Lecture presentation

Dancing hot and cold: Thermoregulation in young dancers and implications for teaching practice

Dr Rachel E. Ward explores why children aren’t just ”small adults” when it comes to regulating body heat and what that means for safe, effective dance training.

Presented by Dr Rachel E. Ward

Panel discussion

Managing Dancers’ Reproductive Health – Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), Nutrition and Training Adaption

This interdisciplinary panel of nutrition and exercise physiology experts tackles an under-recognised topic: reproductive health across a dancer’s lifespan, from menstrual dysfunction to pre/post-partum changes.

Presented by Fumi Somehara APD, ASD, CEDC, Courtenay Polock and Alessandra Rigoli APD

Practical workshop (movement-based)

Beyond “just breathe”: teaching breath as a skill

Paul Doyle turns a phrase dancers hear constatnly into an actual trainable skill, exploring how breathwork can sharpen readiness, recovery and expressive performance.

Presented by Paul Doyle MSc Sport and Exercise Science, RAD RTS, RAD Examiner

Lecture presentation

Whose dancer is it? Psychological ownership and identity in early-career dance educators

Steffi Armor examines how the feeling of ”my dancer” shapes teaching identity and pedagogical practice in vocational dance training.

Presented by Steffi Armor

Lecture presentation

Peer mentoring as professional development for private sector dance teachers: an inclusive approach

Adeline Wai Yee Leong shares findings on how structured peer mentoring helps private-sector dance teachers broaden their perspectives and strengthen inclusive, automomous teaching practices.

Presented by Adeline Wai Yee Leong MA LRAD ARAD RTS

Practical demonstration

Estimating growth and maturity to help manage injury risk and guide training load in growing dancers

Erin Bowerman will introduce dance teachers to evidence-based tools for estimating adolescent growth and maturity, helping identify periods of heightened injury risk during training.

Presented by Erin Bowerman MSp&Ex

Author: Dr Chris Whatman PhD

Interactive workshop (non-movement-based)

Seeing through the child’s eyes: A reflective workshop for Early Years educators and studio owners

Jenny Trafford and Maya Callaghan guide early year dance educators through a structured self-reflection on class environment, individual responsiveness and belonging.

Presented by Jenny Trafford and Maya Callaghan

Practical workshop (movement-based)

Health through lifelong dance: An exercise science-informed exploration of the Silver Swans program

Dr Rachel E. Ward leads a hands-on workshop showing how RAD’s Silver Swans program blends exercise physiology with accessible choreography to support bone health, balance and mobility in older dancers.

Presented by Dr Rachel E. Ward

Lecture presentation

Beyond Policy: Embedding Child Safety, Wellbeing and Safeguarding into Everyday Dance Practice

Teagan Lowe unpacks Safedance for Kids, a sector-created safeguarding initiative addressing everything from physical corrections to burnout in young performers.

Presented by Teagan Lowe

Practical workshop (movement-based)

Resistance training principles and biomechanics for the Artistic Athlete

Rosalind Schwartz guides participants through a hands-on resistance training session built specifically for dancers covering program design, injury prevention and functional movement patterns.

Presented by Rosalind Schwartz ARAD

Lecture presentation

Teaching dance creatively

Jane Andrewartha presents a transformational framework for teaching dance that moves students beyond passive instruction into active, reflective and expressive learners.

Presented by Jane Andrewartha

Interactive workshop (non-movement-based)

Resilience in dance: high challenge, high support and safer studio culture

Paul Doyle challenges the idea that resilience means ”toughening up”, showing how pairing high expectations with psychological safety helps dancers take risks, handle feedback and keep learning.

Presented by Paul Doyle MSc Sport and Exercise Science, RAD RTS, RAD Examiner

Practical demonstration

What’s the Pointe? What physiotherapists look for in a Pre-Pointe Assessment

Nicole Baer and Katie Godwin give dance teachers an insider’s look at the pre-pointe assessment process covering strength, alignment and readiness markers that reduce injury.

Presented by Nicole Baer and Katie Godwin

Practical demonstration

Teaching Ubuntu through the body: choreography, care and belonging in dance education

Kisha September demonstrates how Ubuntu – the Southern African philosophy of relational personhood – can shape choreography as a tool for care, belonging and ethical creative practice.

Presented by Kisha Hebe September

Panel discussion

Starting Strong: Beginning-of-Year Actions to Prevent End-of-Year Injuries and Fatigue

This interdisciplinary panel of physiotherapist, dietitian and psychologist shows dance teachers how to get ahead of end-of-year injuries and burnout by building strong training, nutrition and recovery habits from day one.

Presented by Fumi Somehara APD, ASD, CEDC, Louise Drysdale PhD and Shona Erskine PhD

Practical workshop (movement-based)

Developing spatial awareness in the early years of dance training

Alice Hobden shares age-appropriate exercises for building spatial awareness, musicality and creativity in young dancers.

Presented by Alice Hobden

Interactive workshop (non-movement-based)

Mindfulness in motion: practical tools for focus, presence and performance

Paul Doyle reframes mindfullness as a movement-based skill dancers can build right in the studio, not just something practiced in stillness.

Presented by Paul Doyle MSc Sport and Exercise Science, RAD RTS, RAD Examiner

Lecture presentation

Wellbeing for Dancers: Development of an online health resource for the Australian dance community

A/Prof Sara Grafenauer and Dr Joanna Nicholas share the co-design journey behind a free national resource tackling dancer health gaps, from low energy availability to injury prevention.

Presented by A/Prof Sara Grafenauer and Dr Joanna Nicholas

Authors: Caitlin Attwell, Jess Watson and Dr Luke Hopper

Interactive workshop (non-movement-based)

Considerations for facilitating a dancer wellness programme within teaching and learning contexts

Dance educators and health professionals offer guidance on bringing wellness programming into recreational and pre-professional dance settings alike.

Presented by Julia Barry MPhil, MCI, PGCHE, ARAD Adv. Teacher’s Dip., Dip. RBS TTC, AISTD, Louise Drysdale PhD, Fumi Somehara APD, ASD, CEDC and Shona Erskine PhD

Practical workshop (movement-based)

Teaching and learning resources, imagery and language to engage and inspire dance students

Julia Barry and Lindsay Ellman-Brown share practical teaching resources, imagery ideas and language strategies to spark student motivation and enjoyment.

Presented by Julia Barry MPhil, MCI, PGCHE, ARAD Adv. Teacher’s Dip., Dip. RBS TTC, AISTD and Lindsay Ellman-Brown MCI (Dance Teaching) LRAD ARAD

Lecture presentation

Energy matters: optimising adolescent dancer health & performance

Rebecca Hay equips dance educators with evidence-based tools to recognise low energy availability, RED-S warning signs and practical nutritional fundamentals in young dancers.

Presented by Rebecca Hay

Lecture presentation

Habitus: excellence, inclusivity and personal identity in ballet education

Helen Linkenbagh explores how the social dimensions of ballet training shape dancers’ identities, drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus.

Presented by Helen Linkenbagh

Interactive workshop (non-movement-based)

Crafting a dance career: strategies for pathway planning across education and performance contexts

Experienced dance educators guide teachers through reflective, practical tools for helping students, and themselves, map out dance career pathways.

Presented by Julia Barry MPhil, MCI, PGCHE, ARAD Adv. Teacher’s Dip., Dip. RBS TTC, AISTD, Lindsay Ellman-Brown MCI (Dance Teaching) LRAD ARAD and Linda Ridgway-Gamblin

Lecture presentation

Designing Meaningful Dance Experiences for People Living with Dementia

Sarah Maddock shares findings from a major scoping review mapping how dance and Dance Movement Therapy support people living with dementia, prioritising connection and quality of life over skill acquisition.

Presented by Sarah Maddock

Authors: Dr Carolyn Murray, Dr Dannielle Post and Dr Shoshannah Kiriam

Interactive workshop (non-movement-based)

Supporting neurodivergent dance teachers

Elena Lambrinos offers a candid, lived-experience session on navigating wellbeing, leadership and burnout in an industry built around neurotypical norms.

Presented by Elena Lambrinos PhD

Practical workshop (movement-based)

From first steps to pointe: pointe work as a logical progression in a holistic dance training system

Alice Hobden shows how foundational movement skills taught in early years dance training build the body awareness needed for eventual pointe work.

Presented by Alice Hobden

Lecture presentation

The resilient dance educator: Reframing professional identity after physical adversity

Thalía Valtierra examines how dance educators can reconstruct their professional identity after career-changing injury or illness, drawing on organisational psychology and resilience research.

Presented by Thalía Valtierra FHEA

Lecture presentation

Negotiating face and creative risk: project-based learning as dance pedagogy in a Chinese high school

Tanya Keller explores how the Confucian concept of ”saving face” shapes creative risk-taking and how project-based learning offers a culturally responsive path forward.

Presented by Tanya Keller PhD Dance

Practical demonstration

Seated Dance: An embodied practice enhancing biopsychosocial health – choreographing with care

Paige Gordon presents PhD research on seated dance as an emerging genre supporting health and social connection in older adults, grounded in care ethics and practice-as-research.

Presented by Paige Gordon

Lecture presentation

Curating a collection of care: The Oxford Handbook of Ballet Pedagogy (2026)

Adesola Akinleye shares insights from four years compiling a major new handbook tracing care-led ballet teaching across the globe.

Presented by Dr Adesola Akinleye

Author: Dr Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel PhD

Interactive workshop (non-movement-based)

Behaviour, belonging and achievement in RAD ballet: research and recommendations for student success

Elena Lambrinos presents PhD findings showing that the traits associated with successful ballet dancers are trained, not innate and offers a model for teaching them explicitly and inclusively.

Presented by Elena Lambrinos PhD