From the editorial (available in full at the link below)…
Physical inactivity is increasingly being linked to chronic health conditions and all-cause mortality. The Lancet Global Series on physical activity has emphasised the need to take inactivity seriously and called on a diverse range of sectors to take bold and innovative action on tackling physical inactivity (Das and Horton Citation2016). However, despite a growing global interest in physical activity promotion, the varieties of movement and physical activity experienced by those who participate in performing arts training are rarely seriously considered in public health policy. The UK 2017 All Parliamentary Report, Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing, mentions physical activity only four times within ninety-nine pages – referencing participation in dance and music (All Party Parliamentary Group on Arts Health and Wellbeing Citation2017). Similarly, none of the proposed strategic actions in the World Health Organisation’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity mention the potential and existing roles that arts and cultural activities play in promoting and facilitating physical activity (WHO Citation2018).
We proposed this Special Issue of Theatre Dance and Performance Training in response to this apparent gap in policy, recognising the ways in which knowledge and practices from the arts might be used to expand and problematise biomedical paradigms of health and wellbeing. Our intention was to provide a context for contributors to analyse and articulate how training and participation in theatre, dance and performance provides important opportunities for promoting and facilitating movement, physical activity and health. We were fortunate to receive a diverse range of submissions exploring contemporary and historical examples of practice from professional performer training, participatory arts and continuing education. The contributions illustrate the breadth of thinking, research and practice that is happening at the intersection of performer training and health…
— The Editors
Guest Editors:
Campbell Edinborough is Associate Professor in Creative Practice at the University of Leeds. His creative practice and research into performer training is informed by a longstanding interest in somatics and physical education. Campbell is the author of Theatrical Reality: Space, Embodiment and Empathy in Performance (Intellect 2016).
Zoë Glen is a researcher and performance maker, and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Kent. Their research focuses on neurodivergent perspectives on performance and performer training. Zoë also teaches regularly in drama school settings, and works as a facilitator in disability-led participatory arts contexts.
Andy Pringle is Professor in Physical Activity and Health Intervention in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Derby. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Leeds. He is interested in researching the impact and implementation of physical activity interventions.
Rebecca Stancliffe is a Research Fellow and Lecturer at Trinity Laban. Her research focuses on creative health, co-production, and digital media. Rebecca is the author of Video Annotation for Dance and Performance: Attention, Thinking, and Memory (Palgrave 2025).
Editorial
Training for movement, physical activity and health
Campbell Edinborough, Zoë Glen, Andy Pringle & Rebecca Stancliffe
Research Articles
Article
Moving with care: a critical/historical review of the practice of movement training for theatre in relation to physical education and care for the self
Mark Evans
Source
Introduction
An introduction to extracts from Rudolf Laban’s Dance and Gymnastics
Dick McCaw
Essais
Essay
Body combat: fighting with my body
Danielle Rosvally
Essay
Hypermobility and actor-movement training: the risks of stretching
Klara Hricik
Speaking Image
Loose and not loose
Mira Hirtz
Research Articles
Article
Ballet as life-long learning
Susie Crow
Article
Lonely me, lonely you: dancing towards post-pandemic social reintegration
Tessa Palfrey
Essais
Essay
Beyond the stage: transferable skills for health and resilience
Alice Marshall (Vale)
Conversation
Article
Notes on training community dance professionals
Campbell Edinborough
Essais
Essay
Center of gravity access in the Suzuki method and speculative health benefits
Christopher J. Staley
Research Articles
Article
Ecological training for ecological healing: performer’s training in Heisnam Kanhailal’s Theatre of the Earth
Pranab Kumar Mandal
Essais
Essay
Training the breath
Laura González
Reviews
Book Review
Freeing the Natural Voice
by Kristin Linklater (revised and expanded), by J. Yoon Irons, Nick Hern Books, 2006
J. Yoon Irons (Dr.)
Book Review
Unveiling the Life of Trish Arnold: A Review of Lizzie Ballinger’s Biography
by Stephanie Arsoska, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2023, ISBN 9781350264557
Stephanie Arsoska
Editors
Sarah Weston is a Lecturer in Applied Theatre at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. She specializes in applied theatre, voice, and political communication. She has published in journals such as Research in Drama and Education and Theatre Dance and Performance Training.
James McLaughlin is a Senior Lecturer in Drama and the University of Greenwich and leads the Research Centre for Creative Futures. He trained at the University of Auckland in English, Philosophy and Drama, and at the University of Exeter in Theatre Practice under Phillip Zarrilli. He has had a fifteen-year career as a comedian, writer and theatre director, was the founding Theatre Manager of the Covert Theatre (New Zealand), and toured Australasia, North America and Europe. He has participated in an improv masterclass with Keith Johnstone and won the inaugural World Cage Match Championship at The Chicago Improv Festival. His research has traversed several fields, including improvisation and comedy, intercultural performance, method acting, and consent-based practices. He has been a member of the TDPT Blog Team since 2016.