Glenna BatsonTrinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
Glenna Batson
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48
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Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (48)
One hallmark of dance education is rigor-ous and repetitive physical practice. Of the many unifying theories of motor learning, the “power law of practice” states that repetitive practice of physical movements is a necessary ingredient in improving performance. Compelling evidence exists, however, showing that practice conditions where rest interva...
Dance is a non-pharmacological intervention that helps maintain functional independence and quality of life in people with Parkinson’s disease (PPD). Results from controlled studies on group-delivered dance for people with mild-to-moderate stage Parkinson’s have shown statistically and clinically significant improvements in gait, balance, and psych...
This anthology negotiates the influential, yet silent educational presence of spiritualities within the field of somatic movement dance education internationally. The expressive and integral nature of spiritual experience remains academically undefined and peripheral to our understanding of creative practice. Lack of theoretical rigor, as well as a...
Dance screenings provide direct and indirect data bearing on a dancer's readiness to undertake rigorous physical training. Rarely, however, are dance teachers able to translate results from these screenings into practical technical knowledge. In this article, an example of a preseason assessment tool is presented that translates scientific findings...
Aims: This two-phase pilot examined the effects of group-delivered improvisational dance on balance in people with Parkinson's disease. Subsequently, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was examined in one individual for changes in whole-brain functional network connectivity. Methods: In Phase I, seven community-dwelling adults (mean age 6...
Few dance-specific screening tools adequately capture balance The aim of this study was to administer and modify the Star Excursion Balance Test ((O)SEBT) to examine its utility as a balance screen for dancers The (O)SEBT involves standing on one leg while lightly targeting with the opposite foot to the farthest distance along eight spokes of a sta...
One hallmark of dance education is rigorous and repetitive physical practice. Of the many unifying theories of motor learning, the “power law of practice” states that repetitive practice of physical movements is a necessary ingredient in improving performance. Compelling evidence exists, however, showing that practice conditions where rest interval...
The complex interplay between cortical and subcortical networks essential to motor performance is altered when muscles fatigue. The construct of exercise-induced human muscle fatigue has been attributed largely to the loss of a peripheral muscle's ability to produce force. Far less understood is "central fatigue," the result of alterations in centr...
After four decades of exploring various avenues of exchange, dance science and somatic education (somatics) face new challenges in integrating theory with practice. In earlier decades of interchange, these challenges largely revolved around finding compatibility between the somatic personal narrative and the positivist models prevalent in science....
Within the last decade, research has supported the use of dance for people with Parkinson disease to improve health and wellbeing. While the majority of study findings have been positive for a variety of psychophysical outcomes (gait, mobility, and balance confidence, for example,), little has been reported in regard to the process of selecting cla...
Few dance-specific screening tools adequately capture balance. The aim of this study was to administer and modify the Star Excursion Balance Test (oSEBT) to examine its utility as a balance screen for dancers. The oSEBT involves standing on one leg while lightly targeting with the opposite foot to the farthest distance along eight spokes of a star-...
Although preliminary evidence supports the psychophysical benefits of dance for adults with Parkinson disease, guidelines for community-based dance programs await further scrutiny for safety and efficacy. This pilot study was designed to assess the feasibility of an intensive trial of group-delivered modern dance for 11 adults with early-to-middle...
The battement tendu is introduced early in dance training, remaining integral to a dancer's vocabulary. Although appearing relatively simple to execute, the tendu aesthetic takes years to master. One reason might be that efficient performance requires complex coordination of postural balance. Known as postural control, this coordination appears in...
Every performing art has its caesura a resting pause a potent stillness in the rhythmic flow of action. For western contemporary dance, stillness is a powerful aesthetic tool. Far less understood are the physiological and behavioural benefits of rest. While rest intervals routinely
are prescribed in sports science to promote physiological recovery...
Proprioception is a topic of interest within the larger scope of dance pedagogy, science, and rehabilitation. As the science of proprioception changes, approaches to proprioceptive training also change. Thus, proprioceptive training in dance medicine has expanded to include balance protocols. A key concept within these protocols for treatment of lo...
Proprioception is a topic of interest within the larger scope of dance pedagogy, science, and rehabilitation. As the science of proprioception changes, approaches to proprioceptive training also change. Thus, proprioceptive training in dance medicine has expanded to include balance protocols. A key concept within these protocols for treatment of lo...
The Alexander Technique (AT) is a task-based approach to perceptuomotor learning that purports to improve coordination. This study examined the feasibility of a 2-week intensive program of AT for improving balance and balance confidence in a group of ambulatory elderly. Nineteen subjects with fall history (average age 78.8) participated. Balance ou...
The practice conditions within dance training have remained essentially unchanged for decades. Those conditions appear to be based largely on a “culture of rigor,” a philosophy of which implies that continuous practice is the most beneficial way to improve (motor) skills. Current evidence in motor learning supports the concept of “distributed pract...
Objectives. This study is designed to test the effects of a 6-week trial of mental practice of motor imagery (MP) on balance and gait in community-dwelling elderly.Methods. Six elderly females were recruited from a community-assisted living center and randomly assigned 2 groups. The experimental group received 20 minutes of mental practice of motor...
The Feldenkrais Method is a complementary approach to motor learning that purports to induce change in chronic motor behaviors. This preliminary study describes the effects of a Feldenkrais program on balance and quality of life in individuals with chronic neurological deficits following stroke. Two male (48 and 53 years old) and 2 female participa...
Childrens' complaints of headache and dizziness merit careful evaluation to differentially diagnose a vestibular disorder. Children can manifest with a syndrome mimicking certain classic signs and symptoms of adult vestibular disorders, such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, usually associated with aging. Benign paroxysmal vertigo of childho...
Performing arts medicine has evolved over the last 30 years as a specialized branch of orthopaedics and sports medicine. In addressing the complex needs of performing artists, orthopaedic physical therapy also has drawn from holistic medicine and somatic re-education methods to offer a comprehensive approach to injury prevention and rehabilitation....
An analytical model based on the weight function method is used to assess the toughness of high strength steel fiber reinforced concrete notch beams for different fiber types and fiber volume percentages. The crack mouth opening displacement, CMOD, the crack tip opening displacement, CTOD and the J-intergral are obtained by an iterative procedure t...
The unified expression of the artist's psychophysical being is a hallmark of performing arts training. Performing artists direct their body use to refine neuromuscular coordination and bone the psychophysical skills needed to meet the demands of performance. The Alexander technique is a popular method among performing artists for identifying excess...
Stretching is an integral part of dance training for maintaining and enhancing dancers' physiologic flexibility. The sport science rationale for stretching technique derives from research on the biomechanical and neurophysiologic properties of muscle and connective tissue. Improvements in flexibility have also resulted from training in somatics (th...
Questions
Question (1)
I'm interested in researching the effects of dance on elderly persons with impairments (e.g. Parkinson's) and am usually stymied by behavioral inventories that (while well validated for the populations I'm studying in capturing gross functional changes) do not capture movement changes from a dance intervention that translate into improved function, as well.
