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The dance field is overflowing with virtuosity. You turn on the TV: Someone not only thinks she can dance, she back-flips, slides across the stage on knee pads, gets hoisted [...]

ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the association between self-reported accessibility and engagement with health services and places in the community, and quality of life (QOL) for people with spinal cord damage (SCD).DesignCross-sectional survey.SettingCommunity.ParticipantsTwo-hundred and sixty-six people with a SCD residing in Australia (Mage = 62.34, SDage = 15.95).Outcome MeasureThe International Spinal Cord Injury Quality of Life Basic Data Set.ResultsUnivariate regressions demonstrated that accessing a higher number of places in the community was significantly associated with favorable self-reported psychological health (β = .160, P < .01), physical health (β = .144, P < .01), overall well-being (β = .206, P < .01), and QOL (β = .187, P < .01). In contrast, reporting a higher number of inaccessible places was significantly associated with unfavorable self-reported psychological health (β = −.171, P < .01), physical health (β = −.270, P < .001), overall well-being (β = −.238, P < .001), and QOL (β = −.244, P < .001). Being older and living with injury or onset of damage longer were significantly associated with favorable scores across all outcomes (P < .01) except physical health.ConclusionsCommunity engagement can have a considerable impact on the self-reported health and QOL of people with SCD. Interventions aimed at increasing community engagement, particularly for people who have recently experienced SCD are warranted.

To fly into Tbilisi, Georgia, you must land in pitch dark in the middle of the night. (Night air space is cheaper.) Even so, the crowd welcoming passengers boils up [...]

NEW YORK CITY BALLET NEW YORK STATE THEATER, NEW YORK, NY JANUARY 4-FFBRUARY 27, 2005 The highlight of the first half of New York City Ballet's winter season was unquestionably [...]

All in the Dances: A Brief Life of George Balanchine By Terry Teachout. New York: Harcourt, 2004. 208 pp. Illustrated. $22. George Balanchine: The Ballet Maker By Robert Gottlieb. New [...]

The International Ceramic center at Guldagergaard founded in 1997 is an opportunity for artists from diverse communities and backgrounds to come together and make a new community and the center offers assistantships for those who are willing to help the center. The center provides an environment that encourages the creative development of the individual, while offering a dynamic mingling of cultures and ideas.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the percentage of Australians with disabilities has significantly increased in recent years. In 2022, 21.4% of the population, or 5.5 million people, were living with a disability, compared to 17.7% in 2018. This rise was seen across genders, with a notable increase in the number of people reporting profound or severe disabilities. Factors contributing to this increase include heightened public awareness, better diagnostic criteria, an increase in long-term health conditions, and the aging population. The survey also revealed a significant increase in disability prevalence among children and young people, particularly due to an increase in autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. The growing prevalence of disability reflects a broader societal shift towards greater inclusion and reduced stigma. However, it is important to recognize that disability is a complex and diverse experience that cannot be neatly categorized. The survey's findings highlight the need for more inclusive and comprehensive approaches to defining and assessing disability in order to meet the needs of all individuals. [Extracted from the article]

A personal narrative is presented of a visit to Finland and the experience of the shore saunas of the country. Saunas have been part of the local culture for thousands of years, although they did not originate in Finland, and were sacred to the original Lapp settlers.

The new artistic director of Finnish National Ballet is building modern choreography on the foundation of the past. The scene is the warm-reddish wooden amphitheater of Helsinki's splendid new Finnish [...]

The Seventh International ballet Competition, held in Moscow in late September 1993. was unique: it was dedicated to Marius Petipa, who was born 175 years ago, and most of the [...]

Kansas City Ballet: The First Fifty Years By Wyatt Townley. Kansas City: Kansas City Star Books, 2007. 64 pages. $29.95 San Francisco Ballet at 7S By Janice Ross. San Francisco: [...]

It's Day One of the Teachers' Seminar. I'm supposed to be the critic-observer. Instead I'm lying face down on the floor, arms spread and pelvis swiveled so my right leg [...]

AbstractFollowing neurotrauma, people may experience prolonged inpatient neurorehabilitation, during which they are dependent on and influenced by their immediate surroundings for support and stimulation. However, there is currently a lack of evidence relating to first person, or end-user, experiences of rehabilitation built environments, and consequently, limited knowledge of how to best design the physical space to promote rehabilitation after neurotrauma. Here, we report end-user experiences of rehabilitation after brain and spinal cord injury, to inform future rehabilitation environment design thinking. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with patients (n = 24) and staff (n = 33) from two adult neurorehabilitation units in Australia revealed that the neurorehabilitation setting was an important midpoint between hospital and home, where the built environment could facilitate, or block, two fundamental patient recovery processes: changeand certainty. This study provides evidence that the built environment directly and dynamically contributes to rehabilitation and wellbeing following life-changing neurotrauma.HighlightsThe physical environment is central to the experience of recovery after neurotraumaRehabilitation environments must respond to patient progress and growth during a potentially lengthy hospital stayAn environmental emphasis on safety was reassuring for staff during early-stage rehabilitationA shift in emphasis to patient independence would support better recovery prior to dischargeEnvironmental capacity for encouraging participation in usual activities could support identity and sense of purpose, which is important after cognitive injuryThe dynamic nature of rehabilitation practice ought to be reflected in the building design. This is a key challenge for future rehabilitation health design.

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTIONHealth consciousness highlights the readiness of individuals to undertake health actions and take responsibility for their health and the health of others. AIMTo examine the health consciousness of Australians and its association with health status, health-care utilisation and sociodemographic factors. METHODSThis quantitative cross-sectional study was a part of a larger project aiming to engage the general public in health-care decision-making. Adults from Queensland and South Australia (n=1529) were recruited to participate by a panel company. The questionnaire included the Health Consciousness Scale (HCS), health status, health-care utilisation, sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables. RESULTSThe health consciousness of Australians was relatively low (mean score=21), compared to other international administrations of the HCS, and further investigations revealed that more health-conscious people tended to live in South Australia, be female and single, experience poorer physical and mental health and were more frequent users of health-care services. DISCUSSIONThe general approach to health in this sample of the Australian public may reflect ‘here and now’ concerns. It appears that an attitude of ‘she’ll be right, mate’ prevails until a change in an individual’s health status or their exposure to the health system demands otherwise. These findings need to be investigated further to see if they are confirmed by others and to clarify the implications for primary health programmes in Australia in redressing the public’s apparent apathy.

Travellers with disabilities in Australia often face discrimination in air travel, as highlighted by the experience of former disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes, who was denied access to a body scanner with his assistance dog. The Human Rights Commission has received over 100 disability discrimination complaints against airlines, including issues such as assistance animal refusals and inaccessible facilities. Ableism in air travel denies people with disabilities their right to freedom of movement and can lead to anxiety and stress. Urgent reform is needed, including the development of specific standards for air travel and independent oversight. Complaints can be raised with individual airlines or the Human Rights Commission, but more proactive methods for change, such as the implementation of a Disability Rights Act, are also necessary. Embracing inclusivity in air travel aligns with the principles of equity and diversity. [Extracted from the article]

Estonia is the most prosperous country in the former USSR. This is evident in the booming economy of its capital city, Tallinn. Despite a shortage of hotel rooms, the city offers visitors a chance to glimpse what life is like in the former USSR.

Byline: Elizabeth Kendall Elizabeth Kendall recalls the moment--and the Marimekko dress--that changed her life forever. It is a little painful to remember myself in the first gathering of college freshmen, [...]

GET HAPPY The Life of Judy Garland. By Gerald Clarke. Illustrated. 510 pp. New York: Random House. $29.95. JUDY GARLAND was one of the oddest movie stars in film history [...]

KUOPIO DANCE FESTIVAL VARIOUS VENUES KUOPIO, FINLAND JUNE 30-JULY 6, 1999 REVIEWED BY ELIZABETH KENDALL Among the ancient hill towns and Mediterranean resorts where Europe's summer dance festivals happen, the [...]

Return-to-work (RTW) after road traffic crash is an important rehabilitation and recovery step. A possible RTW pathway is to gradually return-to-work (GRTW), or return in a partial capacity before reaching full RTW goals. This study sought to identify those likely to follow a GRTW pathway, and identify factors associated with successful GRTW. Administrative claims data from a state-based compulsory third party transport injury insurer were used. Individuals whose crash occurred from 2003–2012 were included if aged 15–70 years at time of crash, sustained a non-catastrophic injury, had complete data for all variables and attempted a RTW in the three years follow-up. A matrix was created using income payments data, which were used as a proxy for RTW, to map their RTW pattern for up to three years post-crash. Individuals were flagged as attempting GRTW if patterns were detected for receiving full income payments, followed by partial payments, then none. Individuals who resumed full payments after a period of partial payments or resumed any payments after a period of no payments were flagged as having relapsed. In the three years follow-up, 9.6% of individuals followed a GRTW pathway. Of those that attempted GRTW for their first full-time RTW, 55.1% relapsed. Least likely to attempt GRTW were males, individuals with contusions, abrasions, sprains, strains, non-limb fractures and those from the most advantaged socioeconomic group. Conversely, those admitted to hospital were 88% more likely to relapse. Of those that followed a GRTW pathway, those aged 15–24 years were most likely to succeed. Those with whiplash, internal injuries and those admitted to hospital were least likely to succeed. This study may assist regulators, insurers, employers and healthcare professionals to identify opportunities for GRTW (such as using RTW as a recovery tool), and identifies groups that may require additional support to achieve successful employment outcomes.

Objectives: This research aimed to examine the role of the corridors in specialist inpatient rehabilitation units to inform future design of these spaces.Background: In healthcare settings, such as rehabilitation units, corridors have often been designed simply as spaces allowing movement between other locations. However, research suggests that corridors may be places where important social and care-related activities take place. How corridors are used and understood by patients and staff in inpatient rehabilitation settings is unclear, and a greater understanding of the role of corridors in these settings could help to inform more supportive design of these spaces.Methods: Independent observations of user activity were conducted at a major metropolitan inpatient spinal injury unit (SIU) and brain injury unit (BIU). Interviews were conducted with SIU patients (n= 12), and focus groups were conducted with SIU staff (n= 23), BIU patients (n= 12), and BIU staff (n= 10).Results: Results from the observations showed that the corridors were used frequently across the day, particularly by staff. Thematic analysis of staff and patient experiences found three key themes describing how corridors were used: (1) moving around, (2) delivery and experiences of quality care, and (3) a “spillover space.”Conclusions: Results demonstrate that corridors not only have an important role as connective spaces but are also used as flexible, multipurpose spaces for delivery of quality care and patient experiences. Future design should consider how these spaces can more deliberately support and contribute to patient and staff experiences of rehabilitation.

A big, light-filled studio; 25 or so coltish girls in black leotards; a kind-looking, dark-haired teacher walking among them, exhorting, showing steps with her hands. It could be any New [...]

Two Views of 'U n related Solos' Baryshnikov Arts Center, NYC * May 19-22, 2010 The evening's name was 'Unrelated Solos'--three solo guys, one dancing commissioned work, two, their own. [...]

People with disability face barriers to sexual and reproductive health care. We can do this partly with human rights legislation that specifically affirms and acknowledges the rights of people with disability and their health care. Human rights legislation Sexual and reproductive rights are inherent entitlements of every being, regardless of gender or disability. [Extracted from the article]

A dance company is like a garden. Some flowers that flourished yesterday are gone (though not the hardiest) and new, unexpected ones have pushed up from the soil. Is it [...]

For better or worse, large ballet companies live off their old Russian and French story ballets--Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Giselle. But, as American Ballet Theatre's artistic director [...]

By George Balanchine 32 pages. Under $10. Prices in bookstores may vary; to order from the publisher, email HealyEnt@aol.com. BALANCHINE: CELEBRATING A LIFE IN DANCE Photographs by Costas; with contributions [...]

WHO AMONG VETERAN BALLET DEVOTEES WOULD EXPECT KIROV dancers to be experts on the difference between dancing the classics and dancing the zeitgeist? But this is a key moment in [...]

Two types of discrimination Ableism and disablism both refer to types of disabilitydiscrimination. Indeed, ableism and disablism can be soingrained in our daily lives that most people are unawareof them. [Extracted from the article]

Presents several letters to the editor. Objections against an editorial on treaty obligations published in the April 24, 1913 issue; Comments of a reader on a review of Katharine Coman's book "Economic Beginnings of the Far West"; Criticism of an article by Raymond Macdonald in the April 17, 1913 issue.

Dancing on Water: A Life in Ballet, from the Kirov to the ABT. By Elena Tchernichova, with Joel Lobenthal. Northeastern University Press. 2013. 328 pages. $35. It's been five decades [...]

PERM, Russia--This sprawling oldnew city of log houses and cement blocks on the edge of Siberia has been a double bright spot on the world ballet map. First, Sergei Diaghilev [...]

Most people are confused or unsure about how to treat people with disability, which leads to exclusion and increases the barriers people with disability encounter. Disability is about the environment, not a diagnosis More than 1.3 billion people globally live with disability. The prevailing public perception is that everything people with disability do is a challenge. [Extracted from the article]

Settings-based health promotion involving multiple strategies and partners is complex, especially in disadvantaged areas. Partnership development and organizational integration are examined in the literature; however, there is more to learn from the examination of practice stakeholders’ experience of intersectoral partnership processes. This case study examines stakeholder experiences of challenges in new partnership work in the context of a culturally diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged region in Queensland, Australia. Health promotion staff and community representatives participated in interviews and focus groups, and the thematic analysis included observations and documentary analyses. Our findings highlight the retrogressive influence of broader system dynamics, including policy reform and funding changes, upon partnership working. Partnership enablers are disrupted by external political influences and the internal politics (individual and organizational) of health promotion practice. We point to the need for organization level commitment to a consistent agreed vision specifically accounting for place, as a cornerstone of intersectoral health promotion partnership resilience. If organizations from diverse sectors can embed a vision for health that accounts for place, complex health promotion initiatives may be less vulnerable to broader system reforms, and health in all policyapproaches more readily sustained.

Former Dutch National principal Robert Sher-Machherndl brings his company, Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet, from Colorado to Alley Citigroup Theater April 28 and 29. With a new muse, the fiercely [...]

In the 21st century, a Nordic mafia seems to have moved in on the leadership of Western ballet: Peter Martins commands in NYC, Helgi Tomasson in San Francisco, Nikolai Hubbe [...]

Objective: Quality of care for comorbid physical disorders in psychiatric patients can be assessed by the number of avoidable admissions for ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) conditions. These are admissions for physical conditions that, with appropriate primary care, should not require inpatient treatment. Avoidable admissions for ACS conditions feature prominently in Australia's National Health Performance Framework and have been used to assess health care provision for marginalized groups, such as Indigenous patients or those of lower socioeconomic status. They have not been applied to people with mental illness.Methods: A population-based, record-linkage analysis was used to measure ACS admissions for physical disorder in psychiatric patients of state-based facilities in Queensland, Australia, during 5 years.Results: There were 77 435 males (48.0%) and 83 783 females (52%) (total n= 161 218). Among these, 13 219 psychiatric patients (8.2%) had at least 1 ACS admission, the most common being for diabetes (n= 6086) and angina (n= 2620). Age-standardized rates were double those of the general population. Within the psychiatric group, and after adjusting for confounders, those who had ever been psychiatric inpatients experienced the highest rates of ACS admissions, especially for diabetes.Conclusions: In common with other marginalized groups, psychiatric patients have increased ACS admissions. Therefore, this measure could be used as an indicator of difficulties in access to appropriate primary care in Canada, given the availability of similar administrative data.

OF ALL THE CELEBRATIONS marking George Balanchine's 100th birthday, none was more resonant than the trip taken in early June by members of his American 'community'--ex-dancers, conductors, scholars, and critics [...]

FOR THE LAST fifteen years Irina Kolpakova has been coaching some of ABT's dancers. Among the principals who work directly with her are Paloma Herrera (Argentina) and Xiomara Reyes (Cuba); [...]