Professor of Dance Lauren Kearns and dance students presented at Dance Medicine Conference held in Winston-Salem, N.C.
On Nov. 2, Lauren Kearns, professor of dance and chair of the Department of Performing Arts, partnered with Dr. David Popoli, to present research at the First Annual “City of Arts and Innovation” Dance Medicine Conference in Winston-Salem.
Popoli graduated from Tulane University School of Medicine in 2007. Popoli is an assistant professor at Wake Forest Baptist Health, and a consulting physician for University of North Carolina School of the Arts. His focus is on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. He played a large role in planning the conference.
Several of Elon’s Dance Performance & Choreography and Dance Science majors attended the conference with Kearns. They assisted in demonstrations and attended a variety of lectures and presentations.
The presentation by Kearns and Popoli focused on common injury patterns in modern and contemporary dancers. The presentation incorporated live demonstrations from Elon dance and dance science majors. Kearns provided insight from the eye of a dancer and professor, to compliment Popoli’s medical point of view. The presentation focused on preserving the dancer’s body for a long-lasting, healthy career. Some of the topics touched upon included concussion safety, proper anatomical alignment, injury prevention, and dietary and lifestyle choices. Kearns and Popoli presented this research to a large number of medical and dance professionals from across the country.
The three universities that presented included University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Wake Forest University and Elon University. Each university had a professor present on a different genre of dance providing background, history, and common movements. Presenting with each dance professor was also a medical professional. Methods of injury prevention and injury rehabilitation were integrated into each presentation.
Overall, the conference was a success. It provided Kearns and Popoli an audience of experts to communicate their research with. The Elon students who attended gained insight into a professional seminar that excited and inspired them for future experiences.