A dance-specialist physiotherapist will investigate previous injury history and evaluate potential risk for future injury. Assessments are designed to uncover weaknesses, tightness, range of motion restrictions and muscular imbalances that may impact your performance and potential for injury. The aim is to provide invaluable information about the body so that steps can be taken to reduce injury risks through specific training.
Performance Optimisation Package (POP)
A specifically designed package to help dancers maintain health, fitness and optimum performance, available as an add-on to your chosen membership.
Our Performance Optimisation Package (POP) has been designed to complement the existing specialist healthcare available at National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science (NIDMS) NHS clinics, and is invaluable for dance artists working independently or without comprehensive in-house health provision.
Any individual dancer, teacher or choreographer can take out the package; companies and schools may also wish to add it to their existing offering for dancers. The services provided in the POP package are offered through the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science partners.
Choosing your Performance Optimisation Package
POP has been specifically designed to help dancers maintain health, fitness and optimum performance and is available as three different options.
One Dance UK offers the POP as an add-on to your chosen membership. Three different options are available, allowing you to tailor to your current requirements and budget.
All options include a health cash plan, allowing you to be reimbursed up to £700 for private healthcare treatment, such as physiotherapy, without needing a GP referral.
Individuals taking out the Intermediate or Elite POP will additionally have a health and fitness screening session offered by NIDMS dance scientists and healthcare practitioners at Trinity Laban in London and Birmingham Royal Ballet's Jerwood Centre, and the Dance Science team at the University of Wolverhampton, Walsall campus.
Membership Pricing
Standard package
From £80 p/year
Reclaim the cost of:
- Physiotherapy
- Osteopathy
- Chiropractic treatment
- Homeopathy
- Chiropody
- Reflexology
- Private diagnostic consultation (excludes imaging such as x-ray, MRI, etc)
- + Discounted gym membership
- + 24 hour helpline including counselling services, GP and legal advice
Over £700 of benefits
Intermediate package
From £285 p/year
Reclaim the cost of:
- Physiotherapy
- Osteopathy
- Chiropractic treatment
- Homeopathy
- Chiropody
- Reflexology
- Private diagnostic consultation (excludes imaging such as x-ray, MRI, etc)
- + Discounted gym membership
- + 24 hour helpline including counselling services, GP and legal advice
Over £700 of benefits
+ a one-to-one musculoskeletal and fitness screening
Elite package
From £420 p/year
Reclaim the cost of:
- Physiotherapy
- Osteopathy
- Chiropractic treatment
- Homeopathy
- Chiropody
- Reflexology
- Private diagnostic consultation (excludes imaging such as x-ray, MRI, etc)
- + Discounted gym membership
- + 24 hour helpline including counselling services, GP and legal advice
Over £700 of benefits
+ a bespoke needs-analysis one-to-one musculoskeletal and fitness screening
If you have any questions on the different options, please email manager@nidms.co.uk or call 0207 713 0730 and we will be happy to assist. If you are already signed up and have questions about your POP package, please view our welcome document.
Still unsure? Get your FREE taster session
Performance Optimisation Package (POP) Taster Screenings are back by popular demand! Next session: University of Wolverhampton, Thursday 23 November. Register your interest by emailing hdp@onedanceuk.org.
POP Screening attendee, Wolverhampton
As a slightly more mature dance artist at forty-something, I felt supported, I was heard, and my needs were completely met. I learnt invaluable things about my body and health that blew my mind! On the back of this, I look forward to seeking further guidance and care through one of the POP Packages. I just have to choose which one suits my needs. Thank you for an inspiring and informative session.
POP screening attendee - Trinity Laban
I had an amazing experience at the POP Taster Screening Day. I really enjoyed seeing the dance science facilities and hearing all about the work of Trinity Laban, One Dance UK and NIDMS. The best thing was to be able to undertake some of the screening tests and to get feedback about them. These are really helpful in understanding some of my current physical capabilities in the context of my dance practice. Now that I’ve given some of these a try and seen what the screening programmes entail, I’m really keen to book a full Performance Optimisation Package because I’m sure the highly personalised information could benefit my dancing and help me get to the next level.
Professor Matthew Wyon, Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Dance Science – University of Wolverhampton
POP allows us to support dancers to achieve their goals and potential by providing them with individualised training and rehabilitation programmes based on the comprehensive POP screen. It also provides us with new data to continually improve our knowledge. This is the exciting side of working with dancers when you are helping them along their journey. It is always great to see them year after year and help them monitor their progress and fine-tune their training
Nick Allen , Clinical Director, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Jerwood Centre
NIDMS partners undertook research looking at the impact of screening in dance – such as the POP screening- as part of an injury prevention strategy. The results showed that when combined with a specifically designed conditioning programme, we saw a significant reduction in injuries. Given that injury can be one of the challenges to a dancer's performance, screening can be an important step forward to enhancing performance capacity“.
Image One Dance UK, Dani Bower. motionhouse dancers Junior Cunningham and Berta Contijoch
What to expect at your one-to-one musculoskeletal and fitness screening
You will travel to one of our screening centres (London – Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance), or Birmingham (University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus), where you will meet with a dance-specialist exercise physiologist and physiotherapist on the following areas.
This assessment helps performers maintain a healthy BMI and body fat percentage in order to optimise performance.
Range of motion and muscle flexibility are essential aspects of dance performance. This series of tests focuses on the range of motion and surrounding muscle flexibility in various planes of movement.
These tests measure core muscular endurance, upper body strength and endurance, lower limb power and lower limb endurance. These elements are important in many dance movements, mainly performing lifts and weight-bearing actions and being able to propel the body through space, such as in jumps or travel sequences.
You will complete an incremental treadmill test (a standardised measure of aerobic fitness) whilst wearing a Metamax gas analyser to measure your aerobic capacity, providing information on your ability to delay the onset of fatigue, which has been linked to injury.
Once the screening has been completed, a 10-minute one-to-one feedback session will be provided. This will allow time to discuss the screening results in the context of your work and give personalised recommendations for optimising training and performance. Dependent on your chosen POP option, you will either receive an independent exercise prescription shortly after your screening, or you will return to the screening centre to go through your bespoke exercise plan based on your current choreographic demands.
If you have opted for the Elite package, the above screening will be carried out and analysed in relation to your current dance practice. The screening team will watch videos of your current choreography to ascertain your current training requirements and create a training programme to help you meet these demands. Those purchasing the elite package will also experience an enhanced version of the screening, including 2D motion capture for flexibility which will be presented in a photograph with the angle of flexion shown in degrees.
The Performance Optimisation Package in action
Want to upgrade your health cash plan to have more benefits?
The health cash plan included in each POP option is the Bronze level of cover, offering the individual up to £700 in benefits.
BHSF provides the health cash plan, and in addition to the Bronze level, they also have a Silver (£1400 benefits), Gold (£2100 benefits), Diamond (£3375 benefits) and Platinum (£4000 benefits) level health cash plan options.
When purchasing POP online, you can upgrade to the Silver level for an additional £87.
The Gold, Diamond and Platinum levels are available over the phone and prices for each level are available on request; please call on 020 713 0730 or email manager@nidms.co.uk using other button below if you have any queries about upgrading your health cash plan level.
