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Information for Folkwang Alumni 

Information, updates and insights for Folkwang students on the contemporary dance course with Paolo Fossa

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Information, updates and insights for 4th year Folkwang students on the contemporary dance course with Paolo Fossa.

This internet page is not open but reserved for Folkwang students only. 

Fitness /Condition

Including a part of aerobic work in training sessions is important for many reasons, both for health and accident prevention, and to strengthen muscular endurance and the cardiorespiratory system.

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COMPONENT OF FITNESS / CONDITION

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• Strength                                  • Agility

• Cardiocascular Endurance      • Speed

• Muscular Endurance.              • Power

• Flexibility                                 • Co-ordination / Postural Control

• Body Composition.                  • Balance

• Nutrition.                                  • Reaction Time

 

Health related:

Strength  -  Flexibility  

CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE

Muscular Endurance   -  Body Composition

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Skills Related:

Agility -  Speed

REACTION TIME

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Balance  -  Power

​COORDINATION

 

DANCE AEROBIC FITNES TEST/TRAINING  - D.A.F.T. -

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The test consists of five, four-minute, stages of continuous dance movement.

​Can be used both as a test to measure the physical endurance of dancers as well as to increase dancers' fitness, or as part of the warm-up during training..

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You can find an accurate description of the Test and videos of the five stages of the exercises with original music on the Trinitylaban soundcloud site:​

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Scientific article on the benefits of DAFT:

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Self care

"Self care is the individual practice of health
management without the aid of a medical professional"

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​​Segal, Alexander ,and Goldstein, Jay. Exploring the correlated of self provided Health Care Behavior.

IN Coburn David; D'arcy, Alex; Torrance, George Murray (eds). Health and Canadian Society: Sociological Perspectives. Toronto. University of Toronto Press. 1998 279-280. 

Chamber, Ruth, Wakley, Gill, and Blenkinsopp, Alison. Supporting Selfcare in Primary Care. Radcliffe Publishing. 2006.

Webber et al Self-Care in Health: We can define it, but shuld we also measured? Selfcare 4(5). 101-106 2013.

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"Self-care is what people do for themselves to establish and maintain health, and to prevent and deal with illness."

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MORE COMING SOON

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Warm-up

IADMS - The Importance of a Good Warm-Up:
Are you warm enough to start dancing?

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​​​​​"Although an effective warm-up is generally regarded as essential before taking part in any type of dance, it is not always clear to dancers, teachers, or choreographers why it is important to warm up, what actually takes place during a warm-up, and how to warm up effectively.....

A warm-up should be carried out before all dance activities and, if effective, can improve physical and psychological performance while reducing the risk of injury....

A warm-up is just as important for the mind as it is for the body. An effective warm-up can be a good mental transition from the concerns and pressures of everyday life into dance activities.....

Stretching on its own is not a warm-up and dancers need to make a clear distinction between the types of stretching that take place during a dynamic warm-up and the static stretching activities that take place during flexibility training.... The purpose of stretching within a well-structured warm-up is to mobilize joints and prepare them to safely carry out the range of motion required of the dance activity to follow.... Once warm, stretching should be undertaken slowly and methodically, as rapid increases in 4 muscle length can increase instability and reduce proprioception...... Too much time spent stretching without being warm will increase the muscle-tendon unit length and can override the body’s reflexes designed to protect the muscles and joints...

A thorough and effective warm-up should take about 15-20 minutes to complete.  The required time is dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited to: whether the dancer has participated in any physical activity that day (is it the first class of the day or has the dancer immediately completed another class), how warm or cold the environment is, how much space and time is available for the warm-up, and the style and intensity of dance to follow...."

(IAMDS - RESOURCE PAPER FOR DANCERS AND TEACHERS - The Importance of a Good Warm-Up: Are you warm enough to start dancing?-ANDREA KOZAI MSC, CSCS, AND BRENTON SURGENOR BPHED, MA, MSC WITH THE IADMS DANCE EDUCATORS’ COMMITTEE, 2017)

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Here you can see the original warm-up I run with you in my customised version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qov0NQHVmLY

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Some more Infos about Neural Warmup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJjCoo0rBcQ&t=283s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCCpT2YkPpg

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Some information about sensory before Motor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUr0iqPZNX4&t=190s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1qyUKQU00Y

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How to proper Warm up?....

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MORE COMING SOON

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Stretching

When and how it is best to stretch the muscles.

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​​​​​Forced and passive stretching, for example the typical forced split perpetuated by tradition before a class, is highly discouraged because it prevents the correct functioning of the muscular and tendon response during training.
Before a training session, it is recommended to mobilise the joints and stretch actively.


Stretching after a work/training session, on the other hand, is not only recommended but should always be done.
This not only allows the muscles to maintain their dynamic elasticity, preventing possible accidents, but it can also avoid muscle soreness and cramps

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MORE  COMING SOON

Kontakt

Paolo Fossa 

Dance Teacher for Contemporary dance and improvisation, choreographer Dancer and Dance facilitator

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Annastrasse 29, 40477 Düsseldorf

Tel: +491705856115

Email: paolofossa@hotmail.com

Kontakt

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