Impact case study database

The impact of our research includes new curricula and professional development in the area of dance and dance for health for dancers, teacher-practitioners and a range of participatory arts activity that has brought about change. Trinity Laban’s Masters programmes (MSc Dance Science and MFA Dance Science) were the first degrees in dance science in the world. Trinity Laban continues to be both a pioneer and catalyst in this area. These programmes offer dancers and teachers a viable means to study issues around safe dance practice and dancer health. To date, over 250 people have graduated from Trinity Laban with an MSc or MFA in Dance Science, many of whom have gone on to create new modules and programmes in dance science and/or are lecturing at institutions nationally and internationally. Examples include: University of Bedfordshire, Bird College for Performing Arts, Canterbury Christchurch University, University of Chichester, Roehampton University, Bath Spa University, New Bucks University, University of Calgary, Canada, University of Bern, Germany, Texas A&M, Houston, USA . Our body of research continues to initiate consultancy with other HE institutions such as Rutgers University, USA to assist development of their new BFA Dance Science and Beijing Dance Academy, China to assist in the development of their new BA Dance Science programme. One international leader in the area stated, as an observer of the impact of, e.g. [R1-5]: “ Trinity Laban is one of the leading institutions in dance science and health. The research papers produced by Trinity Laban are referred to by students, graduates and faculty of the Beijing Dance Academy and Chinese dance science community more widely” [1].

Our small team of dance science research faculty deliver talks at national and international arenas addressing issues of dancer health and safe practice [R3] regardless of dance style and genre. Examples include various One Dance UK annual conferences, The Acrobatics Training and Health Symposium, National Centre for Circus Arts, London, Swing Dance Championships, London, Safe Practice Day for teachers at Rosella Hightower Conservatoire, Cannes, France and DANscienCE Festival, Queensland Australia. A further 80 plus presentations have been delivered in the last decade at the annual conferences of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) and a special Day for Teachers was created by Trinity Laban colleagues for the IADMS conference in Pittsburgh, USA.

A substantial focus of our research is screening and profiling to gather important physiological data regarding dancers’ cardiorespiratory fitness capacities, joint range of motion and muscular endurance as a means of enhancing performance potential. We have offered our screening to professional dancers in several companies such as Studio Wayne McGregor, Mimbre, Boy Blue, Far from the Norm and Akram Khan Dance Company providing them with recommendations for effective training and health support.

In terms of teacher resources that have been created from our research, the textbook Safe Dance Practice (Quin et al, 2015) continues to appear on the reading lists of many universities worldwide and the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science Bulletin for Dancers and Teachers, a peer reviewed bi-annual journal founded by researchers at Trinity Laban, that applies dance medicine and science theory and research to practical problems in dance education, continues to grow with a readership of 1000+ individuals/organizations over the 1-year span of 14 Nov 2019-13 Nov 2020 with 5969 electronic page views [2a]. We convey many of our research findings into user-friendly resource papers, which are freely available on the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science website. Our Resource Paper entitled, Dance Fitness, has become the most popular of IADMS' Resource Papers, in the number of views over this time, and also in the year 14 Nov 2019-13 Nov 2020, with 6258 page views known (web page version) and presumably a similar number of un-countable direct PDF downloads. Dance Fitness has the greatest reach of any of IADMS' resource papers, having been translated into the greatest number of languages: English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Greek, Mandarin, Portuguese, and Spanish and is currently the most downloadable paper on the website [2b].

Safe in Dance International is an organisation which has developed the international benchmark standard for Healthy Dance Practice for teachers working with dancers and endorses good and best Healthy Dance Practice in organisations and colleges. These certificates and courses were written by Trinity Laban dance science colleagues and are directly informed by research conducted by Trinity Laban. Maggie Morris, the Co-Founder of Safe in Dance stated as an impact observer: “ Trinity Laban’s research in dance science and health has had a significant impact within the dance sector. This research has directly informed the development of new industry certificates and professional development education courses for private dance teachers accessed by those in the UK and also overseas. The research has raised consciousness within the sector of the importance of safe dance practice and has resulted in new methods of teaching and learning dance. Trinity Laban is known as one of the world’s leading institutions in dance science and health and its research is far-reaching” [3].

Other national and international professional organisations such as One Dance UK, Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre, Healthy Dancer Canada utilise Trinity Laban’s dance science research as part of their advocacy and educational work. The Imperial Society of Teaching of Dancing (ISTD) conducts 250K examinations in 40 countries per year and the impact of the incorporation of the SiDI certificate within the ISTD teaching qualifications demonstrates further the non-academic impact of our research. Karine Rathle, Director of Healthy Dancer Canada, spoke as an observer of Trinity Laban’s impact: “ thanks to their example, more universities and conservatoires are integrating Dance Science into their programmes” [4].

Trinity Laban’s research has helped initiate more affordable access to first class dance specific healthcare and dance science support services across the UK through co-founding the National Institute for Dance Medicine and Science. Andrew Hirst, the Chief Executive of One Dance UK, stated as an impact observer of e.g. [R1-5]: “ The research produced by Trinity Laban in the area of dance science and dance health has contributed significantly to the development of the field, globally. Evidence of this growth include new curricula and educational programmes in Higher Education and for the professional dance sector, additional and enhanced dance for health participatory opportunities for other populations and the formation of national networks and organisations such as the National Institute for Dance Medicine and Science and Healthy Conservatoires. As one of the leaders in the field of dance science, Trinity Laban’s research has also impacted upon the way in which many professional training schools train and support dancers, for example through injury prevention screening work and through improved methods of physiological preparation for the demands of performing” [5].

Trinity Laban’s research into the benefits of dance on older people’s lives is cited by Chief Executive of the Arts Council, Darren Henley [6]. Our research informs practitioner delivery [R6] and the holistic approach of our arts for health work is celebrated by the Arts Manager at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust who observed the tangible impact of a 10-week Singing for Lung Health pilot targeting participants with chronic lung conditions, stating: “ The positive impact that Singing for Lung Health had on our patients surpassed expectations and brought some wonderful benefits which we did not foresee. It soon became clear that as well as the physiological improvements the participants were reporting we were witnessing some really special, more holistic benefits. We know this has a tangible impact on both the health and wellbeing of those involved. Due to the success of Singing for Lung Health we have committed to more singing as a part of our arts programme next year” [7]. The success of the pilot and participants’ self-reported improvement in their breathing, fitness levels and psychological wellbeing [8] led to an expanded programme of activities delivered in collaboration between Trinity Laban and the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. The project also emphasised how methodologies originally developed within the dance science grouping could be applied to other art forms, such as music.

Our progressive model of practice seeks to embrace more nuanced and humanising parameters in how participatory arts are appraised . Our research calling for a shift towards more flexible evaluation strategies, the need for qualitative evidence, and a stronger platform for participants’ reflections [R7] is cited by King’s College London as a significant methodological shift [9]. Beyond the Walls **[R8] sought to reimagine an arts for health project evaluation as a living, breathing, multi-sensory encounter and conjure the lived experience of being present at a care home arts programme for people living with dementia. Described as a “ must see show” by reminiscence arts organisation Age Exchange [10a], Beyond the Walls has been seen by more than 200 stakeholders including practitioners, funders, and participatory arts/arts and health professionals. A Professor of Social Sciences described the work as “ a lesson in how powerful a performative approach to dissemination can be” [10b] and the CEO of community dance organisation People Dancing stated that the approach to dissemination “ is exemplary and should be ‘bottled’ and taken up by arts organisations around the country” [10c].

Trinity Laban’s research provides credibility and legitimacy to forms of practice that can be marginalised—notably arts practice with older people and other settings where creativity is sometimes assumed to be impaired. Collaborative research with King’s College London has transformed public understanding and helped to dispel stereotypes around the creative capacity of people with acquired brain injury [11]. Two creative outputs emerged from this research, the dance films Switch & Shift and the award-winning Porcelain that foreground participants’ creativity [12]. The relationship between research and practice is highly iterative, with research findings feeding into practice and vice versa. Professional development programmes have shaped pedagogical and professional practices leading to secondary impact. A neuro-physiotherapist supporting dance classes for people with an acquired brain injury reported becoming freer, more experimental and adventurous when working with their clients [13]. In recognition of the specialist nature of dance and health practice, a pilot professional development programme targeting early career professionals was described as confidence-building and evaluation indicated that the programme led to a greater sense of empowerment amongst participants [13]. The evaluation findings had secondary impact leading to the collaborative research project Dance, Health and Wellbeing: Debating and moving forward methodologies funded by the Wellcome Centre Cultures and Environments of Health Transformative Research Awards at Exeter University which commenced in November 2019.

Trinity Laban colleagues have given presentations about this work to ministers including three visiting representatives from the French Ministry of Culture in 2018. Trinity Laban’s research into the value of arts for health and wellbeing has gained attention in the field of science and features on The Naked Scientists: Award-winning science podcasts and science radio shows. Our dance for health research was also presented as part of Salsa Dancing: How Dancing Keeps you Happy and Healthy, The Royal Institution, (2017) and at the Cheltenham Science Festival (2017) Strictly Sciencing [14]. Our work was featured in The Guardian / The Observer article (2018). Raising the Barre: How Science is Saving Ballet Dancers and in the BBC 2 Incredible Medicine: Dr Weston’s Casebook series 1, episode 4 (2017) [15].

The dance critic Lyndsey Winship writes succinctly of the effect of McGregor’s body of work on the world of dance: “McGregor has had a remarkable impact on British and international ballet, warping classical dance into something very 21st-century” [1].

McGregor’s award-winning choreographies [2] have reached global audiences through live performance, exhibitions and digital content. Between 2013 and 2019, McGregor’s reach was more than 330M, including approximately 567,327 audience members at live performances, 359,221 exhibition visitors, a reach of more than 329M online and through broadcast and screenings; learning and engagement activities reached 80,063 people including participants with no prior access to dance, young people in formal education, community groups, dancers in training, and professionals [3]. These audience figures, which reached a peak during the REF period (2018-19) have significantly contributed to public understanding of the discipline of contemporary dance.

McGregor is the first Resident Choreographer for The Royal Ballet from a contemporary background, a post previously only held by classical ballet choreographers. McGregor’s unique approach in works such as [R6-8] have revolutionized and reconfigured the classical ballet lexicon with direct secondary impacts and influences on industry practices in the arts as a whole. As a way of capturing these impacts, Trinity Laban have adopted a strategy to request testimonials from the leading arts managers in the field of dance on how McGregor’s research work has affected their organisation. As an example, Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare states, as a reporter on these impacts:

Wayne McGregor’s contribution to the development of dance, and in particular The Royal Ballet’s forward trajectory, has been immense. The development of his choreographic style within the classical technique pushes boundaries, both technically and emotionally. He also brings artistic collaborators from the broadest spectrum of backgrounds and art forms to the Company. The diversity of these artists and the stories and themes they tell have cemented the place of The Royal Ballet at the forefront of 21^st Century dance. The exhilaration of having Wayne as a key part of The Royal Ballet, not only informs what is seen on stage, but impacts everything we do. We are forever grateful for his presence [4]

In a similar vein, Alistair Spalding, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Sadler's Wells, reports on the impact of McGregor’s work [R6-8] on shifting expectations of contemporary dance and increased diversity of its audiences:

The essential element of Wayne’s work that has shifted the parameters of dance in recent years is his constant search for collaborators from outside the normal parameters of the art form. He has worked with visual artists like Olafur Eliasson, architects such as John Paulson, Cognitive Scientists, Heart Specialist and a range of musical collaborations from Mark Ronson to Kaija Saariaho. This has had an enormous influence on the artistry of the work itself – but also in the reach it has driven in audiences. The people who came to Sadler’s Wells for the Tree of Codes were a wonderful mix of the visual arts followers of Eliasson, the music fans of Jamie XX and the regular contemporary dance audience [5]

Commenting on the impact of McGregor’s working methods and research methodologies on commercial products, software development, and the development of creative digital tools in art making, and arising from research embodied in [R1-4], Damien Henry, The Technical Program Manager at Google Arts and Culture states of the Living Archive project, in which he was a participant in the impact, and which featured in the popular press [6]:

Exposure to Wayne’s working methods, and the way his company of dancers responded to creative resources being developed by Google Arts and Culture, has resulted in important new perspectives that we have incorporated into the dance generation tool we are developing with him. This has the potential to benefit other choreographers, and artists in general [7]

McGregor has worked for many years on creating choreographic software, combining artificial intelligence and choreographic thinking [R1-4]. This collaborative research has impacted thinking in the fields of cognition studies, AI and machine learning, psychology, social anthropology and education. +/- Human was described as “a remarkable step into a new frontier”; “the most convincing embodiment of artificial intelligence”, and McGregor himself described as “a pioneer in exploiting the links between his art, and the scientific developments that have revolutionised 21st century life” [8]. McGregor’s collaborative research methodologies have also resulted in considerable secondary impacts on project collaborators. Dame Darcy Bussell has identified the impact of McGregor’s research methodologies on professional practice, noting that Edward Watson, one of the UK’s leading principal male dancers and long-time McGregor collaborator “has become one of the most radically different dancers the Royal Ballet has ever seen”. The dancer himself states, referring to McGregor’s research methods, embodied in works like [R6-8], and that aim to extend the kinetic possibilities of practitioners, that he has learned that “there’s no comfort zone […] There’s always something else to be discovered within myself” [9].

Exposure to McGregor’s research and working methods has also had an impact on how artists outside of the dance field think about, and develop their own research practice. Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen describes seeing McGregor’s choreography Obsidian Tear [R7], which was set to his compositions Foreign Bodies and Lachen Verlernt as a “very powerful experience” and “when I see […] how Wayne understands the dynamic of my piece, I learn a lot about what it communicates, and sometimes I discovered that it has been communicating something I honestly didn’t know was there”. Salonen describes this as “almost the best gift a creator can receive, a whole new narrative, interpretation, world based on something that you made, thanks to somebody else’s talent, skill, intellect, intuition that builds this other structure on top of it” [10]

Collaborators have won awards for their work, thereby enhancing their profile and cultural capital: Ben Cullen Williams won the Yellow Pencil Spatial Design/Set & Set Design for Autobiography; the designs of Olafur Eliasson, Nick Sagar and Rob Halliday for Tree of Codes won the Manchester Theatre Awards for Best Design; Woolf Works won the Olivier Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Dance (Alessandra Ferri), the Knight of Illumination Award (Lucy Carter), the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Best classical Choreography, and the Positano Premia la Danza Leonide Massine Award. The Chemical Brothers music video for Wide Open (2015) featuring Beck and choreographed by Wayne McGregor won Best Dance Video at the 2016 UK Music Video Awards and has been viewed more than 46 million times on YouTube. McGregor’s collaborative research has life beyond performances, exhibitions, and film screenings and secondary impacts can also be evidenced commercially. The soundtrack for Atomos (2014) composed by A Winged Victory for the Sullen sold over 10,000 copies and has over 1.5million online streams [11]. Autobiography won the prestigious Gross Family Prize, with £11,000 prize money for both Studio Wayne McGregor and music collaborator Jlin [12]. Jlin’s music was released, with CD, vinyl and streaming distribution of over 370,000, extending the life of the stage show, diversifying audiences. Critics described the album as “perhaps one of the smartest unions between those disciplines [dance and music] that we could hope for” [13]. In 2019, Collaboration was realized by label Mercury KX, an album curated by McGregor and featuring some of his favorite music commissions for his work over the last 25 years. Of the album, Managing Director of Mercury KX Dr. Alexander Buhr said:

Wayne McGregor has inspired some of today’s most exciting new music and we are thrilled to be working with him on this very special album. He is a unique cultural curator who has been pushing the boundaries between genres throughout his entire career in his search for artistic expression. He is a remarkable collaborator whose values feel truly aligned with ours as a label [14].

The award-winning Mind and Movement resource [R5], built from McGregor’s long standing research collaborations with cognitive scientists, has had educational impacts, evidenced by a Times Educational Supplement article on teaching creativity in the classroom [15] and was featured in the 2013 exhibition Thinking with the Body, delivered in partnership with the Wellcome Collection. The exhibition introduced more than a decade of McGregor’s collaborative research to a non-dance audience and attracted 19,229 visitors during the five-week run, averaging 549 visitors per day [16].