Our Mission

Through shared expertise and a network of multidisciplinary partners NIDMS works to provide the dance sector with access to high quality, affordable, dance specific health care and dance science support services in private practice and the NHS.  These services are underpinned by dance medicine and science research, including that developed and implemented by NIDMS partners.  Best practice, information and resources are disseminated to the wider dance and health community through educational workshops, conferences and publications.

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Healthcare

Aim: Providing access to timely, affordable, specialist healthcare for all professional and vocational dance artists

• Provides multi-disciplinary care, including physiotherapy, physiological, psychological, nutritional elements etc.

• Focussed on the prevention (via screening and training interventions) and treatment of injuries (via dance specialist care).

• Addresses compromised mental/emotional health and diminished performance.

Education

Aim: Information and educational resources for dancers, dance students, teachers, choreographers and management 

• Disseminates state-of-the-art information to dancers, teachers/instructors, artistic directors, choreographers, etc.

• Continually develops educational/training programmes and professional development opportunities for current and future researchers, practitioners and dancers.

• Provides recognised higher education study to the highest of standards at postgraduate level.

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Research

Aim: Facilitating and applying the latest dance science research to improve dancers' health, wellbeing and performance

• Investigates basic research (looking at cause-effect relationships, mechanisms) and applied research (examining efficacy and effectiveness of interventions).

• Studies the areas of; physiological/metabolic, biomechanical, psychological (including motor learning/control, perception-action, and psychoneurological perspectives), sociological, and pedagogical research.

• Collaboration between researchers and dance organisations will further our knowledge base of what it takes to create and maintain elite dance performance.

• The focus of research populations ranges from recreational, community, grass-roots, students, professional and retired dancers.