You may have seen a new TV advertisement for Graze boxes. If you have not ordered your free 1st box, do it now! They are incredibly tasty and extremely good for you. I have a couple of boxes posted to me every week and look forward to every one!

You choose when you want a box and then Graze post you four punnets of naturally healthy snacks. These snacks range from vanilla coated seeds, roasted nuts, home made flapjacks, crackers and dips, and my favourite – dried fruits and chocolate. In each box you get a small leaflet explaining the nutritional value of each punnet. Sometimes you also receive educational leaflets on healthy eating and food, however whatever they send you is interesting and informative.

Once you have eaten the box, you ‘rate or slate’ so if you do not like what they send you, you do not have to eat it again! The recipes are always evolving and they use good quality and interesting ingredients which you may not otherwise buy or eat.

I would strongly encourage any woman who likes their mid morning/afternoon snacks to order a Graze box now!

You will love them!

Bon appetite

If you are looking for a trainer at the moment please let me assure you that we are normal people and do not look as scary as they do!!

Went for a mid morning run yesterday whilst back in Chesterfield (Derbyshire) over the Christmas season! Was a lovely run down along the Walton dam with the sun in full force. Certainly got the body back in motion and hopefully shifted a few mince pies and red wine!!

Have not done any sprint training for a while, so when my husband suggested this I was slightly unsure as I have got into my own running routine. As it turns out this was a great idea and I really enjoyed it! It also got me thinking about how I could implement this into my weekly routine. If you like your running too, why not try a bit of sprint training to mix it up and challenge your body in a different way?? Check out this link to a great beginners guide to sprint training and it’s benefits.

Last Thursday night at Sadlers Wells I went to the world premiere of UNDANCE, a collaboration of Mark-Anthony Turnage, Wayne McGregor and Mark Wallinger.

Absolutely brilliant!! The visuals, music and performance by both Sarah Connolly and Random Dance were exquisite. Even my husband was astounded by the intriguing pieces. Visually both performances were breathtaking and of course the extremely talented dancers from Random Dance performed with power and grace in the way that only they can.

I would absolutely recommend seeing this if you can, it will be one you remember for a long time! Seeing the physical prowess of the dancers from Random Dance may may also motivate you in your exercise sessions!!!

This one day symposium which was jointly organised by the Royal Society of Medicine and Dance UK, was held at the Royal Society of Medicine headquarters in London on Monday 4^th April 2011. The event was sold out and attended by a diverse range of dance teachers / educators, doctors / surgeons and medics involved in sport.

The aim of the day was ‘to provide practitioners with an opportunity to share knowledge and expertise’ addressing ‘the causes, impact, effective prevention and management of injuries in elite dance and sport’.

The day kicked off with an intriguingly honest account from Angela Towler (Dancer for Rambert Dance Company) who suffered a potentially career-threatening injury. Angela recounted not only how the injury affected her ability to perform, but how she had to mentally process the severity and the repercussions of her injury. This account truly highlighted how devastating injuries can be not just to the physical body of a dancer, but also to them as a person and human being. Angela finally discussed with the audience the importance of spotting weaknesses or injuries early so they can be dealt with efficiently by the right professionals and thus preventing injuries from getting unduly worse.

Dr John Brooks (Rugby Union and King’s College London) and Dr Colin Fuller (Research Consultant for FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre) explained how they investigate and collect information on injuries within professional football and rugby in order to help them manage and prevent injuries and increase the quality of performance, career length and playing time for their athletes. Although coming from quite a different field from dance, there seemed to be some basic principles which the dance industry could implement and benefit from.

There were also various presentations given by some of the top ankle and knee surgeons in the country who gave us very detailed and graphic insights (footage from inside the body itself!) into what procedures they perform on acute injuries found in elite athletes and dancers. Although the word ‘surgery’ sounds quite scary, they somehow managed to instil confidence in these procedures and although invasive, the results post rehabilitation were excellent. They advocated the importance of taking enough time out for physiotherapy and returning to activity in a gentle staged approach.

The overwhelming feeling from the day, which Denise Lewis OBE (Olympic Gold Medallist and Strictly Come Dancing star) emphasised in her presentation, was how vital it is to have a dedicated team around elite performers. Dancers and sports athletes alike need a professional team of experts around them who are able to support, advise and rehabilitate them when injuries are sustained with both the physical and mental repercussions. As heavily discussed throughout the day, the practical implication of creating this team of medics for dancers seems to be the next challenge, which is why it is so important that the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science is set into motion and eventually rolled out across the country for all dancers. The last point which Denise Lewis OBE emphasised was the importance of good communication within these medical teams as this can dramatically aid in the prevention of injuries, which is surely the future for dancer’s health and well-being.

2010 was quite a crazy year for me with getting married hence the lack of posts and communication!

I was asked by Fitness Professionals aka Fitpro (worldwide fitness association), to write an article on my career journey within the dance and fitness industry. It was a really good opportunity to point out that dance and fitness can be a great combination and careers can be aided by studying and practising in both industries. It was an interesting article to write as it got me thinking how closely linked they can be in a practical sense, but yet the lack of academic or experience  recognition each one has for the other. I had to study, train and work separately to get to where I am now, and even now REP’s (Register of Exercise Professionals) do not recognise my MSc in Dance Science as an equal to anyother Sports Science MSc. The only difference is that we apply the sports science principles to dance!

You can read the full article on the following link:

The journey to becoming a dance instructor: Rebecca Dalby

I will be taking part in the London Victoria run and am pretty excited! Hopefully it will be a nice day and if you would like to either join me running, support  or even better SPONSOR me (!) visit the Sport Relief website or contact me for more details. You can sponsor me online which is the easiest way to donate, simply follow this link -

http://www.mysportrelief.com/becandrob?SID=77882 

Thank you for all your donations which will make a huge difference to many people in the UK and the world.

Hulme Hall

The University of Manchester

There is a growing interest in kinesthesia, empathy and kinesthetic empathy as pivotal concepts across different disciplines and media, reflecting current concern with ‘affect’ as an object of enquiry, interrogation of notions of presence, embodiment and the senses, re-examination of phenomenology, and widespread interest in neuroscientific investigation (notably in the ‘mirror neuron’ system).

This conference will bring together international researchers and practitioners in fields including neuroscience, dance, film, music, and body-based therapies to explore the nature and role of kinesthetic empathy.  It will aim to open up dialogues between different practices and theoretical approaches.

Keynote speakers will include Alain Berthoz (neurophysiology of movement/perception); Rachel Davies (artist/filmmaker); Susan Foster (choreographer/dancer/writer); Christian Keysers (neuroimaging/social brain); Chris Nash (photographer) and Alex Reuben (filmmaker).

To register your interest and to go on the conference mailing list, email watchingdance.conference@gmail.com

For submission guidelines and to download the full call for papers please click here

For a submission form please click here

http://www.watchingdance.org/