Abstract
Wellness programs are being increasingly employed with performing artists. Given their aim of reducing injuries, injury tracking is commonly employed as an outcome measure. Evaluating the development and process of a wellness program can also enhance its effectiveness. Developmental evaluation offers one methodological framework within which to conduct such investigations. This paper reports on a 2-year process involving feedback from professional ballet dancers, management and artistic staff, and healthcare providers at a ballet company in order to develop a dancer screening and wellness program. Following a consultation phase, an initial program composed of an expanded medical team and annual injury prevention screen was proposed. Alongside implementation with 30 professional ballet dancers, formal and informal feedback was sought from stakeholders and members across all levels of the ballet company to facilitate ongoing development, evaluation, and revision of the wellness program. The use of a process informed by developmental evaluation helped identify strengths and limitations within the screening process. The collective expertise of the assessors was used to modify the components and process of the screen to strive for ecological appropriateness. The process also fostered buy-in from all involved. Participant feedback helped refine the medical team available to the dancers and influenced the treatment and referral pathways via which dancers are able to access each member of the medical team. Furthermore, reflective discussions with artistic and management staff brought to light potential interactions between repertoire programming, fitness, and injury patterns. This prompted a reconsideration of how artists are trained and supported. Evaluation methods that focus on experiences and insight gained during program development stand to result in more efficient screening programs and health-promotion models and, ultimately, healthier performing artists.
Highlights
Due to the physical and mental demands inherent in pursuing their art, performing artists are at a significant risk of sustaining performance-related injuries
The dancers did receive their own screening results back during private consultations, but these were the only occasions during which identifiable data were ever discussed. Through these formal and informal evaluation activities, a wide range of feedback and information was obtained. This feedback was grouped into three overarching areas: (1) continued development of the screening protocol; (2) continued development of the wellness program; and (3) continued development of the ballet company’s approach to rehearsal
When used in conjunction with a robust injury tracking protocol, collecting feedback from all parties involved in a wellness program for performing artist can provide a range of benefits
Summary
Due to the physical and mental demands inherent in pursuing their art, performing artists are at a significant risk of sustaining performance-related injuries. No prospective injury incidence data for musicians exist, retrospective data indicate that 56% of musicians will sustain a music-related injury throughout their careers (Zaza, 1998; James, 2000; Spahn et al, 2004). This research indicates that the types of mental and physical health problems that performing artists experience are varied and complex. Anxiety and perfectionism are common among musicians (Marchant-Haycox and Wilson, 1992) and have been acknowledged to influence the likelihood of physical as well as psychological injury. They have been found to increase susceptibility to musicians’ dystonia (Jabusch and Altenmüller, 2004). Set against the backdrop of a profession in which “sick-days” are rarely an option, performing artists do not always achieve full rehabilitation following their injuries as evidenced by studies demonstrating impaired proprioception following injury among dancers (Leanderson et al, 1996; Clark and Redding, 2012)
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