The Effects of Dance Training on Postural Stability in Adults With Developmental Disabilities

11. Procedures:

11.1 Bridges to Skidmore Course Information DA209, Bridges to Skidmore: The Dance Experience class will be held twice per week in the dance facilities or Tang teaching museum. This course will be taught by Dr. Sarah DiPasquale who will also lead the dance class sessions each week. Dependent on space constraints and learning goals each semester, the class will convene in the dance studios, dance theater, Tang teaching museum or intramural gym of the Williamson Sports Center. The Williamson Sports Center and Tang museum are accessible buildings with multiple handicap accessible parking spots available for the Saratoga Bridges staff to transport participants. Each week the participants will partake in 100-120 minutes of contemporary dance training; participants work up to a 30 minute warm up period at the beginning of class and then take a short break to get a drink or use the bathroom. Chairs are also set up on all sides of the room so individuals can rest or take a break if they wish. They will learn the basic positions and combinations used in Contemporary Dance, including: Plié, Tendu, Degagé, Rond de Jambe, Frappé, Chassé, Sauté, Pas de Bourrée, Glissade, and Révérance. Additional Contemporary Dance movements and patterns will be employed utilizing a mixture of fall and recovery techniques consistent with this discipline's movement vocabulary. A minimum of two staff members from Saratoga Bridges will be in attendance during the class period in addition to the 8-10 students helping with the class. If a participant chooses not to dance for the full duration of a given class period, a Bridges staff member will assist them out of the studio to wait comfortably in the lobby of the dance center, dance gym or sports center until the class ends and their transportation arrives. A staff member from Saratoga Bridges will remain with the participant outside of the dance studio. They may also rejoin the class at any time, should they choose.

Skidmore dance students will register for a 1-credit course through the dance department entitled Bridges to Skidmore: The Dance Experience (DA271-001). Skidmore students registered in this class will be matched with a cohort of Bridges participants (ideally a 4:1 ratio or less). These cohorts will work together in the classroom enabling each member to get to know one another throughout the duration of the semester. As the Bridges participants will come to class with a wide range of physical and intellectual abilities, the small group cohort embedded within the larger class setting will allow the student leaders to assist each person in a way that meets their individual learning and/or mobility needs.

Prior to any participation in Bridges to Skidmore: The Dance Experience, an intake form will be completed by a staff member at Saratoga Bridges. This staff member must be a health care provider who has full access to the participants protected health information (PHI).

The only person who will have full access to the completed intake forms will be Dr. Sarah DiPasquale PT, DPT. Student data collectors will have limited access to these files in order to input the information into the database. Prior to any student access to files containing PHI, the names of the participants will be removed from the documents and replaced with the participant ID numbers. Additionally, this access will be under direct faculty supervision and for only the amount of time needed to input the data. These files will be kept in a locked filing cabinet in office 228 of the Williamson Sports Center at all times and will not be removed from the office.