiry shows comparisons to the previous survey carried out in 1993. It focuses on dancer’s health and wellbeing, injuries and dance training and the survey included professional dance students and dance teachers. It shows how the industry has changed and provides recommendations from the findings for the future.

The report consists of:

Foreword

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Notes on statistical terminology
Methodology
Questionnaire responses from Dancers and Managers
Questionnaire responses from Teachers
Interview findings
How far have we come?
Recommendations
Appendices
Further Reading
Useful Organisations

Assessing validity? Reasons why I believe the report to be a legitimate source to my research:

• The research is quantitative (statistical) and participants include 52 dance companies, 23 vocational dance schools, 10 West End shows, 4 Key South Asian dance training establishments.

• Dance UK's has been running since 1982 and has initiated a healthier dancer programme to promote the health and well-being of dancers.

• Dance UK is “the national voice for dance, Dance UK advocates and lobbies government and the cultural industries to promote the importance of dance and needs of dancers. We work to create a diverse, dynamic and healthy future for dance. Dance UK has over 1000 individual members including dancers, teachers, students, choreographers, managers, dance medics and scientists, and over 230 corporate members including the leading dance companies, theatres and vocational colleges, ranging from Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Ballet Company to the National Dance Company of Wales and Akademi, South Asian Dance UK. Dance UK is also currently in a strategic alliance with the Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD).” Dance UK therefore has support from established and professional dance companies which promotes its legitimacy.
  

‘Fit to Dance 2’ has increased my knowledge of injury support systems and closely related topics. The report looks into dancer’s health and injury in the UK , it demonstrates the positive steps that have been taken since the first ‘Fit to Dance’ inquiry and also highlights areas that still need work. My inquiry will relate specifically to ‘injury support systems’ – the effects of injury, why we need support systems, awareness of support systems, and how teachers can integrate many of the support systems into their teaching.

From questionnaires, surveys and interviews, the report shows figures into the cause and effect of injury. Most influential to my research is the section concerning outcome of injury; the physical and psychological effects. Secondly the recommendations section which suggests ways to improve or encourage the current health and injury situation for dancers.

Dance UK’s ‘Fit to Dance 2’ study suggests the need for “continued effort on the part of the dancers, teachers, choreographers, managers, directors and health practitioners to ensure that dancers’ health and well-being is fully embedded into everyday practice.”  This demonstrates a responsibility and duty of care for professionals working in the Performing industry to show concern for the well-being of their students.

The study reports that “dancers psychological needs should always been considered alongside their physical ones” (Laws, Helen).  This establishes that there should be psychological support systems such as counselling in place alongside the physical ones such as physiotherapy. Although not every vocational school will have access to an onsite counsellor or psychologists, teacher should be able to recognise the signs and advise the student on outside help available. Fit to Dance 2 advises companies and schools to ensure “that all members of staff learn some basic anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology” and organise regular refresher talks, “workshops, seminars or conferences to keep anatomical, physiological and kinesiological knowledge up to date”. Therefore teachers must keep their “knowledge up to date”. Teachers can also use encouraging language within the class to promote a positive mind. They should “remember that each dancer is different and individual” and “be aware of how much negative and how much positive criticism is being given, trying wherever possible to emphasise the latter.” A Teacher should offer constructive criticism.

In the study, Dance UK found that the most commonly perceived cause of injury was ‘overwork’. With pressure for dancers to be a triple threat in today’s industry, workloads are increasing and rest or recovery time is reduced therefore making the risk of injury higher. Furthermore, the study reveals that overall “dancers had an average number of 3.2 injuries each in the previous 12 months”. Consequently, improvement of injury support systems is critical.

According to the ‘Fit to Dance 2’ report by Helen Laws, it is essential for dancers to “Understand the underlying principles of warming up and cooling down and keep up to date with the current thinking behind effective warming up and cooling down…Monitor the effectiveness of personal regime and adapt if necessary… Incorporate both into daily routines until they become second nature”. Teachers can support this by “ensuring there is adequate time and space available for dancer’s” to warm and cool down (Law, H 2005 Fit to Dance 2, Dance UK).

Furthermore, Fitness assessments should be set up to identify “individual strengths and weaknesses in order to devise individual training programmes”. Companies and schools should “enable the individual’s fitness profile to be monitored at regular intervals in order to measure progress and adapt programmes where necessary” (Laws H, 2005; ‘Fit to Dance 2’ Dance UK).  Assessments and monitoring are one of many injury support systems that can easily be adopted by teachers. If a teacher can devise individual training programmes then each dancer can track their achievements and any detriments to their progress. This may help students to receive the help or advice they need before it is too late.

A possible limitation to the resource that I must consider is that the survey was carried out in 2002, 13 years ago. Whilst Dance UK has taken every effort to “ensure the accuracy and relevance of information provided, it is recognised that legal changes and new developments in knowledge, understanding and practice may occur”.

In the further reading section, ‘The student dancer’ by Julia Buckroyd was recommended. ‘The student dancer’ has also helped to inform my inquiry.