PAIN. STRESS. INJURY. These are occupational hazards for every dancer, costing precious time and money. The best prescription? Taking charge of your health – and making physical and mental self-care a priority. That’s what the Dance Resource Center’s Day of Dancer Health is all about.
Dynamically Balancing.
Join us to discuss impactful change and the value of self and community.
What is Day of Dancer Health?
DRC’s mission for the last 30+ years has been to advocate, support, and provide programs and services to the professional dance community that elevate individuals and the field. YOU are helping shape our sector, so it would be a delight to have you join a thoughtful group of panelists sharing their insight and experiences.
Day of Dancer Health (DDH) is a virtual health fair customized for the unique needs of dancers. But this is not just any health fair. We created a wellness community of renowned practitioners from LA’s finest institutions to provide consultations and wellness screenings for LA dancers at a fraction of the cost.
We’ve heard it at many meetings the past few years – the archaic system in the dance world needs changing! So how do we as dancers and dance creatives, aspiring for opportunities to share our work – as individuals and a collective – make genuine, impactful, fruitful, and sustainable change?
The stories we are told through training, and that are reinforced by the industry, become the stories we tell ourselves. But these stories often leave use locked in patterns of unhelpful thought-processes that directly affect our physical health and our collaborative relationships. It’s time to write ourselves a new script and to become the seeds of change to grow a dynamically balanced working culture.
A Little History
The DRC introduced Day of Dancer Health in 2015 in collaboration with Dance/USA to help address the need for quality low cost health and wellness programs for independent LA artists. The event has grown substantially over the years and has expanded to eight other cities in the U.S. This past year DDH implemented all-ability screenings to ensure equitable treatment to those with different physical abilities.
DDH is open to all professional concert and commercial dancers (18+) across all disciplines and abilities – from urban athletes to ballerinas; tap dancers to contemporary artists; flamenco dancers to integrative/all-ability dancers. Adapted screenings are offered for artists of all physical abilities.
Tell Me More
Designed for dancers of every age, background and ability, DDH empowers you to take control of your body, your mind and your career under the careful guidance of professionals and organizations that specialize in dance. Some of our esteemed partners include: Dance/USA’s Task Force on Dancer Health, Jennie Morton and Evergreen Physical Therapy
Day of Dancer Health 2024
Monday, November 4th & Wednesday, November 6th, 11:20am – 1:00pm
DDH 2024-25 will feature a group physical screening conducted by physical therapists and athletic trainers that specialize in the field of dance medicine. Dancers complete a confidential health questionnaire before the event so Team Leads can adapt the workshops accordingly. This interactive session will provide each dancer with targeted conditioning exercises to meet their specific needs based on screening results and discussion. The Conscious Creativity workshop series explores the biological processes underlying physical and emotional expression, helping you to optimize health and artistic performance. This thoughtful and restorative workshop explains how our creativity is expressed through the fascial system to affect movement, choreography, and the emotional connection to the audience. Attendees will be given practical tools for self-treatment, flexibility training, and overall artistic health.
Additionally the Entertainment Community Fund will provide vetted resources available to LA based artists including guidance to healthcare and insurance options.
We encourage attending BOTH days. The event is completely FREE for SoCal’s professional dance community. Exit survey to share your experience so that programming evolves to your needs, will be requested.
Previous Day of Dancer Health Workshops
Conscious Creativity & The Dancer’s Body 2023
November 29th, 11:15am – 1:00pm
Have you ever wondered where creativity comes from? Do you find yourself swinging between states of excitement, anxiety, or depression that affect your productivity?
This workshop will explore the biological underpinnings of creativity, how it affects our emotions & whole body health, and how emotions express through the fascial system affecting movement. Join us for an interactive session including both theory & practical strategies.
Led by the incomparable Jennie Morton
Day of Dancer Health 2023
The Heart of Art – Workshop 1
Would you like to be in the driving seat of your own physical and emotional wellbeing? Do you ignore the physical and emotional cries from your body because you feel you should sacrifice your needs for your art? The healing power of artistic expression is most powerful when borne from human experience and exploration. In this workshop, we will discuss how exploring and understanding the choices you make as a creative can reveal opportunities for genuine connection, creation, collaboration, and healing. Join us for a conversation on how to align your creative soul, purpose, experience, and skillset with a meaningful and fulfilling journey as an artist.
The Practice, The Journey – Workshop 2
Experience a conscious movement practice designed to guide you towards a deeper understanding of self, exploring how our emotions express physically in the body, and learning techniques for dynamically balanced wellbeing.
Guest Panel
Nick Baga, Jennie Morton, Nick Brentley
Day of Dancer Health 2022
DRC’s Days of Dancer Health brought our community together to discuss how to address genuine evolution in our sector, and to inspire new ways of thinking to create a healthy preforming and administrative paradigm in the world of dance and the arts.
Guest Panel
Julie McDonald, Liana Blackburn, Nick Brentley, Renae Williams Niles, Tamica Washington-Miller, Tina Finkelman Berkett
Moderator and Team DRC
Annette Karim, Jennie Morton, Nancy Kadel
Thank you to our sponsors!
Day of Dancer Health is brought to you by:
California Arts Council, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Entertainment Community Fund, GO2Talent, Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, Tremaine
Invest in Yourself & Reap the Rewards
- DDH offers professional dancers the resources they need to help sustain a healthy, moving body.
- DDH participants receive the equivalent of $600-$700 in treatment from some of the finest specialists in LA.
That’s what we call Priceless
DDH was very beneficial and informative because as dancers we need to learn about how to prevent injury as well as maintain the body. One of my personal highlights was the assessment test… so I can concentrate in improving my overall body, fitness and maintenance. Thank you to the DRC for thinking of the community.