Artletic Science

10/07/2026

Life has been a whirlwind since I returned from the Jennifer Hazelton- Keeney conference in Melbourne but I wanted to share a few highlights!

There were a lot of great discussions on actionable steps to address REDs in dancers. These can apply across performing arts and help change the culture including amazing new resources like Wellbeing for Dancers

Lots of fantastic research! Kudos to PEARL research lab for the paired quantitative and qualitative research on Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome acknowledging how challenging it is to treat and that we don’t have the answers to change that yet.

Excellent to hear dancers tell their stories including Urban Jazz Dance Company in ASL. These perspectives are so important!

The Aussie hosts exemplified the power of collaboration and knowledge sharing. Amazing work being done by the Dance Research Collaborative The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet School

And as always one of the best parts of this conference is making new connections and strengthening old ones with other colleagues passionate about dancer health!

09/14/2026

We are so excited to share this workshop IADMS annual conference in Melbourne! 🐨🦘

It’s no surprise with the physical demands of pole dance, that shoulder injuries account for more than half of the injuries attributed to this athletic art. 💪🏾💪🏻

We will be talking about contributing factors to these injuries and demonstrating some specific assessments and interventions for pushing and pulling. 🤸🏽‍♀️🤸🏽‍♀️

We also look forward to seeing and learning from our dance colleagues from around the world! 🌎 🌍

📸 Nina Otranto Polekadot

09/05/2026

In collaboration with Felicity Hesed Joanna Haigood Jeff Raz, I am working to develop some health and wellness resources for circus professionals that work in the San Francisco Bay Area so you can all shine even a little brighter. 🌟🌟

In order to best serve your needs and to create resources that are meaningful, we need your input! So please scan the QR code and fill out the 9-question survey! ✍🏻 ✍🏻

And if you aren’t in the Bay Area, stay tuned for an upcoming research study examining health and wellbeing in professional circus artists across the U.S. Coming soon!! 🤸🏽‍♀️🤸🏽‍♀️

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08/13/2026

Thank you to Tracy Zhang for this thoughtful review of our book. It truly is an honor to have this expert in Chinese circus share her perspectives on our work. And please check out some of her fascinating research!

Being invited by Jeff Raz to help with this book was another honor. I treasure the time I got to spend with Master Lu Yi and his family as well as the stories shared from our circus community. Great to work alongside Devin Holt and Ori Quesada as well!

If you haven’t read the book yet, go ahead and add it to your 2026 reading list! Modern Vaudeville Press

08/13/2026

Thanks to Tracy Ying Zhang for this thoughtful review of our book, a collaboration between Jeff Raz, Devin Holt and Ori Quesada. Check out the review for some really insightful perspectives on this work. And if it peaks your curiosity, go ahead and get yourself a copy of this book that highlights a piece of circus history.

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04/20/2026

🎭Thank you to & .con_ed for the invitation to create and teach this course for the performing arts fellowship curriculum. It was great to also invite the community and to have a group of physical therapists and students new to the circus arts. The need for healthcare providers with an understanding of the demands of circus training and performing is great.

🎪We dove into the details around physiologic and biomechanical demands of various circus disciplines, discussed case examples and heard artist perspectives. A special thank you to for joining us and sharing your experience!

🤸🏽‍♀️Participants also got a feel for being upside down and hanging while considering alignment and muscle activation and went through clinical examination and exercises in the context of different groups of circus disciplines.

It was full and fun day and also a treat to be back in the place I started my physical therapy training!

pho

04/13/2026

Just returned from a rainy but sweet trip with my family to Montreal and Miami to spend some quality time with our extended circus family!

We were fed and pampered by & and almost won over the newest member of their family! Thanks for keeping us warm in the last stretch of Montreal’s winter.

Then on to Miami to finally see .rossi & .sok95 shine in .cirquedusoleil! Thanks for making time to hang with us Such a beautiful show! And lovely to meet & since I’ve been hearing about them for ages!

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04/01/2026

Back to school at the beautiful new campus in Downtown Oakland! Stunning city views from the classrooms. It will be so nice to teach in these beautiful spaces and to explore the neighborhood and all the great restaurants!

I was also very excited to see the new Motion Analysis Research Center rigged and ready to go for my aerial research. Looking forward to getting back to work on this with and Drew Smith!

02/18/2026

Thanks to and the Performing Arts Special Interest Group for having us at the Combined Sections Meeting in Anaheim! It was such a pleasure and privilege to present the new guidelines for concussion management in dance and circus arts with and ! We appreciate everyone that got up early on a Saturday to join us! The recording will be available starting March 1st for conference registrants.

It was also amazing to reconnect with my professors, mentors, colleagues and former students all in one place!

And so lucky to finish the trip off with a little Valentines Day celebration courtesy of and a couple days with my family and some friends at ! The celebration of the Lunar New Year and the diversity of our community at was especially meaningful!

02/06/2026

We are looking forward to sharing the new dance and circus guidelines for concussion management at Combined Sections Meeting next week!

Bring your ☕️ and join us on Saturday, February 14th 8-9:30am or catch the recording if you are attending online.

will be sharing the state of research on concussion for dance and circus arts. And and I will presenting the new guidelines in a case format to help rehab professionals to apply the guidelines.

Hope to see you there!!

Also both guidelines are published and available online open access.