ResDance Series 10: Episode 4: Dance at the Centre: Rethinking Dance for Health with Emily Davis

ResDance Series 10: Episode 4: Dance at the Centre: Rethinking Dance for Health with Emily Davis  In this episode, Emily shares her journey to working at the intersection of dance, health, and social science. She reflects on her recently completed PhD, undertaken jointly across the University of St Andrews, the Royal Conservatoireof Scotland, and Glasgow Caledonian University in partnership with Scottish Ballet. Her research focuses on dancing with multiple sclerosis and explores dance as both a tool for health promotion and a method of inquiry. Throughout the episode, we discuss how dance functions within health contexts, the importance of moving beyond disease-centred approaches, and innovative researchmethods such as movement-based interviews that centre the dancing body. Emily also shares insights into her current projects and the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in expanding how dance can contribute to healthand wellbeing. Biography Emily Davis is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Moving Bodies Lab at Durham University. Her research is focused on the intersection of dance, health, and social science, exploring the potential of dance as both a means of health promotion and a method of inquiry. Emily recently completed her PhD jointly across the University of St Andrews, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Glasgow Caledonian University, in partnership with Scottish Ballet, centred on dancing with multiple sclerosis. Alongside her research, Emily previously danced professionally with the Philadelphia Ballet and led dance health programmes across Philadelphia. Website and Social media channels https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/emily-m-davis/ www.linkedin.com/in/emily-davis-dancehealth https://medhumsplatform.org/labs/moving-bodies/ Please share this episode with students, educators, practitioners, performers, and interdisciplinary researchers curious to learn more about dance research in action.