ResDance

ResDance Series 8: Episode 11: Moving Beyond Barriers: Progression and Employment in Dance for DisabledPeople with Imogen Aujla and Louisa Petts.In this episode, Imogen and Louisa share insight into their thinking and considerations around inclusive danceand dance and disability in the sector. Through exploring the work of their research project, looking at the progression and employment in Dance for disabled people (Beyond Barriers in Dance Project), they reflect upon the accessibilityof the research and key findings from the research project. Throughout the episode, we discuss the importance of evidencing the barriers that disabled people experience when working in dance and the role of documenting experiences as ameans of initiating wider discussions, awareness and understanding of what access means in a dance organisation. Imogen and Louisa highlight the value of disabled representation on the research team, the importance of access underpinning a research process and the need for greater network opportunities and collaboration across the sector. Imogen Aujla Imogen is a freelance dance psychology researcher, lecturer,and life and wellbeing coach. She originally trained as a dancer before specialising in dance science and later dance psychology. She has a PhD in dance psychology and a Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Prior to going freelance, Imogen was a Senior Lecturer in Dance and Course Coordinator of the MSc Dance Science at the University of Bedfordshire. As well as her project-based freelance work, she is a regular guest tutor on the MAS Dance Science at the University of Bern, Switzerland, is a peer tutor for the mental health charity Mind. Imogen’s research interests include talent development, inclusive dance, and psychological wellbeing among dancers. She has published over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and has presented her research internationally. Beyond Barriers in Dance: https://www.beyondbarriersindance.info/Contact details:Facebook: @danceinmindUKInstagram: @dance_in_mind_UKWebsite: www.danceinmind.org Louisa PettsDr Louisa Petts (she/her) is a deaf researcher, lecturer (AFHEA) and community dance artist. She recently completed her PhD at the Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE), Coventry University (2024) exploring ableism, healthism and ageism within dance for older adults. She received the Arts and Humanities Research Council Studentship Award from Midlands4CitiesDoctoral Training Partnership. Her research centres around person-centred, accessible and empowering creative practice, with a focus on ethics, positionality and methodological clarity. Her work also draws from her community dance practice with people living with dementia and Parkinson’s. Currently, she is working on funded project Barriers to Progression &Employment in Dance for Disabled People (Arts Council England), appointed by Candoco Dance Company, Corali, People Dancing, Stopgap Dance Company and TINArts, to address the lack of representation and leadership opportunities for D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, blind and visually impaired, learning-disabled, and chronically ill individuals within the dance sector. She also works as Editorial Manager for the Journal of Dance and Somatic Practicesand Research, Impact and Innovation Officer at LAMDA.Contact details: Email: Louisa.Petts@LAMDA.ac.uk Social Media:Instagram: lou_pettsLink to any published resources:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/louisa-petts-1702Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research inaction.     

ResDance Series 8: Episode 12: NEUROLIVE: An interdisciplinary study of liveness with Guido Orgsand Matthias SperlingIn this episode, Guido and Matthias discuss NEUROLIVE, a 5-year interdisciplinary research collaboration that brings artists, scientists and audiences together to study what makes live experiences special.  We explore how the bringing together of performance making and cognitive performance science has shared insight into how such collaborations can questionliveness and the distinctiveness of live performance, more generally.  Guido and Matthias highlight the value of artistic and scientific disciplines being fully realised in collaborative contexts and wider considerations around the role of dance practices and knowledge in contributing to developments in other fields. Guido OrgsGuido Orgs is a Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience and Group Leader of the Movement & Performance Group at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, and also has a background as a dancer. He is the Principal Investigator and Scientific Director of NEUROLIVE.Contact DetailsEmail: guido.orgs@ucl.ac.ukMatthias SperlingMatthias Sperling is an artist, choreographer and performer. His work investigates knowledge-generation in dance and choreographic practice as an embodied process of conjuring. He is Co-investigator and Artistic Director of NEUROLIVE.Contact DetailsEmail: matthias@matthias-sperling.comSocial MediaInstagram: @matthias_sperlingNeurolive NEUROLIVE is a 5-year interdisciplinary research collaborationthat brings artists, scientists and audiences together to study what makes live experiences special. Funded by the European Research Council, the project is a collaboration between University College London, Goldsmiths University, the MaxPlanck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics and Siobhan Davies Studios.Website: neurolive.infoInstagram: @neurolivenessPublished Sources Rai, L., Lee, H., Becke, E., Trenado, C., Abad-Hernando, S., Sperling, M., Vidaurre, D., Wald-Fuhrmann, M., Richardson, D., Ward, J., Orgs, G (2025). Delta-band inter-brain synchrony reflects collective audience engagement withlive dance performances. iScience. Available at: https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(25)01183-6 Lee, H., Ashwell, C., Sperling, M., Rai, L., & Orgs, G. (2025). Engaged and confused: Aesthetic appreciation of live andscreened contemporary dance. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000727Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, andinterdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.     

ResDance Series 8: Episode 10: Inclusive Dance and Empowerment: Voices from Opening Doors Malta with Angela Bettoni and Sara AccetturaIn this episode, Angela and Sara share insight into their experiences as educators, practitioners, researchers and advocates for inclusive practice. Situated around their workwith Opening Doors, an arts organisation in Malta that works for the active involvement of adults with intellectual disabilities in the artistic sector, we explore what ‘inclusivity’ means in their own artistic practice and experiences within the sector.  We explore the importance of open dialogue in fostering opportunities for collaboration, the need for societal change in the perception of inclusive arts and the wider role of dance and the moving body as a non-verbal form of communication. Throughout the episode, they celebrate an openness to inclusion and working alongside everyone, advocating that dance is accessible for all.  https://openingdoors.org.mt/  Angela BettoniBorn in 2001, Angela is a writer, performer and advocate with Down Syndrome. Angela has been living in Maltasince 2013 and has a Sri Lankan mother and Italian Father. Angela has just finished her BA in Creative Arts at MCAST, where she previously received her Advanced Diploma in Performing Arts. Angela is a passionate advocate forinclusion in the performing arts in Malta. She became Malta’s first TV presenter with Down Syndrome when she co-presented a 10-minute programme (Action!) on TV Malta in 2022. In 2023, she collaborated with the MindAdventures Theatre Company in Sri Lanka, performing “Heart”, a mixed-ability duet to a monologue she had written. This summer (2024), she performed a mixed-ability duet called BALM at Dance Festival Malta and at the Venere inTeatro Festival in Venice. Angela has been an Executive Committee Member of the Commonwealth Children and Youth Disability Network (2021- 22) and is a member of the Young People's Disability Rights Forum in Malta (2021-2024). In December 2022, Angela received a JCI Malta Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) award for her advocacy work.Contact details: Website: www.angelabettoni.net  Social Media:Instagram - @angelabettoni18   YouTube - Angela Bettoni Down SyndromeAdvocate  X- @Angie_DownSyn   -Facebook: Angela BettoniSara Accettura Sara Accettura is an educator, practitioner, and researcher with a PhD in Inclusive Dance and Autism (University of Bedfordshire). Her work focuses on creating accessible andempowering environments for neurodiverse individuals. Originally from Italy, Sara holds a Diploma for Dance Teachers and an MA in Choreography, as well as a first-class BA (Hons) and MA in Performance from London Contemporary DanceSchool (University of Kent). She has performed and choreographed for several European dance companies, with her choreographic works receiving international recognition and awards. Sara also teaches internationally. She is the artisticdirector of Junior Dance Company (Bari and Malta), Dance Master Class, and the inclusive project Dance For All. She lectures at the University of Malta in the Dance Studies and Disability Studies departments. Additionally, she is a boardmember and dance leader with Opening Doors Association Malta, promoting access to the arts for adults with intellectual disabilities.Contact details:Email: sara.accettura@um.edu.mtFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/sara.accettura1/Social media:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079289806203 (Dance For All Project)Other sources:Accettura, S. (2023) ‘L'incontro tra danza e autismo: un'indagine qualitativa presentata attraverso l'uso di vignette’ in P. Grassi and R. Zammit Bioethics and the paradox of appearance: fragility, dependence, disability in the various phasesof life. Rome: Armando Editore, pp.703-720. The JD Dragon Disability Rights Podcast: (https://open.spotify.com/episode/1S6uurALuEXCbVXHHnO34G?si=mwK7WKONStytfQlJQ2AE2w)

ResDance Series 8: Episode 9: Choreography, Questions and Relationality with Nic Conibere In this episode, Nic shares insight into her choreographic processes and on the theoretical ideas, frameworks andenvironments that more widely inform her practice-based research. Alongside sharing her processes for creating work, Nic draws upon her own formative experiences and encounters with choreography.  Throughout the episode, we explore  ideas around the body and spaces of exchange and ways of being curious and seeking out where relationality can be found.  Nicola Conibere is a choreographer and Programme Leader for the MFA Choreography at the University of Roehampton. Her work explores the politics of bodies, performance and the potentials of the choreographic.Headshot photographer: Christa Holka. Contact Details Email: Nicola.conibre@roehampton.ac.uk Website: www.nicolaconibere.com Staff Profile Link: https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/nicola-conibere    Published Resourceswww.nicolaconibere.com Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research inaction.

ResDance Series 8: Episode 8: The value of dance in Secondary Education with Jo-Hodson PriorIn the episode, Jo shares insight into her experiencesworking in education and teaching dance to young people from 11-18 in a Secondary school, and in her role as a PGCE Dance Subject Coordinator.  Through situating our conversation in ways of maintaining high quality dance provision, we discuss different ways of accessing dance, current dance and teaching practices and the transferable skills dance can offer both young people and the wider school community. Drawing upon her experiences as a practitioner and researcher, Jo shares insight into findings from her PhD research and her holistic teaching practice underpinned by theoretical discourse.  Jo further discusses the importance of developing positive wellbeing for young people through dance and giving young people a voice, highlighting the positive role reflective practice and encouraging them to create, explore and play, can provide. Throughout the episode, she advocates the importance of dance in schools and for the awareness of inclusive practices within dance. Jo is currently the PGCE Dance Subject Coordinator and Professional Studies Tutor at the University of Chichester and has been working in education for the past 21 years, teachingdance to young people from 11-18 in a Secondary school, as well as teaching contemporary dance vocationally. Jo has continually advocated for the importance of the Arts In schools, with a specific focus on high quality dance and inclusive practice.  She is currently completing her PhD at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, focussing on the development of positive mental health and wellbeing in secondary age students, through a creative dance approach. Contact Details:Email: j.hodson-prior@chi.ac.uk Related Publications: OneDance Uk article for Education EditionHodson-Prior, J., (2019). University of Chichester & PGCE Dance. One Dance UK. Available at:https://www.onedanceuk.org/university-of-chichester-pgce-dance/?utm_source=One%20Dance%20UK&utm_campaign=452670b487-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_09_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f4ae144224-452670b487-144492377Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research inaction.

ResDance Series 8: Episode 7:ResDance Series 8: Episode 7: Queer:mess: Research enquiry into bringing the hidden, visible with Stuart Waters In this episode, Stuart reflects upon his career as a dancer, maker, researcher, curator and more recently, mentor and coach. Situating our conversation around his experiences as an artist with hidden disabilities, we explore ideas around whatsafety in dance looks like; ways of languaging and sharing experience and how spaces he creates meet the things people don’t see. We explore experiences that have led to a place of practice-based research and autobiographical led inquiryin a variety of settings and how his recent mentoring and coaching work has informed both his own practice and supporting artists, more widely. In this thought-provoking episode, Stuart offers personal and honest reflections around shame, keeping disabilities hidden and the barriers to asking for support. Offering insight into ways of being openaround disability as a sector, he advocates for the importance of a sense of dance community and the value of being brave and always championing yourself. As an alumnus of Northern School of Contemporary Dance(BA) and London Contemporary Dance School (MA) Stuart’s 26year career in the dance sector has been eclectic - performing and teaching in a wide range of educational and community settings nationally and internationally as well astouring with a range of companies and choreographers across different touring networks in the UK and overseas. Over the last decade, Stuart’s practice has shifted into maker, researcher, curator, facilitator, mentor and coach (EMCC Senior practitioner accreditation). Stuart’s practice is an evolving enquiryinto care. It is led by his lived experiences, intersectionality and his hidden disabilities as an access-led practice. Stuart’s work includes ‘Rockbottom’ (2016-2019), a touring solo show approaching mental health and chemsex. This began Stuart’s ongoing enquiry into “safeguarding the dancer in the studio process, live performance and engagement”, beginning conversations with communities and audiences around the UK.  Between 2021-2024, through partnerships, commissionsand collaborations with The Place, Wellcome Collection, FABRIC, Southeast Dance, PDSW, ACE, East Sussex Arts Partnership and The Brighton Festival, Stuart co-created ‘A Queer Collision’, a practice which evolved from an enquiryquestion into a touring show: how to embed access and audio description to lay the foundation for a queer, time-travelling show which told audio-described autobiographies. The show was also a deep look into care and inclusion forparticipants, audiences and teams. In the last 10 years, Stuart has also co-led and collaborated with a host of artists and partners to deliver ‘Head:ON Conversations’, a thread of Stuart’s work which looks at step-change within thedance and cultural sector. Stuart advocates for mental health and disability step-change in dance as an Unlimited and Clore ‘Inclusive Cultures’ alumnus and through his contributions as a trustee with Candoco Dance Company and STEPPS -a mental health charity for dancers.Image credit: Joe Armitage. Contact Details:Email: stuartwaters90@googlemail.comSocial Media:Instagram: @Stuart_watersLinktr.ee/stuartwaters90 Websites:https://stuartwaters.info/ stuartwaterscoaching.co.uk  Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, andinterdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action. 

ResDance Series 8: Episode 6: Dance: A Life Choice: A conversation with Dennie WilsonIn the episode, Dennie shares insight into her background and experiences as a Dance Artist, Educator and Researcher.  Through situating our conversation in how her lived experience continues to inform her dance teaching practice, Dennie shares insight into her research informed approaches to teaching, ways in which critical and embodied knowledge is passed on through teaching practice and pedagogical ideas around coaching, learning and teaching. Reflecting upon her current PhD research, Dennie reflects upon her own coachingapproach to her how she teaches; the role of the coach within vocational dance training and the skills she aims to equip her professional dancers with who look to transition fromperformer to teacher. Throughout the episode, Dennie advocates the wider value and power of dance and the need for a continued belief in what dance can offer.Dennie is a Dance Artist, Educator and Researcher who was originally a professional dancer and then performance creator. With a driving interest in collaborative interdisciplinary practice, her career has taken her all over the world to workon projects with artists, composers, contemporary designers, jewellery makers, poets, and new media artists; using a range of mediums including film projection, stop motion animation and algorithmic choreography. She has collaborated on unique installation and theatre pieces in venues ranging fromthe Royal Albert Hall and the National Indoor Arena (Utilita) Birmingham to intimate studio spaces and art galleries. This lived experience forms the cornerstone of her dance practice. Dennie taught contemporary dance for eight years, at Elmhurst Ballet School (6th form and graduate year), andwas a senior lecturer in Dance Practice and Performance at the University of Wolverhampton. She worked as a dance artist with the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s learning education and participation department (LEAP) for over two decades.Currently Dennie is a Programme Manager, and Lecturer in Dance Education or Professional Dancers in the Faculty of Education at the Royal Academy of Dance. She has responsibility for teacher training programmes for professional dancers looking to make the transition form professional performer to professional teacher. She also lectures on all RAD Faculty of Education programmes with a particular focus on dance technique and performance, choreography, leadinglearning and the holistic health and wellbeing of the dancer. Lastly, Dennie is also jugging the final year of a Professional Doctorate at University of Central Lancashire where her research interest is coaching practice and therole of the coach within vocational dance training and professional dance performance, to empower the dancer as independent decision-maker.Contact Details: Email: dennie2@mac.comWebsite: dna3d dance designdigital. https://www.dna3d.co.uk/Website: The Blue Space Concept CoachingPractice https://bluespace.myfreesites.net/Related publications and sources:Building a case for coaching: informing an innovative, pedagogical approach to dancer development https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14647893.2022.2097656Labours of Sports Coaching: When to coach, teach, or train, with Dennie Wilsonhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/3intt9nRsd2HqACv2Bvy0N?si=CuhZ-BtoTYW0ldpCurAYjgOn Time : Speedhttps://ontimepodcastseries.podbean.com/Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research inaction.

ResDance Series 8: Episode 5: Dwelling in the interstice: Cross-disciplinary research as a mode of discovery with MaryKate ConnollyIn the episode, Mary Kate shares insights from her experience as a writer and curator, and her particular interest in performance legacies and the material remains of performance. Situating our conversation around her recent monograph, In Smithereens: The Costume Remains of Lea Anderson’s Stage (Intellect, 2024), we discuss therole of costume in contemporary dance and explore hands-on practices as means of revealing what gets left behind in the wake of performance. In this episode, Mary Kate reflects on her preoccupation with the intersections between disparatefields of research and a willingness to embrace the role of the novice when inhabiting them.Dr Mary Kate Connolly is a writer and curator based in London, UK. She is currently undertaking research in partnership with Victorian College of Arts, Melbourne. Mary Kate is Co-Editor (with artist David Caines) of COMPOST, a multidisciplinary arts zine.Her monograph In Smithereens: The Costume Remains of Lea Anderson’s Stage (Intellect, 2024) is the culmination of a longstanding collaboration with choreographer LeaAnderson; many years spent experimenting in the costume archive, writing about the fabric remains of performance and curating exhibitions of costume artefacts. Mary Kate continues to be preoccupied with performance legacies (both material and immaterial). Looking to find alternative ways in which theycan be unfolded.She has curated exhibitions and live events at studio 1.1, London, Barbican Pit Theatre, TACO! Gallery, and Anthony Wilkinson, Soho. Edited publications include Lea Anderson's The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs: 40 Years of Style and Design (2024), People Show: Nobody Knows butEverybody Remembers (2016) and Throwing the Body into the Fight: A Portrait of Raimund Hoghe (2013).Mary Kate is former Programme Leader of the MA and MFA creative practice at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She has performed at Prague Quadrennial, Brut Wien and as part of SPILL festival, UK. Contact Details:Email: marykate@compostartzine.comSocial Media: @connolly.marykate@compost_art_zineRecent Publications and Related Links: In Smithereens: The Costume Remains of Lea Anderson’sStage:https://www.intellectbooks.com/in-smithereensCOMPOST Art Zine:www.compostartzine.comLea Anderson’s The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs: 40 Years of Style and Design:http://www.leaanderson.com/40th-anniversary-bookPlease share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, andinterdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 8: Episode 4: Thinking differently about training practices and the value of health care within dance with Steven McRaeIn this episode, Steven reflects upon his experiences as a professional dancer and Principal of The Royal Ballet.  We position our conversation around the recently aired documentary “Steven McRae: Dancing Back to the Light”, which documents Steven’s journey with rehabilitation and return from injury. He reflects upon the revolutionary work of the Royal Ballet and a new sense of value he places on the role of scientific and embodied knowledge in underpinningand informing his practice.  Steven advocates the need for open dialogue and conversation around practices within dance and a greater accessibility of health provision within the sector.  Throughout the episode, he reflects upon the hope he holds for a greater sharing of experiences and the opportunity for a cultural shift in the training and workload practices of dancers.Australian dancer Steven McRae is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. He joined The Royal Ballet School on a Prix de Lausanne scholarship in 2003. He graduated into The Royal Ballet in 2004 and was promoted to First Artist in 2005, Soloist in 2006,First Soloist in 2008 and Principal in 2009. McRae was born in Sydney and trained with Hilary Kaplan and at The Royal Ballet School. He won the 2002 Adeline Genée Gold Medal and the 2003 Prix de Lausanne. His roles with The Royal Ballet include all the classical repertory and leading roles in works by choreographers including Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, David Bintley, William Forsythe, Kenneth MacMillan, Alastair Marriott, Wayne McGregor, LiamScarlett and Christopher Wheeldon. His role creations include Magician/Mad Hatter (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Jack (Sweet Violets), Sandman (Hansel and Gretel), Florizel (The Winter’s Tale), Emble (The Age of Anxiety), Creature (Frankenstein) and roles in Three Songs – Two Voices, Children of Adam, Chroma, Acis and Galatea (Royal Opera), 24 Preludes, The Human Seasons, Tetractys, Connectome, Woolf Works, Multiverse, The Illustrated Farewell, Yugen and concerto pour deux. McRae has performed as a guest artist with companies including American Ballet Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Australian Ballet, Tokyo Ballet and at numerous international galas. His awards include the 2006 Emerging Male Artist (Classical) and the 2011 Best Male Dancer awards at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. In 2014 he was named Young Australian Achiever in the UK by the Australia Day Foundation. https://www.rbo.org.uk/people/steven-mcraePhoto Credit: ‘Ballet Nights’Contact details:Instagram @stevenmcraeOther social media platforms:@royalballetandopera@verdensballetten@a_resilient_man.filmPlease share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 8: Episode 3: Exploring Dance as a Tool for Awareness and Wellbeing with Alice Marshall In the episode, Alice shares insight into her experiences both as a professional dancer and choreographer and the work of her company - Adaire to Dance. Through exploring her choreographic identity, she offers insight into performative work and her drive for encouraging accessibility of the arts, presenting opportunities for all in dance. Alice reflects upon the role dance has as a tool for raising awareness ofexperiences and conversations that feel difficult to have, sharing her personal journey with baby loss and the role dance has played in her recovery. Throughout the episode, Alice highlights the need for open dialogue and conversation within dance and reminds listeners as to the wider value of dance.Please note this episode contains dialogue around baby loss Alice Marshall is a leading Dance professional in the Midlands area. After an extensive performance career with choreographers such as Paul Bloom, Katie Green and Cathy Seago, Alice went on to form Adaire to Dance – a professional performance company that demonstrates the diversity of Contemporary Dance. Her work with her own company concentrates on accessible dance and combining other art forms with the movement created. Often a collaboration with Illuminos is at the centre of her work. As Choreographer and performer within this company Alice also taught Dance toall ages in the community. As a lecturer she has a keen interest in the development and upholding of the work of Dance Artists, and therefore strives to present them all with opportunities that her connectionsin the industry can provide. Alice's dance academic research has been recognised, and she has presented papers across the sector including ELIA and Advance HE. Her work has been published in the form of a book Entertainment in the Performing Arts by Routledge and is the start of her exploration into a new way of accessible writing for academia. Alice was awarded Derbyshire's Inspirational Woman of the Year Award in the Arts (IWA) in 2015,and was one of three shortlisted for One Dance UK’s Lecturer of the Year 2018.https://alicevale.weebly.com/about.html  Contact details:Email: a.e.a.marshall@derby.ac.uk Instagram @aeamarshall Linkedin: Alice Marshall (Vale) - SeniorLecturer - University of Derby | LinkedInOther social media platforms:@adairetodance@creativeparentPlease share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research inaction.

ResDance Series 8: Episode 2: Giving Care: A conversation on dance, motherhood, and sustainability with Satu Hummasti and Shaun Boyle D’ArcySatu Hummasti and Shaun Boyle D’Arcy share insight into their individual careers and how their collaboration exploring ethics of care giving and care giving began. In the episode, they explore their ways of working and reflect upon their processes of making and collaborating. Through discussion of their sharedthinking and practices, we explore having accountability and responsibility for beings other than ourselves; gender parity; the role or policy in creating change and the value of collective dance making. Throughout the episode, Satu and Shaun highlight the importance of using dance to share livedexperiences and the hope that through open dialogue and conversation, family life can more readily be integrated into arts and dance spaces. Satu Hummasti, originally from Helsinki, Finland, is a choreographer, dancer, educator, and writer who hasperformed, choreographed and taught throughout the United States, Europe, South and Central America, and Russia. Her work has been seen in Medellin, Colombia; Bordeaux, France; Edinburgh, Scotland (as a part of the 2007 Edinburgh FringeFestival); St. Petersburg, Russia (as a part of the Open Look Festival 2011), Helsinki, Finland, Oulu, Finland (as a part of the Arctic Steps Festival 2015), Kökar, Åland, and San Jose, Costa Rica; and nationally in New York, Boston, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Edinburgh, Texas, and Seattle. Her work has beencommissioned by Compañía de Cámara Danza UNA in San Jose, Costa Rica; Repertory Dance Theater in Salt Lake City; Kannon Dance Company in St. Petersburg, Russia; for graduate students at the University of the Arts in Helsinki, Finland; and for the graduating class of professional artists at the Keskuspuisto AmmattiOpisto TanssiPuoli, also in Helsinki, and SBDANCE Curbside Theater in Salt Lake City. In NYC she has shown dances at Dance New Amsterdam, Chashama, The Construction Company, Sal Anthony’s Movement Salon, and at The John Ryan Theater at White Wave, as a part of the d.u.m.b.o. and Cool New York Dance Festivals. She currently collaborates on community-based projects and dance theater projects with Daniel Clifton- her most recent project “Shore” was awarded an ÅlandIsland Guest Artist Residency in Åland, Sweden. She is an Associate Professor in the School of Dance at the University Utah.Contact details: Email: satu.hummasti@utah.edu Instagram: @satuhummasti Shaun Boyle D’Arcy is a dance artist and educator who hadan extensive performing career, dancing in classical ballet and contemporary companies including BalletMet (USA) and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet (USA). She danced in a broad spectrum of works by leading choreographers such asGeorge Balanchine, Edwaard Liang, Jodie Gates, Larry Keigwin, James Kudelka, David Dorfman, Alonzo King, David Nixon, Marius Petipa, Emily Molnar, and Benoit-Swan Pouffer. Shaun’s own choreography stems from this lineage, intertwining her roots in ballet and contemporary styles. Her work has beenpresented internationally at venues including the Joyce Soho Theater (USA), Ailey Citigroup Theater (USA), Bonnie Bird Theatre (UK), Robin Howard Theatre at The Place (UK), and the Kennedy Center (USA) amongst others. Shaun holdsdegrees from New York University (BFA), Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (MA), and George Mason University (MFA). She currently serves as a full-time faculty member in the School of Dance at George Mason University,located just outside of Washington D.C., and previously held academic appointments at the University of California, Irvine and the University of Utah. Additionally, Shaun continues to teach and choreograph as a guest artist at dance organizations in the United States and abroad.Contact details: Email: sboyleda@gmu.eduInstagram: @tiny.dancer.shaunInstagram: @gmu_schoolofdanceWebsite: Website

ResDance Series 8: Episode 1: The Unknown In Dance with Rhiannon FaithIn the episode, Rhiannon shares insight into her experiences and interests in dance, choreography and theatre and the role theatrical devising continues to play in her work. Throughout the episode, we explore the inspirations for her ways of making, the thinking that underpins her processes and how her creations serve a connection and relationship with an audience. We discuss consideration of the audience in her work and the curating around which audiences the work is trying to reach, where the work is most useful and ways to create a community of work through this.  Rhiannon shares the value she places on the role of legacy in making a change and the potential both her work and more generally, artistic practice, has to make a difference.  Throughout the episode, Rhiannon reflects upon her continued appreciation for her own personal background, who she is and how she responds to her support network around her.  The importance of following your instinct and trusting in the work you make is highlighted throughout, alongside the value of surrounding yourself with a team who share the same vision and are willing to embark on the journey with you. Rhiannon Faith is a boundary-breaking Artist whose work and experiences cross artforms.  Brought up in a big Irish Catholic, working-class family, she is an exciting British female voice making waves in choreography, directing, social activism and as a published author. Artistic Director of Rhiannon FaithCompany, nominated for five National Dance Awards; ‘Best Digital Choreography’ (2021), ‘Best Dance Film’ (2022), and ‘Best Independent Company’ (2021, 2022 & 2023). Critically acclaimed work DROWNTOWN received 4STARS across the board, and recently toured to Wuzhen Festival, China. New work Lay Down Your Burdens, Co-Commissioned by Barbican,London and Harlow Playhouse, premiered at the Barbican in November 2023 and was shortlisted for a 2023 One Dance UK Award for ‘Innovation in Dance’ and nominated for a 2024 Olivier Award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Dance’.Photographer's credit: Foteini Christofilopoulou Contact details:info@rhiannonfaith.comhttps://www.rhiannonfaith.com/Social media platforms:X: @RhiannonFaithFacebook: @RhiannonFaithCoInstagram:  @rhiannonfaithcompanyRelated links:Rhiannon Faith Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrBJ9bj8Gg4tq9x-vArHfGQHarlow Care Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybfu4fpKEzUPlease share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research inaction.

ResDance Series 7: Episode 11: Sharing Dance Science knowledge to empower young dancers with Kendall Baab In this episode, Kendall shares insight into her background and experiences as a dance science educator and her interests in ways of enhancing performance and preventing injury through the creation of her business, Bodykinect.  Through a focus on education and training, we discuss her online presence in generating ways to create healthier training practices and in finding accessible and original ways of disseminating dance science knowledge. Throughout the episode, Kendall shares the value she places on the individual dancer through a holistic and consistent approach in the hope to continue empowering the young dancers. Kendall is a personal trainer for dancers and dance science educator located in Los Angeles, CA. She grew up as a competitive studio dancer and Texas high school drill team member of the Southlake Carroll Emerald Belles Dance/Drill Team in Southlake, TX. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance Science from California State University Long Beach where she trained in ballet and modern dance, and a Master of Science degree in Dance Science from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, UK where she completed dance science research involving perfectionism and self-efficacy in online dance classes and trained in contemporary dance. Kendall is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and a BASI Certified Pilates Instructor with a dance specialization. She is also a Certified Health Coach through Dr. Sears' Wellness Institute. Kendall works with dancers all over the United States on strength, conditioning, and flexibility to enhance performance and prevent injury. Kendall is the CEO and owner of Body Kinect. Profile weblink: https://www.bodykinect.org/meet-the-team Contact details:  Email: hello@bodykinect.org  Socail media links:  Instagram: https://instagram.com/trainwithkendall YouTube: https://youtube.com/@trainwithkendall TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@trainwithkendall Other links: Free Resources & Publications: https://www.bodykinect.org/freeresources Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 7: Episode 10: Thinking differently about the body in interdisciplinary research contexts with Susanne Foellmer In this episode, Susanne shares insight into her background and experiences as a researcher in dance studies and her various interests positioned within contemporary dance, choreography and performance art. Through situating her ideas within her research practice, we explore perspectives for thinking differently about the body and the importance of understanding dance theory as a critical practice. Throughout the episode, Susanne highlights the need for greater visibility of the field of dance studies and continued open conversation in interdisciplinary research contexts. Susanne Foellmer is full professor in dance studies at the Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University, UK. Her research interests include aesthetic theory, corporeality, media, and materiality in contemporary dance and performance art and in the Weimar era. She also engages in interdisciplinary research with regards to choreography in an expanded sense, particularly exploring social movements’ interrelations of the onsite, embodied public sphere and its media reverberations online. From 2022-23 she has been Senior Fellow at the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald.   Staff profile weblink: https://pureportal.coventry.ac.uk/en/persons/susanne-foellmer   Contact details:  Email: susanne.foellmer@coventry.ac.uk  Bluesky: @sufoellmer.bsky.social Other links: LinkedIn: Susanne Foellmer Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University Published resources of interest Foellmer, S. (2024). Communal Choreographies: Claiming the Embodied Public Sphere in Recent Climate Activism. Critical Stages, 29. https://www.critical-stages.org/29/commmunal-choreographies-claiming-the-embodied-public-sphere-in-recent-climate-activism/ Foellmer, S. (2023). The Archival Turn in Dance/Studies. Reflections on (Corporeal) Archives and Documents. (Reprint) Theatralia: Journal of Theatre Studies, 25(2), 129-147. Foellmer, S. (2020). Series and Relics: On the Presence of Remainders in Performance’s Museum. In S. Whatley, I. Racz, K. Paramana, & M.-L. Crawley (Eds.), Art and Dance in Dialogue: Body, Space, Object (1 ed., pp. 147-162). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44085-5_9 Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 7: Episode 9: The Reciprocal Relationship between Research and Practice with Catherine Haber In this episode, Catherine shares insight into her experiences as an educator and researcher and her interests in the intersection of functional and aesthetic components of dance performance. Through situating her ideas within her research practice, Catherine offers insight into methodological approaches for validating dance-specific measures and the value of working collaboratively across disciplines.  Throughout the episode, Catherine reflects on how an openness to dialogue and embracing new perspectives continue to inform her curiosity within the field.   Catherine Haber, MSc, MAS, FHEA, is the Programme Leader of the MSc/MFA Dance Science Programme at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London, UK. Catherine teaches Motor Control, Biomechanics, and Research Methods across the BSc and MSc/MFA Dance Science Programmes, further supervising and supporting student research. Additionally, Catherine leads the Fitness Screening and Health Tracking Program for dancers within the institution. Catherine is also a guest lecturer on the MAS Dance Science Programme at the Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Switzerland. Within her doctoral research, Catherine is particularly interested in the intersection of functional and aesthetic components of dance performance. Her research thus aims to examine methodological approaches for validating dance-specific performance measures, and to evaluate the contributions of diverse perspectives and disciplines in furthering our understanding of dance performance. Through her research, Catherine has presented her work at numerous international conferences; such as the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science, Performing Arts Medicine Association, and the International Society of Biomechanics.  Contact details:  Email: c.haber@trinitylaban.ac.uk  Instagram: @catherine__haber  Instagram: @trinitylaban_dancescience Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 7: Episode 8: Bodies, materiality and touch in multi-person VR: creating immersive performance with Lisa May Thomas In this episode, Lisa May shares insight into her experiences as a dance artist and researcher and how these continue to inform her interests in embodiment, immersive performance and digital technologies.  Through situating her ideas in practice, Lisa May offers insight into the body as a site of research, the use of combining dance-somatic and improvisation practices and the value of finding stillness in life and movement. Dr Lisa May Thomas is a dance artist and researcher, investigating the intersections of dance, embodiment, immersive performance and digital futures. Her PhD (2021, University of Bristol) investigated the role of immersive technologies in performance, combining dance-somatic and improvisation practices with multi-person VR technology. She is currently a Senior Research Associate at the ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures (CenSoF) at the University of Bristol. She is a resident at the Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol and Studio Wayne McGregor QuestLab Network Artist. She directed VR experience ‘Soma’ which launched at the Bloomsbury theatre (2021) as a participatory performance and has since been remodelled as a social experience and used as a method for exploring embodiment and the senses, materiality, presence and connectedness across real and virtual worlds with a range of under-represented communities including blind and visually impaired people (working with the CenSoF, University of Bath and Bristol Digital Futures Institute. Lisa teaches and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students in dance and somatic practices, improvisation, immersive performance, and screendance as part of BA dance/theatre and MA immersive arts courses at the University of Bristol and as guest lecture at Bath Spa University. As artistic director for her company May Productions, she is continually developing her practice in performance and film-making, as well as mentoring, consultancy, and training. Contact details: Freelance email: lisamay.thomas@mac.com Work email: lisamay.thomas@bristol.ac.uk Lisa May Thomas on LinkedIn Published sources of interest: Please see the following for publications: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/lisa-may-thomas/publications/ Projects: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/bristol-digital-futures-institute/research/seed-corn-funding/making-mixed-reality-experiences-accessible/ https://www.bristol.ac.uk/bristol-digital-futures-institute/research/seed-corn-funding/inclusive-digital-innovation-community/ Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 7: Episode 7: EcoSomatics, kindness as methodology, and Skinner ReleasingTechnique with Polly Hudson. In this episode, Polly shares insight into her experiences as a dancer, maker, researcher, teacher and gardener.  Through situating her thinking in her practice and life we explore notions of care, rest and kindness as ethical stances, and as vital components of an artistic methodology that places ecological consciousness at its core. Polly Hudson is an artist-scholar working with performance & film, with ecology (gardening), & with writing. The unifying focus of Polly's work is embodiment: how do we inhabit our psycho-physical selves in ways that serve us best in any given situation? Her work in every area is characterised by the concept of inhabiting our inner and outer landscapes simultaneously. Her background was in ballet and then in the youth dance movement in the UK. She was a student at London Contemporary Dance School in the late 1980’s, joining their fourth-year graduate company by invitation whilst still in her third year of study, and graduating with a distinction in contemporary dance. She studied Contact Improvisation and related Somatic Practices extensively before discovering Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT). She is a certified teacher of SRT, and her PhD examined SRT in relationship to creativity and choreographic practices. She has made performance and Screendance works that have been shown internationally to critical acclaim. Fore-fronting process within artistic making, ethical embodied approaches to teaching & leadership, and somatics in dance, Polly’s work integrates approaches from SRT, EcoSomatics & Ecofeminism. Grounding the practice in a connection to the environment, specifically an urban allotment plot, there is a current focus on her working-class roots and women’s labour of the body and on the land. She is curator of the EcoSomatic Conversations Series. Polly is a Reader in Dance, and Head of Movement at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham City University. Photo credit: Ming de Nasty Contact details: Personal Email: polly.hudson@bcu.ac.uk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polly__hudson/ EcoSomatics Conversations Series: https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/3022557/3022558 Published sources of interest: https://www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/acting/further-info/tutor-list/polly-hudson Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.  

ResDance Series 7: Episode 6: Researching the nexus between dance education and dance science with Elsa Urmston In this episode, Elsa shares insight into her journey as an educator and researcher and how these continue to inform her interests in professional practice within various educational contexts and settings. We discuss the research methodologies, approaches and methods employed in her PhD research and how such experiences have allowed her to embrace other ways of seeing and understanding. Elsa reflects upon the value she places on embodied knowledge, the foregrounding of the subjective embodied person and the importance of play in helping to translate ideas and foster opportunities for open dialogue. Throughout the episode, Elsa highlights the need to de-centre knowledge to avoid the siloing of understanding in research and to foreground others lived experience. Elsa is an independent dance educator and researcher based in the UK, having worked in the arts and especially dance for the last 30 years or so. Her interests span performance and training, vocational education and pedagogy, community practice, dance science and the impact of arts participation on people’s lives. The themes of professional practice, and the interplay of pedagogical encounters on participants’ experiences are common threads sewn into her work. Elsa has recently completed her PhD in Education at the University of Exeter, exploring the implications of periodisation on dance education, pedagogy, and practice. Elsa works as a teacher/lecturer in Higher Education (HE), and consults on educational change, developing curricula with a number of institutions and organisations. She has written several dance HE degree programmes, and recently supported London Contemporary Dance School’s adoption of periodisation as part of their curriculum development. She continues to advise on the embedding of dance science education throughout their offer, whilst also contributing to longitudinal research focussing on students’ health and wellbeing, and facilitating the teachers’ learning exchange programme at the School.Much of Elsa’s work is also as an evaluator, exploring dance participation and its impact on people’s lives from social, psychological and health perspectives with companies such as Made by Katie Green, English National Ballet and Dance Umbrella. She is also a mentor for early-and mid-career dance artists, particularly those for whom teaching and dance education are part of their wider portfolio of work. Elsa has held a number of leadership positions including as Dance Educators’ Committee Chair at the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science; Expert Panel Member for One Dance UK’s Children and Young People’s programmes; and External Examiner of a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes both in the UK and internationally. Now, Elsa is Vice Chair and trustee of the Essex-based Dance Network Association. Website: https://www.elsaurmston.com/ Photo credit: Urmy Urmston Other details: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dr-elsa-urmston Instagram: @elsaurmston X:@ElsaUrmston Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.

ResDance Series 7: Episode 5: Reflections on ‘Shaking-Up’ Learning with Linzi McLagan In this episode, Linzi shares insight into her experiences as an educator and lecturer in various educational settings.  Throughout the episode we discuss her dance research in Scottish Primary schools, reflecting upon the: ‘Shake It Up’ and ‘Step It Up’ projects at YDance which aim to raise attainment and support the confidence and skills of primary teachers delivering dance as part of the curriculum in Scottish schools. We discuss how dance might be used as a method to support the curriculum and the importance of managing expectations in research projects, whilst ensuring the voices of teachers and dance artists are heard. Linzi advocates for dance within the Education sector and shares the value of having a Head of Education role within organisations to bridge the gap between them and school settings. Linzi is a GTCS registered lecturer. She has various roles at Scottish Qualification Authority and is Head of Education at YDance (Scottish Youth Dance). At YDance, Linzi is principally responsible for the Education strand of the company’s work which includes strategic planning, management and delivery of education projects and events. Her role aims to promote the delivery of dance within the formal education sector and influence the future development of dance within the Scottish curriculum.  She has worked extensively throughout Scotland as a Dance Educationalist in Early Years, Primary, secondary and Further Education settings. Linzi has a passion for learning and teaching and is an advocate for dance within the Education sector. Her goal is to initiate and facilitate discussions that empower teachers as well as challenge their perceptions and tacit assumptions of dance. Contact details: Personal Email: linzimclagan@hotmail.com YDance Email: info@ydance.org Website: www.ydance.org Twitter: @LinziMclagan Useful Resources: ‘Shake It Up’: About Shake It Up | YDance ‘Shake It Up’ video footage: https://youtu.be/XLlPQN0cajg ‘Shake It Up’ Report Evaluation: YDance-Shake-It-Up-Programme-Evaluation-Final-Report.pdf ‘Step It Up’ video footage: https://youtu.be/8xI65e_Z4vs ‘Step It Up’ report evaluation: https://ydance.org/s/FINAL-YDance-Step-It-Up-Final-Report.pdf Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.        

ResDance Series 7: Episode 4: Doing movement research through practice with Alexandra Baybutt In this episode, Alexandra shares insight into her experiences as an artist, researcher and somatic movement educator. Through situating her thinking in her research practice, we explore ideas around collaborative practices and experimental methods of festival making, the cultures of practice in dance, and the centrality of the body. Throughout this episode, Alexandra reflects upon her positionality as a researcher and the importance of sharing the voices of the people she researches to ensure their visibility is known. Alexandra has worked as a researcher, somatic movement educator, dramaturg and dance artist internationally since 2004. She is interested in questions of embodiment and the construction of space. Her mixed-methods PhD (Middlesex University, 2020) concerned contemporary dance festival curatorial praxis as a form of imperceptible politics and explored how the field contemporary dance mediates changes and transformations to the organisation of life in the former Yugoslav space, taking a long-term view of the dissolution of SFRY. Alexandra is a certified Laban Movement Analyst (2010) and registered somatic movement educator with ISMETA as a practitioner of the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System. Her artistic work includes collaboration with choreographer Stephanie Felber (DE) and dramaturgy for choreographer Tania Soubry (LX/UK). Alexandra's work has been published in range of contexts and journals including Global Performance Studies, Critical Stages, and Something Other. Staff biography: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of-advanced-studies/dr-alexandra-baybutt Contact details: Website: https://alexandrabaybutt.co.uk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandrabaybutt.movement/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexandrabaybutt.movement Other social media links: 1. PAWA / Moving Strings https://www.instagram.com/moving.strings/ 2. Whole Movement: https://wholemovement.org/ 3. Academia profile: https://ucl.academia.edu/AlexandraBaybutt Links to any published resources Youtube free Bartenieff Fundamental movement principles classes https://www.youtube.com/@alexandrabaybutt5570 My book https://www.routledge.com/Contemporary-Dance-Festivals-in-the-Former-Yugoslav-Space-independent-Scenes/Baybutt/p/book/9781032344645     Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.