Athletes and the Arts

Perhaps no field in medicine is fraught with as much misinformation and confusion as nutrition. This directly impacts the dance world, as many restrict the very food elements that fuels a dancer to perform. So Yasi and Steven get into it with two of Yasi's colleagues and mentors from the Sports and Human Performance Nutrition practice group, Michelle Macedonio MS, RDN, LD and Roberta Anding MS, RD...

Perhaps nothing embodies the idea of "Athletes and the Arts" than professional wrestling. For 52 weeks a year, AEW (All Elite Wrestling) tours the world, putting on shows that combine athleticism, power, theatricality, performance, and toughness that thrills audiences everywhere. So how in the world can they do it week after week? How do they perform gravity-defying stunts and falls without fractu...

Raymond Meade has been in the UK music industry for over two decades, first as a singer/songwriter for the Ronelles, a solo artist and session musician, and current bassist for Ocean Colour Scene. He also made a BBC documentary about the music of Auschwitz. His life is literally in his hands. So what happens when those hands start tingling during a concert...and it doesn't stop? When you suddenly...

On this episode, Steven and Yasi talk with the artistic and wellness pros behind Diablo Ballet, a professional dance company and ballet school in Walnut Creek, California. As they celebrate the end of their 28th season, we find out how they manage to keep health and wellness a priority, while maintaining artistic excellence. We also delve into the working relationships among the artistic director,...

The power of music and sound to heal the mind and body is being unlocked through new neuroscience research and education. Exciting developments are showing how music and sound can tap into important brain functions and even treat such conditions as Autism, concussion, Alzheimer's, and even aging. Yasi and Steven talk to two people at the forefront of this exploding field. Acclaimed soprano Renèe F...

Marching band, drum corps, bugle corps...it's part of sports worldwide, but it's also its own entertainment industry, and competition is fierce and deep. Drum Corps International is Marching Music's Major League, celebrating their 50th year of performance. They hold over 100 events and competitions, including Drumline Battles. One of the top competitors is the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps from Dub...

Breaking, or Break Dancing, exploded in popularity in the 80s but thanks to TV and social media, it's more popular than ever, so much that it will become an Olympic sport at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Yasi and Steven talk to one of the U.S. Olympic hopefuls, Bboy Morris, and the medical team that helps him get there, Aaron Ngor and TeeJay Lee, founders of Offset Med. We get in deep about t...

Our biggest episode yet brings together the medical professionals in New York and Philadelphia who care for some of the biggest companies in the dance world. They give us insight on how they keep those performers on stage. We talk about what it's like to work in small, medium, and large-sized programs, how their dancers access care, and the challenges of pushing the boundaries of choreography with...

How do you improve mental performance in sports and the performing arts? Is mental performance and mental illness along the same spectrum? How do you stay healthy in the face of failure and rejection? We talk to a doctor and a performer to find out how. Listen to Yasi and Steven talk with Dr. Stephen Gonzales of the Association of Applied Sports Psychology (AASP) and Brooke DeRosa, film composer a...

What does it take to become a professional dancer? A combination of physical gifts, proper training, and a lot of hard work for starters. But when the time comes to exit stage left, what does it take to then become a professional health care provider? We find out by talking to two extraordinary women who reached the top of two different fields. Listen as Yasi and Steven talk with Doctors Becca Rod...

Dr. Laura Solomon shares her journey as a professional ballroom dancer, overcoming reconstructive ankle surgery and a career-threatening Jones fracture in her foot to compete at the highest levels in the world of ballroom dancing. She is joined by her team; her teacher and partner, Oscar Pedrinelli, and her podiatrist, Dr. Howard Osterman. They talk about the power of positive thinking, treatment...

Our guest this episode is renowned otolaryngologist and President of the Performing Arts Medical Association, Lucinda Halstead, MD. She is a pioneer in performing arts medicine, starting one of the first vocal treatment centers in the United States in 1987 and becoming the Medical Director of the MUSC Evelyn Trammell Institute for Voice and Swallowing. We discuss various medical issues related to...

Amanda Donahue, ATC, MS and Kristina Berger are faculty at the esteemed Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance at Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts. These two accomplished professionals join us today to talk about how they merge medicine, education, and training to best prepare their dancers for the dance world. Their unique collaboration is a model for training and caring for dancers. We tal...

We talk with Dr. Timothy Lightfoot and Randy Dick, both fellows of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) about exercise physiology concepts in performing arts medicine. Dr. Lightfoot, an exercise physiologist, talks about his innovative research at Texas A & M on physical exertion during performance, as well as the "Exercise is Medicine" campaign started by the ACSM and how it applies...

Our guests are Randy Dick and John Snyder, the two co-founders of the Athletes and the Arts initiative. We talk about why this movement is needed, and how they worked to bring sports medicine and performing arts medicine organizations together to better meet the needs of musicians, dancers, vocalists and all performing artists everywhere.

Find out more about Athletes and the Arts and how you can get involved. Check out our webpage at http://www.athletesandthearts.com