A Comprehensive Performing Arts Health Curriculum: Moving Beyond ‘Drink More Water’
Thursday 19th December 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
It is widely known singers experience voice disorders and injuries. Such injuries may be mitigated through education of vocal health concepts, and many resources exist to assist in guiding singers to competency in this area. Due to lack of awareness and knowledge of other aspects of performing arts health (PAH), singers may be at risk for non-voice related injuries as a result of their participation in singing activities.
While many singers and teachers of singing may feel comfortable talking about voice health and offering specific advice to their students such as “drink plenty of water” or “avoid yelling and screaming,” far fewer professionals feel confident in discussing other principals of performing arts health such as musculoskeletal, hearing, and mental health concepts.
Whole-person wellness is an essential element in the lives of all performing artists, and this course presentation will encompass each of the four core areas of performing arts health (neuromusculoskeletal, hearing, mental and voice health). We will explore these areas in both a broad overview format and in an immediately applicable ‘tips and tricks’ design. Examples of current research in the field will be combined with best practices for both teachers and students. Awareness and knowledge of the concepts related to performing arts health can improve performance abilities, skill acquisition, and overall well-being. Obtaining competency in application of these principals can be achieved after first being made aware of the issues and gaining knowledge of the problems and solutions. This presentation is a valuable piece in achieving performing arts health competency.
At the conclusion of this course, you will have solid information on understanding the occupational risks that surround you, the intrinsic and extrinsic factors you bring to the table, and how to help yourself navigate the internal and environmental factors affecting your occupational health and wellness.
🏷️ Price £30 (UK VAT inclusive)
🎥 Recording automatically sent to all who book (even if you cannot attend live)
▶️ Rewatch as many times as you like
📜 Certificate of attendance available
Kourtney Austin
Dr. Austin is an Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She earned her Ph.D. in Performing Arts Health at the University of North Texas, and holds degrees in voice from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and music education from Northwest Missouri State University.
Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.
Learn MoreSorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.
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This course is designed to break down the fundamentals of acoustics for both spoken and sung voice in a beginner-friendly, accessible way — so you can easily understand and apply these concepts to your teaching or research.
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Through live demonstrations, group practice, and peer coaching, you’ll learn how to teach SOVTs and VFEs with clarity and precision, integrate their principles to support vocal health, recovery, and stylistic flexibility and troubleshoot challenges and adapt exercises for individualized results.
Tuesday 27th October 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Pop Pedagogy - an Overview
Kim Chandler
Some successful pop stars are celebrating career lengths of over sixty years, having been around since the 1950s when pop music emerged and diversified from jazz, so pop singing has been in existence sufficiently long now that, for teaching purposes, we can observe and analyse what type of approach serves it best.