Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Professional Dancer Chip Abbott discuss his journey with back surgery and the impact his body has faced pre-injury and post injury. Chip selflessly delivers important messages to preprofessional dancers and professional dancers alike, highlighting that care for the body is of utmost importance and how pain can be an indicator of something more serious going on. We critically discuss Independent Medical Exams, Workers' Compensation, and the very real necessity of filling out Injury reports. Enjoy!

Musical contributions by Alexandra Ausman, Graphic Design by Dr. Kelsey Elliot. Views expressed in this podcast solely reflect the authors' and guests' views and not any organization to which an affiliation might be present.

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Professional Dancer Tayla Kelly discuss how her Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID) diagnosis hasn't slowed her down one bit! Tayla let's us know how she learned to advocate for herself and her health in the professional ballet world and learned to use her voice. Along with sharing her story she also let's us know about her time on Dancing with the Stars and we consider how health care professionals can provide better care by understanding that dance is a livelihood for some of us and that getting us to our healthy body might require an extra push because our bodies are what support us financially.

Musical contributions by Alexandra Ausman, Graphic Design by Dr. Kelsey Elliot. Views expressed in this podcast solely reflect the authors' and guests' views and not any organization to which an affiliation might be present.

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Professional Dancer Maddison Jayne Cole discuss how previous injuries as a pre-professional dance student can help us to find a team of individuals that can support us through our professional careers. A strong emphasis on learning how to advocate for our own health and a reminder that despite the fact that we are not the medical professionals, we do live in our bodies everyday and can have an acute awareness when something is wrong. We also touch on the importance of intercommunication between health care providers to support the patient.

Musical contributions by Alexandra Ausman, Graphic Design by Dr. Kelsey Elliot. Views expressed in this podcast solely reflect the authors' and guests' views and not any organization to which an affiliation might be present.

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Professional Dancer Nova Gaffney discuss how injuries at the professional level are detrimental to our livelihood, which isn't easily understood by healthcare professionals. The idea that if we don't work, we don't get paid is often foreign to so many and is still a stigma that we often have to combat in our careers. Nova shares her story from injury to recovery. An emphasis on building confidence was created with a care team and company that were supportive and encouraging along the way. In this episode, we question the, "Don't dance" model for care and acknowledge that while sometimes this is necessary there are times when a more appropriate course of action is key.

Musical contributions by Alexandra Ausman, Graphic Design by Dr. Kelsey Elliot. Views expressed in this podcast solely reflect the authors' and guests' views and not any organization to which an affiliation might be present.

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Dance Student Eliza Tarbet get into how an injury can be a sign of overuse, caused by an acute reaction, or a combination of the two. Sound advice for both dancers and health care providers is offered to develop more confidence and support to the injured dancer. Understanding that dancers' identities are often threatened when physical injuries occur and how mental health can be further affected is discussed. A model of care to integrate a support system both in the collegiate system and in health care professionals is also introduced. 

Musical contributions by Alexandra Ausman, Graphic Design by Dr. Kelsey Elliot. Views expressed in this podcast solely reflect the authors' and guests' views and not any organization to which an affiliation might be present.

Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Multidisciplinary Artist & Researcher Kayla McClellan get into arts and health research, publishing, didactic, democratic, and collaborative choreographic processes, dance psychology, the biopsychosocial model of care, and the Eurocentric hierarchical structures that continue to shape the dance world. We ask some pretty important questions too: How can we use contracts to support our processes for advancing wellness and what de-programing do we have to participate in to effect change? Enjoy!

Musical contributions by Alexandra Ausman, Graphic Design by Dr. Kelsey Elliot. Views expressed in this podcast solely reflect the authors' and guests' views and not any organization to which an affiliation might be present.

Dr. James D Walters and Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather get into why we started the podcast and offer some ideas about how we can be actionable in our advancement towards cultural competency between the medical and dance worlds. Discussions include combating and dismantling stigmas we might have learned and still hear from time to time, National Standards for continuing ed in the dance and medical fields, and ways to move forward. Enjoy! 

Musical contributions by Alexandra Ausman, Graphic Design by Dr. Kelsey Elliot. Views expressed in this podcast solely reflect the authors' and guests' views and not any organization to which an affiliation might be present.