ResDance

ResDance Series 6: Episode 8: Science inquiry in dance practice with Sarah Needham-Beck In this episode, Sarah shares insight into her background as a researcher and her research across dance and occupational performance settings.  We discuss her interests in applying scientific principles to a dance context and how researchers can assist dancers with the training and performance demands they may face. Throughout the episode, we explore the wider considerations around supporting the individual in their dance pursuit through the importance of open communication and finding effective ways of working collaboratively between the researcher, artist and practitioner. Sarah highlights the value of dance science education and the need for a greater understanding around the nuances of dance practice within research settings. Sarah is a Research Fellow in Exercise Physiology and Program Coordinator of the MSc Dance Science at the University of Chichester, UK. Sarah’s research spans dance and occupational performance settings and investigates topics including field measurement of physiological demand, monitoring training load, and developing fitness tests. She has published original research in various peer-reviewed journals and regularly presents at international conferences. Sarah is a longstanding member of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS) where she currently serves on the Board of Directors.  Contact details: Twitter: @SarahCBeck Other social media handles: Instagram: @_IADMS_ Website: www.iadms.org   Links to any published resources: Needham-Beck, S., Wyon, M.A., & Redding, E. (2019). The Relationship Between Performance Competence and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Contemporary Dance. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 34(2), 79-84. Beck, S., Redding, E., & Wyon, M.A. (2015). Methodological considerations for documenting the energy demand of dance activity: a review. Frontiers in Psychology: Performance Science, 6: 568. Link to Google Scholar for full publications list: https://scholar.google.com/citationsuser=WWYHBTwAAAAJ&hl=en Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 6: Episode 7: Dance Ecology and Empowering Communities with Ashley (AJ) Jordan. In this episode, AJ shares insight into his experiences in dance and the work of his company-Ascension Dance. Throughout the episode, we explore his approaches to creating work and the value he places on the sharing of practices, community engagement and inclusive practice, in relation to the composition of the work he makes. AJ reflects upon the importance of embracing new opportunities and offers considerations and advice for both freelance artists and graduates looking to start their own company. AJ is a Black British Dancer, Choreographer and Company Director of Ascension Dance Company. He has produced work for the BBC (BBC Dance Passion 2022 & BBC Contains Strong Language 2021), Sky Arts and worked with the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 to create and tour a piece of work throughout the game’s activities. Inspired by movement physicality and the fusion of contemporary dance with parkour and freerunning, AJ’s work embodies a raw and unrelenting quality that tackles topics relating to us as humans.  Contact email: ashley@ascensiondance.co.uk Social Media: Ascension Dance IG: @ascensiondanceuk FB: @ascensiondanceuk T/X: @ascension_DC Social Media: Ashley Joran IG: @ashleyltjordan T/X: @ascension_DC Link to other Published resources ·      Hotfoot 2021 - Pg54 - 55 / Paving the Way - https://issuu.com/onedanceuk/docs/hotfoot_spring_2021 ·      Motionhouse Blog - https://www.motionhouse.co.uk/2023/03/10/supporting-artists-through-peer-mentoring/   People Dancing Animated Publication - Winter 2023 (Pg 44) - https://edition.pagesuite.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&edid=449ee8fa-266b-45f1-bffb-0a4702054849 Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 6: Episode 6: The Politics of Contemporary Dance in South Africa with Sarahleigh Castelyn In this thought-provoking episode, Sarahleigh shares insight into her experiences as a dancer, choreographer and researcher.  Through situating her thinking in her practice, we explore ideas on how contemporary dance in South Africa is a political art form, choreographic practices as activism, the importance of the moving body and the geography of space. Sarahleigh offers further reflections on how dance and choreography continue to inform her curiosity of practice. Sarahleigh is Reader at the University of East London (UK) and a performer, choreographer, and researcher: a dance nerd. She has performed in, and choreographed works, for example at JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience and The Playhouse. She recently was part of a screen dance residency with Ivan Barros and Pak Ndjamena with the outcome of a dance film titled HOME that was shared at the 25th Anniversary of JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience in September 2023. Her latest book is Contemporary Dance in South Africa: The Toyi-Toying Body (2022) develops an understanding of the body in contemporary dance and its political and social meanings both in the chosen performance and within the broader context of South African society from 2003-2007.  Her work is centred on how contemporary dance in South Africa is a political art form that is at its core choreography as activism. Staff Bibliography link: https://uel.ac.uk/about uel/staff/sarahleigh-castelyn Contact details Email: s.castelyn@uel.ac.uk Social Media: @dr_sarahleigh Other social media handles of interest: Centre for Creative Arts Flatfoot Dance Company  / @flatfootdanceco JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience / @jomba_dance Mhayise Productions Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre The Ar(t)chive Thobile Maphanga   Val Adamson Photography VERSFELD & ASSOCIATES Published sources of interest  2024. JUMPING Over/Under/Across and Towards: Choreographic Statements/Collaborations/Exchanges and Intentions at JOMBA!  In: Ballantyne, T. (ed) Archiving History and Memory: 25 Years of the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience. University of KwaZulu Press. 2023.  We need to talk about Giselle JOMBA! Masihambisane Dialogues, Issue 23. 2022. Contemporary Dance in South Africa: The Toyi-Toying Body Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2022. Choreographing the Archive of a White Female South African JOMBA! Masihambisane Dialogues, Issue 2. 2021. Intimacy as a Political Act: Contemporary Dance in South Africa JOMBA! Masihambisane Dialogues, Issue 1. 2019. Saartjie Baartman, Nelisiwe Xaba, and me: the politics of looking at South African bodies South African Theatre Journal, 32:3.  2018. Choreographing HIV and AIDS in Contemporary Dance in South Africa In: Campbell, A., Gindt, D. (eds) Viral Dramaturgies. Palgrave Macmillan. 2018. Why I Am Not a Fan of the Lion King’: Ethically Informed Approaches to the Teaching and Learning of South African Dance Forms in Higher Education in the United Kingdom. In: Akinleye, A. (ed) Narratives in Black British Dance. Palgrave Macmillan Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 6: Episode 5: People watching, making forests, drifting attention and undesigning yourself with Theo Clinkard In this thought-provoking episode, Theo shares insight into his experiences as a dancer, choreographer, researcher and stage designer.  Through situating his thinking in his practice, we explore his experiences of collaborating with artists across disciplines; the value of encouraging investment from the performer and his thinking around bringing the person into the dancer. Born in Cornwall and based in Dartmoor, Devon, choreographer and stage designer Theo Clinkard has performed, created and toured contemporary dance internationally for 30 years, collaborating with artists from various disciplines including film, opera, theatre, performance and television. His practice is focused on the communicative potential of the body and the empathetic capacity of dance in performance. He seeks to create opportunities for memorable connection between audiences and dancers through working with attention, the senses and the imagination as a way to generate a landscape of feelings. Theo launched his own dance company in 2012 and has steadily built a reputation for creating affecting and visually arresting contemporary work with large-scale commissions for companies such as Tanztheatre Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Danza Contemporanea de Cuba and Candoco Dance Company and creations for his own company, including the celebrated ‘This Bright Field’ in 2017. His next large-scale company work ‘Village’ is planned for touring across the UK in 2025.  Movement Direction work includes ‘Aida’ at København Opera, ‘Good Luck to you Leo Grande’ starring Emma Thompson and ‘The Faggots and their Friends between Revolutions’, which opened last years Manchester International Festival. Theo has designed for opera, theatre, dance and live art, including work with Sydney Dance Company, Skånes Dansteater, Scottish Dance Theatre, Scottish Opera, Opera La Scala and Malmo Opera. Theo is an Associate Artist at Brighton Dome and Festival and an Honorary Fellow at Plymouth University.  Photographer Hannah Close Contact details Email: theoclinkard@me.com  Social Media: Website: www.theoclinkard.com Published sources of interest Colin, N. Seago, C. Stamp, K. (2023). Ethical Agility in Dance: Rethinking Technique in British Contemporary Dance. Routledge: London. Chapter 3 - ‘Choosing a lens of values’: Dance training as relational practice Seke B. Chimutengwende, Theo Clinkard. Chapter 4 - ⁠‘As technique’⁠ ⁠Theo Clinkard⁠ Other relevant sources www.under-story.com  -'A place for informal honest chat from people who work in dance focusing on the times when they had to navigate the unexpected in their career.' Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 6: Episode 3: A Dose of Joy with Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu In this episode, Vicki shares insight into her experiences in dance and reflects upon the opportunities and the people who have informed her journey thus far. Through discussion of her work with Uchenna and as a choreographer and movement director in dance and theatre, she reveals her quest to lead with love, joy and peace and the role of empowerment in her practice, more widely. Throughout the episode, Vicki places emphasis on the value given to the individual bring seen and heard and the importance of connecting with others and helping others to see themselves in the stories they tell. Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu is the founder, creative director and joint CEO of Uchenna, a touring dance company that empowers, entertains and educates through dance. Independently, Vicki works as a Choreographer and Movement Director working in dance and theatre and as Coach and Facilitator working in the arts. She is the Director of Empowerment at People Make It Work and won the 2020 Women in Dance Award from AWA (Advancing Women’s Aspirations with Dance), a charity dedicated to helping women and girls aspire to leadership roles through dance. She is the Colossal Connections Coach who empowers Artistic Women to LET GO OF GUILT, experience COLOSSAL TRANSFORMATIONS & RECLAIM their lives. Contact details Email: vicki@vickiigbokwe.com Website: www.vickiigbokwe.com  Instagram: @vicki_igbokwe Uchenna Dance Instagram: @uchenna_dance Website: www.uchennadance.com  Coaching Monday energisers https://mailchi.mp/eaf8c3cd4cff/5sbuiumytt Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 6: Episode 3: The continuum between Sport Science and Dance Science with James Brouner In this episode, James shares insight into his background as a researcher and lecturer teaching performance analysis and biomechanics in both sport and exercise and dance medicine and science settings. We discuss his experiences and considerations when delivering biomechanical knowledge in a dance science setting and the value of the voice of the individual practitioner and artist in shaping research measures and future lines of inquiry. Dr James Brouner is the course leader for Sport and Exercise Science at Kingston University, teaching performance analysis and biomechanics in sport and exercise settings.  James also delivers on the Dance Science MSc at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance supporting biomechanical knowledge in dance science.  James’ research explores the impact of movement for understanding of optimal technique, tissue mechanics and reducing injury risk. James is currently supporting the Norwegian Breaking team in preparations for the Paris Olympics in 2024 where he is offering sport science support to the athletes in training and performance. Contact details Email: James.Brouner@Kingston.ac.uk Social media Instagram: @JBrouner11                       @Kingstonunisportscience Linkedin -  linkedin.com/in/james-brouner X - @JBroune11      @KUSportExSci Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research inaction.      

ResDance Series 6: Episode 2: Archives, Provenance and the Dancing Body with Laura Griffiths In this thought-provoking episode, Laura offers insight into her experiences as a researcher and educator and shares her thinking around notions of archive in relation to contemporary dance practice. Throughout the episode, Laura encourages listeners to challenge how we might re-think the archive and introduces ideas around originality, provenance and the body as an archive, where the journey begins and understanding remains. Dr Laura Griffiths is Senior Lecturer in Dance in the Leeds School of Arts at Leeds Beckett University, UK. Laura's research focuses primarily upon notions of archive in relation to contemporary dance practice, in particular the concept of the body as archive and the role of technology in producing dance archives. She has published several book chapters and journal articles around this subject. Professional industry experience has encompassed project management within the arts, dance teaching in community settings, lecturing and research project management. Laura is currently Vice Chair of Dance HE, the representative body for the teaching of Dance in Higher Education (https://www.dancehe.org.uk). Contact details Email: laura.griffiths@leedsbeckett.ac.uk  Social media @phoenixleeds   @nrcd_org Published sources of interest Griffiths, L.E. (2013) Between bodies and the archive: Situating the act, International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, 9:1, 183-195. DOI: 10.1386/padm.9.1.183_1 Griffiths, L. E., (2023) “Dancing through Social Distance: Connectivity and Creativity in the Online Space”,Body, Space & Technology 22(1), 65–81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16995/bst.9700  Other relevant sources https://www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk/book/  https://www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk/virtual-gallery/ Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 6: Episode 1: Multi-disciplined Creative Actions and the Courage to Explore with Keith Alexander In this episode, Keith shares insight into his background as a multidisciplinary artist scholar and his current experiences as a Fulbright Scholar at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.  By situating his ideas within both theoretical ideas and artistic experience, we explore his ways of working, approaches to practice and the inspirations he draws upon as a researcher and writer. Throughout the episode, Keith advocates the value of embracing new opportunities and his commitment to advocating for marginalized communities across artistic practice. Keith Alexander is a London based, Black American multidisciplinary artist scholar from Chesapeake, Virginia. An alumnus of Morehouse College, he began his dance training in Atlanta, Georgia through cross-registration with Spelman College’s Dance department. His academic and creative formation in “the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement” has influenced his artistic direction as he creates thought-provoking, social conscious art to heal and help transform the world. He is the 2022-2023 US-UK Fulbright Scholar at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Alexander's creative accomplishments include a documentary dance short film, selected for the 2023 London International Screen Dance Festival, and international projects as a choreographer, writer, and performer. Alexander is committed to courageous storytelling and advocating for marginalized and displaced communities across the world through the arts. Contact details   Email: info@kalexander.org Website: kalexander.org Social media Instagram: @kalexandersauce Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 5: Episode 11: Growing up in dance with Siobhan Mitchell In this episode, Siobhan shares insight into her own background and experiences in dance and her areas of research interests, alongside her current role as a Research Fellow in in Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Exeter. Through situating her ideas within evidence based literature, we discuss the challenges young people face when growing up in dance and the role of education in the area of adolescent development.  Siobhan shares insight into both the GuiDANCE project and the GuiDANCE Network (which she founded) which aim to review practices and propose guidelines in the dance sector around growth and development.  Throughout the episode, Siobhan reflects upon her current research endeavours and the importance of encouraging an openness of conversation and the potential for working collaboratively across disciplines and research spaces. Siobhan trained vocationally as a dancer before completing a BA Hons in Dance Studies (University of Roehampton), an MSc in Dance Science (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance) and an MRes in Health and Wellbeing (University of Bath). Awarded a full ESRC studentship in 2014, Siobhan completed her doctorate in 2018 and currently works as a Research Fellow in Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Exeter. Siobhan’s doctoral research explored the psychological and social implications of early and late maturation in adolescent ballet dancers. More recently, Siobhan led the GuiDANCE project and founded the GuiDANCE Network, a collaboration which aims to review practices in the dance sector around growth and development and propose guidelines for the sector going forward. Siobhan is passionate about education in the area of adolescent development and regularly delivers workshops for dance teachers, dance students and parents of young dancers. Contact details: Email: theadolescentdancer@gmail.com Instagram: @Siobhan_Dance Website: www.theadolescentdancer.com Other Social Media handles: @GuiDANCEProjec1 Published Resources: https://www.onedanceuk.org/what-we-do/professional-bodies-and-partners/the-guidance-network Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 5: Episode 10:  Reflections on enriching human experience and creatively using body movement to celebrate a shared movement language with Jason Keenan Smith In this episode, Jason shares insight into his background and experiences as a dance artist, trained movement psychotherapist and Artistic Director of ThreeScoreDance and how these continue to inform his teaching practices.  By situating his ideas within theoretical frameworks and artistic experience, we explore the role and portrayal of human experiences and the power of movement in facilitating a shared language, placing it at the fore of his practice. Throughout the episode, Jason advocates a care of practice in relation to listening, an openness of conversation, generosity of time and celebrating the power of dance being for all. Jason is a dance artist, trained movement psychotherapist and Artistic Director of ThreeScoreDance. His work as performer includes companiesvsuch as English National Opera, The Featherstonehaughs, Protein Dance, Union Dance and Walker Dance Park Music. As an emerging choreographer, he has worked with The Place Theatre, The Gate Theatre and recently premiered a new work as part of Brighton Festival 2023. Currently Jason is a Senior Lecturer at University of Chichester, where he delivers on the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programmes.  He continues to explore parity of expression and the portrayal of human experiences. Contact details Email: j.keenan-smith@chi.ac.uk Social media Instagram: @jasonks1 Other Social media: @threescoredance Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 5: Episode 9: Critical Pedagogies in dance education and training - Nurturing the creative agent dancer with Phaedra Petsilas In this episode, Phaedra shares insight into her experiences as a dancer, educator and researcher and how these continue to inform her practices in mentoring and supporting dance students to achieve their full potential as creative and thinking dance artists.  We discuss ways of approaching dance training and explore how Phaedra uses theoretical ideas and frameworks to work towards innovating pedagogy. She brings voice to the importance of encouraging an openness to change within education and particularly within conservatoire education.  Throughout the episode, Phaedra reveals her passion towards inclusion and well-being and fostering a sense of belonging, autonomy and agency for all. Phaedra Petsilas is Head of Studies at Rambert School where she is a member of the executive management team, responsible for the academic provision, as well as research and professional development. Phaedra is originally from Athens, Greece, and trained as a dancer in ballet and contemporary dance. She has an MA in Dance Studies from Trinity Laban, a PGCE from the University of Greenwich and a BA(Hons) in Dance and Related Arts from the University of Chichester. She is also a senior Fellow of Advance HE. Phaedra is an experienced dance educator and has expertise in both practical and academic aspects of dance. She thrives on mentoring and supporting dance students to achieve their full potential as fully rounded, creative and thinking dance artists.  She is an activ(ist) approach to her work as an educator and is always working towards innovating pedagogy, particularly within conservatoire education. She is passionate about inclusion and well-being, as well as establishing an ethics of care within education, fostering a sense of belonging, autonomy and agency for all students. Her research spans across a diverse range of areas within dance as a practice, from embodied reflection to notions of space and place in the perception of choreography. Her current research is centred around radical dance pedagogy. Phaedra has published articles in The Journal for Dance Education and The Journal for Dance and Somatic Practices, as well as chapters in books about education and articles for industry advocate organisations, such as OneDanceUK and People Dancing. Her current research includes exploring ways in which well-being practices are embedded within the dance curriculum, focusing on dancer’s agency and unpacking the tension between artistic freedom, institutionalisation and traditionally entrenched notions of dance training. She is also undertaking PhD research on dance pedagogy and has completed the Inclusive Cultures Clore Leadership Programme. Contact details: Instagram: @ppetsilas  Website: https://www.rambertschool.org.uk/ Other Social Media handles: @rambertschool Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

In this episode, Rajyashree Ramesh shares her wealth of experiences as a performer-choreographer, Certified Laban Movement Analyst, Movement Researcher and Cultural Scientist. Through the sharing of her cross-cultural journey of dance and body knowledge in cultural traditions, she revels her thinking around the centrality of the body in relation to bodily experience, felt and embodied meaning and approaches to findings a holistic sensed experience of the body. Rajyashree reflects upon her own research practices and the coming together of these in shaping her own journey. Dr. Rajyashree Ramesh, PhD, CLMA, is an Indian born, Berlin-based performer-choreographer, Certified Laban Movement Analyst, Movement Researcher and Cultural Scientist. Trained since early childhood in the solo dance traditions and music of South India, she moved to Berlin, Germany in 1977. Her unique artistic journey since then has centred around a cross-cultural transmission of dance and body knowledge in Indian traditions beyond cultural boundaries. Since 1996 she has been promoting both upcoming dancers and multi-genre cross-cultural stage productions under the banner Rasika Dance Theatre International. After certifying as a Laban Movement Analyst under Peggy Hackney in 2008, she channelized her work into academic research, receiving a doctorate in 2019 from the Europe-University Viadrina in Germany. Her empirical research titled “Sensing and Shaping: The emotive-kinetic grounding of meaning. A cross-disciplinary analysis of Indian dance theatre” integrated the dance, body, and movement knowledge in Natya with current fields of research such as Linguistic Gesture Studies, Cognitive Science, Brain Research on Emotions, and Fascia Research. The practical outcome has been a trans-disciplinary Movement Studies program she coins “Bharatha to Bartenieff” with two central modules “FasciaNatya” and “CoreConcepts”. For further information: https://www.rajyashree-ramesh.com/ Contact details: Email: natyam@aol.com / fascianatya@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rajyashree.ramesh1 Instagram: @dr_rajyashreeramesh Linked-In: https://de.linkedin.com/in/rajyashree-ramesh-aa856637 Other Social Media handles: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RajyashreeRameshAcademy/ Instagram: rasika.berlin, Rajyashree Ramesh Academy Some published articles and papers: Fernandes, Ciane and Rajyashree Ramesh (2005): Revisiting Ancient Tradition. In: Ravi Chatuverdi and Brian Singleton (eds.), Ethnicity and Identity: Global Performance, 3-15. Jaipur: Rawat Publications. Fernandes, Ciane and Rajyashree Ramesh (2006): The Laban/Bartenieff System as Applied in Practice to Indian Classical dance. In: Proceedings of the XXIV Biannual Conference of International Council of Kinetography Laban, 87-101. London: LABAN. Ramesh, Rajyashree (2008): Culture and Cognition in Bharatanatyam. Integrated Movement Studies Certification Program Application Project. Unpublished Document Ramesh, Rajyashree (2013): Indian traditions: a grammar of gestures in dance, theatre and ritual. In: Cornelia Müller, Alan Cienki, Ellen Fricke, Silva H. Ladewig, David McNeill and Sedinha Teßendorf (eds.), Body – Language Communication: An International Handbook on Multimodality in Human Interaction. (Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science 38.1), 306-320. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. Ramesh, Rajyashree (2014): Gestures in Southwest India: Dance theater. In: Cornelia Müller, Alan Cienki, Ellen Fricke, Silva H. Ladewig, David McNeill and Sedinha Teßendorf (eds.), Body – Language – Communication: An International Handbook on Multimodality in Human Interaction. (Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science 38.2), 1226-1233. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. Ramesh, Rajyashree (2023): Embodied concepts in Indian Traditions https://lbms-community.labaninstitute.org/c/jlbms-info/jlbms_issue_table_of_contents

Applications of psychology research in the dance sector with Lucie Clements In this episode, Lucie shares insight into her own experiences in dance and her work as “the dance psychologist”, developing evidence-based support for performing artists.  Alongside sharing the approaches employed in her educational and coaching practices and research, Lucie discusses her wider thinking around the role of psychology in dance and a greater awareness of psychological support for performing artists, more generally. Throughout the episode, Lucie opens up about the challenges she has personally faced and how she uses these experiences to further help support dancers. Dr Lucie Clements studied Psychology, Dance Science and Psychological Coaching and lectures in dance and psychology in several Higher Education institutions. In 2018 she began working as “the dance psychologist”, using her expertise gained as a psychologist, educator and researcher to develop evidence-based coaching, workshops and consultancy for performing artists. Research and evidence are key to Lucie’s work. Her expertise lies in the psychosocial underpinnings of optimal dance performance - which means the role of the training environment,teachers, parents, and peers in nurturing healthy dance engagement. Biography link: https://www.thedancepsychologist.com/about Contact details   Email: lucie@thedancepsychologist.com Social media Instagram: @thedancepsychologist   Published resources  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15290824.2020.1744154 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-48729-001 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1871187120302133 Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 5: Episode 6: Improvisation as a transdisciplinary practice for unstable times with Jo Pollitt In this episode, Jo shares insight into her practice of improvisation across several performance, choreographic and scholarly platforms.  Alongside sharing the processes and approaches employed in her research, she explores the theoretical frameworks that more widely inform her practice and ways of working with improvisation as method.  Throughout the episode, Jo reflects upon her current research endeavours and emphasises the importance of conversation as a means of making change.    Dr Jo Pollitt is an artist-scholar with the Centre for People, Place, and Planet, across both the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and the School of Education at Edith Cowan University on Whadjuk Noongar Country. She is convenor of Dance Research Australia,  co-founder of The Ediths, creative director of #FEAS Feminist Educators Against Sexism, co-director of BIG Kids Magazine, and author of ‘The dancer in your hands’. Jo's work is grounded in a practice of improvisation across multiple performance, choreographic and publishing platforms. Her current research is focussed on weather as a studio for grappling with feminist anticolonial relations with place.  https://www.forrestresearch.org.au/portfolio-item/dr-jo-pollitt/ Contact details Email: j.pollitt@ecu.edu.au Web: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-pollitt/  Social media Instagram: @pollittjoanna  Other resources https://theediths.org/roundtable-series/ The Centre for People, Place, & Planet: https://www.ecu.edu.au/schools/science/research/strategic-centres/centre-for-people-place-and-planet/overview https://feministeducatorsagainstsexism.com/  BIG Kids Magazine: https://bigkidsmagazine.com/ Published sources The dancer in your hands: https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/the-dancer-in-your-hands https://artgallery.wa.gov.au/learn/artist-activation/conversations-with-rain  https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003145615-6/choreographies-presence-jo-pollitt  The State of Dancingness: https://journals.colorado.edu/index.php/partake/article/view/419 She writes like she dances: Response and radical impermanence in writing as dancing  https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/chor.8.2.199_1 How to think (as) a body of water. A talk by Astrida Neimanis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASKL8EpDVXE Throat by Ellen van Neervan: https://www.uqp.com.au/books/throat Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 5: Episode 5: Rediscovering why dance matters with Heather Harrington  In this episode, Heather shares insight into her experiences as a dancer, scholar, figure skater, choreographer, and educator who believes in the value of movement and wider dance practices in shifting societal norms.  Heather discusses the approaches and methodologies employed in her research and the importance of working in a cross-collaborative manner, drawing knowledge from a variety of disciplines in fostering her curiosity. Heather shares honest reflections on both her life and experiences in dance and thought-provoking considerations around agency of the female body and her research interests on elevating the dancer above forces of exploitation, specifically the female dancer. Heather Harrington is a dancer, scholar, figure skater, choreographer, and educator who believes that movement has the power to shift societal norms. Harrington has been steeped in the repertory of iconic dance legends, dancing with the Doris Humphrey Repertory Company, the Martha Graham Ensemble, the Pearl Lang Dance Theater, and the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company. She created her own contemporary dance company in New York City performing nationally and internationally. Being drawn to movement in the public space inspired her to create site-specific work, from creating a piece on the steps of the Federal Hall Memorial on Wall Street, NYC to staging a gun violence protest in Newark, NJ. As a figure skater, Harrington has performed, taught, and choreographed for The Ice Theatre of New York, coached for Sky Rink, NYC and Figure Skating in Harlem. Her interest in dance in the MENA region, has led to teaching and choreographing in Tunisia and Lebanon. Her artistic and scholarly collaboration with Lebanese dance artist and professor Nadra Assaf has led to performances, articles, and conferences across the globe. Assaf and Harrington have continued to create work that speaks against the violence that hauntingly remains embodied in women. She has been on faculty at Kean University, Seton Hall University, and Drew University. She received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and her BA in psychology from Boston University. Her scholarship examining gender and dance, dance as protest, consumer dance, and the choreographic process has been published by Choreographic Practices, Dancer Citizen, Research in Dance Education, Dance Research Journal, Nordic Journal of Dance, Journal of Dance Education, Beauty Demands, and Dance Education in Practice. A focus of her scholarship has been on elevating the dancer above forces of exploitation, specifically the female dancer. Contact details: Email - heatherhah@gmail.com Social media https://www.instagram.com/heat201101/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-harrington-5738316/ https://www.facebook.com/heatherharringtondance https://twitter.com/GmailHeatherhah Other resources  https://www.heatherharrington.com/ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7396-5642 https://wadedance.org/wia2023events/dec1performance2 https://wadedance.org/wia2023events https://o-dcs.org/2023/01/misahat-noon-artistic-bootcamp/ Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 5: Episode 4: Widening awareness and learning on mental health in dance with Manisha Aggarwal In this episode, Manisha discusses her interests in supporting dancers with their mental health and wider considerations of mental health within the dance sector, more generally. Through situating thinking around her current PhD research, Manisha shares her thinking around barriers around mental health in dance, the application of research findings to sport and dance settings and the importance of context when considering such application. She highlights the importance of cross-discipline research in widening awareness and learning around mental health and reflects upon her position as a researcher in being situated across disciplines.  Throughout the episode, Manisha advocates the need for mental health to be a priority and for there to be greater emphasis on the role the dance sector can have on a dancer’s engagement with dance itself. Manisha Aggarwal is currently a Trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist, completing the Professional Doctorate with Liverpool John Moores University. Alongside this, she works as the Learning Support Lead at University Campus of Football Business. Manisha’s background has predominantly been in dance with hope to slowly make change in the dance industry in the NorthWest. Manisha has various research interests including dancers' progression and cultural competency in sports, working towards a more inclusive environment. Contact details Contact email: dancersmindset@outlook.com Instagram: @dancersmindset     Twitter: @dancersmindset Social media @LJMU @UCFBUK  (1) Manisha Aggarwal | LinkedIn Other resources  Social Identity as a Dancer and the Positive Role of Psychotherapy. – Sports Psychotherapy Services (sports-psychotherapy.com)   Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 5: Episode 3: Dance Pedagogy and collaborative learning with Ashleigh Ritchie In this episode, Ashleigh shares insight into her experiences as a pedagogue and researcher, with research interests in Dance Pedagogy and collaborative learning and teaching with students as partners.  Underpinned by the coming together of theoretical knowledge and practice in the ‘doing’ of teaching, Ashleigh discusses the theoretical frameworks that inform her research and teaching practices.  Throughout the episode, she highlights the role of collaboration in the co-construction of knowledge and the importance of students locating the ‘self’ in their practice.  Ashleigh shares her thinking around researcher positionality, power imbalances, equal partnerships within teaching and research settings, the importance of taking risks in practice and the wider value of dance and research degrees. Contact details Email: aritchie@londonstudiocentre.ac.uk Linkedln: Ashleigh Ritchie on LinkedIn Published sources of interest Dancing towards belonging Imaging the Future Democratic and Feminist Pedagogy Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 5: Episode 2: Considerations of the screen as a site of discovery and creation with Harmony Bench In this episode, Harmony shares insight into ways of thinking about the screen as a site of creation, dissemination and discovery.  Alongside sharing the processes and approaches employed in her research, Harmony discusses the theoretical frameworks that more widely inform her research and reflects upon her translation of thinking across discourse as an interdisciplinary researcher.  Throughout the episode, we discuss the specific questions that the screen as a site poses to dance, dance history and wider scholarship.  In her reflections, Harmony highlights the importance of contextualising, historicising and situating thinking, alongside holding ourselves, as a researchers and scholars, accountable to read and learn beyond our own fields of inquiry. Harmony Bench researches practices, performances, and circulations of dance in the contexts of digital and screen media. She is Associate Professor of Dance at The Ohio State University, and author of Perpetual Motion: Dance, Digital Cultures, and the Common (University of Minnesota Press, 2020). Extended biography and further information: https://u.osu.edu/bench.9/ Contact details Email: bench.9@osu.edu Twitter: @harmonybench Published sources of interest https://manifold.umn.edu/projects/perpetual-motion https://screendancejournal.org/ https://www.dunhamsdata.org/ https://visceralhistories.wordpress.com/ Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 5: Episode 1:  Rewilding potential for creating lasting positive legacies in practice with Sara Wookey In this episode, Sara discusses and reflects upon her work and practice around the idea of experiences as a mode for discovery and enlightenment. Alongside sharing the processes and approaches employed in her research, Sara shares insights into the theoretical frameworks that more widely inform her practice-based research and considerations around the shifting of practices in relation to geographical sites, cultural sites and shared spaces. The idea of creating positive lasting legacies inspires me. I’m a dance artist and choreographer; a researcher, writer and educator; and an advisor, coach and mentor working with people in cultural organizations, academia, nonprofits, businesses and boards. I specialize in movement and socio-spatial experiences, creative practices and relationships that are designed to revitalize and rewild potential. I am the only creative movement practitioner who works with people to offer imaginative ways to explore and experience spatial visualization and socio-spatial relationships that reveal the potential of individuals and organizations leading to positive and lasting legacies for them, their work and for society. Photo credit: Camilla Greenwell Contact details Email: info@sarawookey.com Website: https://sarawookey.com/ Blog: https://sarawookey.com/blog/ Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Wookey Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-wookey-phd-mfa-bfa-b6713813/ Academia: https://independentresearcher.academia.edu/SaraWookey Facebook PhD Dissertation (2020): Spatial Relations: Dance in the Changing Museum  Other area(s)/practitioner(s) of interest Informer  Precarious Movements: Choreography and the Museum Rennie Tang James Bridle Edward Soja William Whyte William Forsythe   Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 4: Episode 11:  Reflections and considerations on the role heritage plays in the creation of contemporary dance works with Ceyda Tanc In this episode, Ceyda shares insight into her experiences in dance both as a dancer and a choreographer, creating professional contemporary dance works drawing on Turkish folk culture.  Through reflecting upon her personal and professional experiences, we explore the importance acknowledging her heritage plays in her practice and the approaches she employs when making new work. Ceyda shares insight into her research interests concerning exploring traditional gender representation in dance and the ways these are represented in her work. Through discussing her education partnerships and her own youth company, she highlights the importance of running an accessible programme of dance and her passion for others to experience the joy of dance. Ceyda is a choreographer and movement director, and Artistic Director of Ceyda Tanc Dance. She trained at University of Roehampton & The State Turkish Conservatoire for Music & Folk Dance in Izmir, Turkey. Ceyda founded her all-female company in 2012, creating a body of professional contemporary dance works drawing on Turkish folk culture, and exploring traditional gender representation in dance. Ceyda’s first full-length work, KAYA, was commissioned by Brighton Festival 2018 for performance at Theatre Royal Brighton and was met with critical acclaim to a sold-out audience. Ceyda has presented solo programmes across the UK, including: Brighton Festival, Hull Truck, The Old Market, The Showroom & The Point. In 2014, Ceyda and her company were invited to Turkey for a theatre and universities tour, then again in 2017 to train in Turkish Folk Dance and for a commissioned performance. Choreographic credits include: Map Dance, University of Roehampton, Royal Academy of Music, University of Chichester, University of Brighton, University of Roehampton, Hull Dance (City of Culture 2017), Dance Woking, The Point, MOTUS Festival, ACE Dance and Music and The Place. In 2021 Ceyda was invited by Tamara Rojo to advise on the representation of Turkish folk dance in English National Ballet’s production of ‘Raymonda’. In 2022, she was commissioned by English National Ballet to create an original work for their Emerging Dancer competition. Ceyda directs a highly successful education programme and owns multi-arts space THE STUDIO, Brighton. Her youth company are four-time U.Dance finalists and were invited by Richard Alston to perform alongside his company twice at Theatre Royal, Brighton. Ceyda runs a thriving programme of contemporary classes and workshops for all ages and abilities, has an education partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council and is Associate Lecturer at University of Chichester. Contact details: Email: ceydatancdance@gmail.com Instagram: @ceydatancdance Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CeydaTancDance Twitter: @ceydatancdance Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.