What is Safe Dance Practice?

Post date: Aug 18, 2016 12:16:32 PM

Well, I just typed 'Safe Dance Practice' into Google, and came across quite a lengthy post on http://www.4dancers.org/2016/04/safe-dance-practice-what-is-it-and-why-do-we-need-it/ which is worth reading if you've got time.

But my take on SDP at all levels can be summed up by the following:

• Minimising risk of injury
• Minimising psychological harm or trauma
• Knowing what to do to minimise the impact of any injuries that do happen.

"So what does this mean for my child who goes dancing? Surely dancing isn't all that dangerous?" I hear you cry.

Well, no, dance isn't dangerous compared to high impact sports like rugby or hockey, or high risk sports like trampolining or acrobatics (more on that later!). But the risk of harm is still present and increases in certain situations.

Here are some situations where the risk for physical or psychological harm increases.

1) A dance student attending classes/rehearsals/training every day of the week, or late into the evenings.

2) A dance student taking classes that are longer than 2 hours without a break.

3) An environment that is 'high pressure' for example a school that encourages competition between its students, where students frequently train for competitions or other performances, or in the lead up to big shows or events.

4) When a teacher is not trained to teach. A successful dancer DOES NOT EQUAL a good or safe teacher. The main dance teaching organisations in the UK all include an element of theoretical study of child development, anatomy and first aid in their teaching qualifications.

5) When a student attempts movements that they have not been trained to do properly, or attempts to imitate poses or movements that they've seen on television or social media.

If some of those situations sound familiar to you, it might be worth looking out for signs of injury (pain, stiffness, changes to movement such as limping or favouring one side of the body), fatigue (which can lead to illness or injury) or psychological stress (abnormal changes in behaviour, decrease in self-confidence, decrease in interest in dance or other hobbies, changes to eating habits, poor motivation, fear of failure).

Remember: Good dance training should NEVER cause pain, or distress, especially where children are involved. Good dance teachers do not push children to the point of exhaustion, pain nor do they verbally insult, belittle or cause children anxiety.

No child should have to suffer abuse, excused by beliefs such as "I'm preparing them for the industry" or "It gets results".