We would like to introduce to you the affiliated (umbrella) organizations or involved organizations that the Alliance is working with to create a socially safe dance sector. This time we spoke with Joost van Megen and Tom Brandon, initiators of the European Dance Medicine Initiative.
How did the European Dance Medicine Initiative (EDMI) come about?
To answer that question, it is important to get to know the initiators better. Tom Brandon was until recently president of the Society for Sports Medicine and trainer of sports medicine at the Isala Hospital in Zwolle. Now he has retired from those positions and is still active as a sports physician and dance medicine consultant. Joost van Megen is initiator of the Dance Medical Care Network (Dans Medisch Zorgnetwerk) of the Jeroen Bosch Hospital (JBZ) and worked for years as health coordinator at ArtEZ. Tom explains how their paths crossed: “I was a federal doctor in gymnastics, dance and rhythmic sports gymnastics for ten years. Within my work as a sports doctor, I got to know Joost. Together we worked at ArtEZ, where I coached and Joost worked as health coordinator.”
Joost adds: “At that time I gained a lot of (inter)national knowledge about dance medicine. The JBZ then approached me to establish the Dance Medical Care Network Netherlands. In that capacity, I came into contact with Tom again. Together we organized a dance medical symposium for sports medicine. This was very well received. To better provide sports physicians with knowledge and understanding about dance as an art form, we started setting up dance medicine as a specialization within sports medicine. This eventually led, together with three colleagues from England to the establishment of the European Dance Medicine Initiative.”
“Sport is winning gold, dancing comes from your soul.
It makes the approach to dancers different as well”
Dance Medicine
According to Tom, the specialization of dance medicine within sports medicine is essential for the dance industry. “Dance is not a sport for everyone, not a competition of A against B. Dance is an art, it is about expressing yourself. So this also requires a different approach and guidance. The dance-specific knowledge is still too little present in the average sports doctor.” Joost adds: “It is very important that sports doctors who supervise dancers know what dancing involves, what it means, how it feels. Sport is winning gold, dancing comes from your soul. It makes the approach to dancers different as well.”
“In addition to retraining sports doctors, EDMI also provides expertise
that can help choreographers and artistic directors develop better training methods.””
Learning from sports medicine
Although dance medicine requires a unique approach, the dance world can learn a lot from sports medicine. Tom explains: “Conditioning training has been proven to be essential for athletic endurance. Within dance, this is still often overlooked. Stamina is crucial for performing. If you don’t train it, you can lose coordination halfway through and injuries will occur. So, in addition to retraining sports doctors, EDMI also provides expertise that can help choreographers and artistic directors develop better training methods.”
Joost adds, “Periodization within a dance training schedule is a good example. Within sports this is very normal; you tune your training schedule to an important peak moment such as a tournament or competition. Within dance this did not exist for a very long time, while it is logical to adjust your training to important performances. This requires a different approach and therefore a different schedule.”
Future plans
The input from the different countries has strengthened EDMI’s offerings, Tom said. “This allows us to further educate the network of dance medical supervisors within the Netherlands. The next step is to provide guidance, workshops and training to other organizations, companies and agencies.
The work of Joost, Tom and colleagues within EDMI contributes to a socially safe dance sector in which dancers have the prospect of a sustainable career. Check out the Eurodancemed website for more information: https://www.eurodancemed.com/
Joost van Megen Tom Brandon