News

Dancers Caucus Announces Discussion led by NYU Langone’s Harkness Center for Dance Injuries

Published October 13, 2021   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

The AGMA Dancers Caucus will host "A Biopsychosocial Look at Returning to the Studio" on Monday, November 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET. The discussion will be led by William Zinser, MS, ATC, CSCS, Athletic Trainer at NYU Langone’s Harkness Center for Dance Injuries. All AGMA Dancers in good standing are invited. Please register for this exciting evening here. You will receive the Zoom details in the days leading up to the event.

You don’t want to miss this! Many dancers are fortunate to be back in the studio, with new safety protocols in place. With that, many questions may arise about the challenge of reconditioning both our bodies and our minds and the changes we may find in our workplaces. In addition, many dancers struggle with a feeling of loss after so much time away from the stage and studio.

In this workshop by NYU Langone’s Harkness Center for Dance Injuries, athletic trainer Will Zinser will discuss the challenge of returning to the studio from a biopsychosocial perspective. Learn how to prepare for a safe return to the studio or, for those of us that have already returned, how to utilize cross-training in a safe, conscientious way to help improve our fitness while also engaging in dance training. We will study how the body creates energy and how different types of cross-training (e.g. cardio, or resistance) accomplish different adaptations that all play a part in our ability to dance. Not least, we will consider some psychosocial challenges that can impede our reconditioning pathway and how we can address those challenges. This workshop is beneficial in relation to returning from pandemic shutdowns as well as returning from injury, pregnancy, or any other reason for return to the studio.


William Zinser, MS, ATC, CSCSAthletic Trainer at NYU Langone’s Harkness Center for Dance Injuries:
Mr. Zinser holds a dual bachelor’s degree in athletic training and health promotion from the University of Texas at Austin. He has earned his master’s degree in exercise science, with a concentration in strength and conditioning from the Milken Institute of Public Health at George Washington University. Mr. Zinser has a gymnastics background, having competed in high school and college. He also studied circus aerials and acrobatics at CircoArts, a division of Christchurch Polytech in New Zealand.

About Harkness for Dance Injuries:
Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at New York Langone Health is dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of dance professionals by providing breakthrough approaches to injury prevention, medical treatment, education and training, and research. Founded in 1989 through a partnership between the Harkness Foundation for Dance and the Hospital for Joint Diseases, the Harkness Center provides world-class clinical care for dancers of all types and levels.

The scientific foundation for this expert care comes from research into understanding the dancer’s body in motion coupled with workplace requirements. The Harkness Center’s evidence-based practice has produced globally accepted approaches to the recognition, treatment, and prevention of dance injuries. In addition to caring for injuries, an integral part of the Harkness Center’s mission is providing education. For the dance community, Harkness offers injury prevention workshops, online courses, and screenings, including its long-running, free Injury Prevention Assessment (IPA) program. For fellow dance medicine professionals, Harkness is actively engaged in sharing clinical best practices through academic training with live and online continuing education courses. Since 2015, Harkness Center has offered DanceMedU, its digital learning platform, which now offers over 20 lectures on dance medicine and dancer health. During the COVID-19 shutdown, NYU Langone’s Harkness Center for Dance Injuries began offering programs such as workshops, IPAs, and clinical services virtually; dancers around the world can now take advantage of these services.