Dr Wendy Timmons

Programme Director: MSc Dance Science and Education, Senior Teaching Fellow

Biography

Background

Wendy Timmons is Programme Director of the MSc Dance Science and Education at the University of Edinburgh, Wendy has many years of  professional arts practice and experience teaching and training dance artists, young dancers and dance teachers. Wendy has a Bachelor in Philosophy (Classical Ballet and Contextual Studies) from the University of Durham and is currently registered for her doctoral thesis at the University of Edinburgh.  Wendy has undertaken substantial knowledge exchange and research developing and validating technology for safe and effective dance teaching and training.

Esteem Indicators

Editorial Board member for Research in Dance Education journal, RIDE, Taylor & Francis Routledge.

Vice Chairperson for the Traditional Dance Forum on Scotland TDFS

Editorial Board, advisory panel, Scottish Journal for Performance Arts

Education Scotland Expressive Arts  National Steering Group - core member ( Dance) 

May 2012 Invited as Expert member of EU workshop group for Entrepreneurship in Education EE, Dublin

CV

PDF icon 58825.pdf

Responsibilities & affiliations

Wendy is Programme Director for the MSc Dance Science and Education and is also responsible for the teaching Dance , Aesthetics and Physical Cultute across the Undergraduate and Post graduate PE programmes. 

External affiliations include 

Registered teacher (RTS) with the Royal Academy of Dance and a bilingual tutor (Greek and English) for the Professional Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies for the Royal Academy of Dance.

Editorial Board member for Research in Dance Education journal, RIDE, Taylor & Francis Routledge.

Vice Chairperson for the Traditional Dance Forum in Scotland TDFS

Editorial Board, advisory panel, Scottish Journal for Performance Arts

Education Scotland Expressive Arts Steering Group  core member ( Dance) 

Expert member of EU workshop group for Entrepreneurship in Education EE, Dublin (2012)

Undergraduate teaching

  • Aesthetics (MA Physical Education)
  • Physical Culture ( MA Physical Education) 
  • Dance Education & Social/cultural dance in context  (BEd Physical Education)

Postgraduate teaching

 

  • MSc Dance Science & Education
  • Dance Pedagogy ( MSc Dance Science & Education)
  • Preventive Dance Medicine  ( MSc Dance Science & Education)
  • PGDE Physical Education ( Dance) 
  • PGDE Primary ( Dance) 

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Areas of interest for supervision

My own PhD relates to the bio-psycho-social experience of joint hypermobility within the Classical Ballet Environment,  I have also many years experience and published research  that relates to dance education, the teaching and learning environment for dance and physical literacy.  

Projects that I have been involved in include:

  • The delopment  and validation of technology  and protocols for dance . For example the use of Haptic technology as a means to access dance for  people with visual impairments
  • Digital  technology  that supports teaching and learning in the dance studio  
  • Dance and Wellbeing 
  • Dance and Dementia 

Publications, book chapters  and presentations that relate to this work are available on my CV  

Current PhD students supervised

2018 Full Time PhD student, Traditional, Folk and Cultural dance 

2018 Part time PhD student , examination of the physical demands within Freestyle and Competetive dance styles

Research summary

The scientific principles of dance; Dance and  Health; injury prevention and performance enhancement; Screening for dance training; Technology and dance. 

Current and recent research

January 2013 Registered PhD part time (University of Edinburgh) Title: The embodied experiences and health risk of hypermobility in a dance narrative

Current research interests

My current research is about the experience of disordered connective tissue, Joint hyper-mobility and Dance training I am also currently carrying out a service evaluation for the Dancing with Dementia project, this is an evaluation of the development and delivery of dance sessions for elderly people in care settings with Dementia  The development of Technology for use in  the dance environment is another area that I am involved in .

Knowledge exchange

 

  1. Welcome Trust: Body Language project PI Rachel Hosker ( Special collections UOE), CO I’s:  W Timmons , M Mcdowell , J Ravenscroft, Proposed duration of project: 2 years (September 2017-September 2019) Total: £129,961.84  - awarded ( May 2017)
  2. STANDARD INNOVATION VOUCHER SCHEME AY2016/17, Partner organisation:  Dance Base in kind costs £6800, UOE W Timmons Voucher Funding £5000. Total £11800 – Successful  (May 2017) service evaluation of the Seated Swing project Seated swing BBC short documentary film internet sensation 21 million views (2017) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04wb721  

Project activity

I am currently involved in the Body Language project ( Welcome Trust funded) and in particular looking at the Margaret Morris Archive 

I am also the innovator and mentor for the ongpoing MHSE Dance Artist in Residence , new residency to launch in November 2018 ( Nic gareiss ) will be in residence for 9 months and will work alongside me researching and Scottish Studies Archive  (UOE) and the Traditinal Dance Forum of scotland in order to promote and devellop Traditional Dance in Scotland. 

Current project grants

Seated swing BBC short documentary film internet sensation now @ over 21 million views 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04wb721

STANDARD INNOVATION VOUCHER SCHEME AY2016/17, Partner organisation:  Dance Base in kind costs £6800, UOE W Timmons Voucher Funding £5000. Total £11800 – Successful  (May 2017) in service evaluation of the seated swing project  - ongoing 

Welcome Trust: PI Rachel Hosker ( Special collections UOE), CO I’s:  W Timmons , M Mcdowell , J Ravenscroft, Proposed duration of project: 2 years (September 2017-September 2019) Total: £129,961.84  - awarded ( May 2017) ongoing 
2018 Nic Gareiss , traditional dance artist in residence in partnership with the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland ( Successful funding application £12,750)

Past project grants

1. 2011 AHRC Digital Transformations research development, Lycouris S, Timmons W, Ravenscroft J
Enhancing the experience of dance performance for the visually impaired using real time Haptic feedback, £30,000
2. 2012 Knowledge Transfer grant, Timmons, W. Clough, S.
£2940, funding for dissemination event in August 2012 related to Choreo-Haptic project.
3. 2012 Lycouris S, Timmons W, Ravernscroft J. University of Edinburgh’s IKTF scheme application, reference 9bP-12/0773, £11,766 Knowledge Transfer funding to develop the Choreo-haptic technology
4. 2012 -2015 CHSS, UOE Successful Exchange Fellowships and funding, collaborator, Timmons W
Organisation and mentorship of successful Dance Artists in Residencies at Moray House School of Education,
a. 2012 Vincent Hantam, (former principle at Scottish Ballet) Collaborative Residency to investigate the work of Margaret Morris (Colours) (WT Successful application to Creative Scotland, £15,000,
b. 2013 Chris Kidd (freelance dance Artist and Educator) Collaborative Residency to investigate Socratic choreographic methodology in Dance education (Heavenly View project) (WT Successful application to Creative Scotland, £9,000, further £10,00 Cashback for Creativity application Jan 2016, unsuccessful )
c. 2015 White & Givan (Former Errol White Dance Company) Unique 2 year Dance Company in Residency across the UOE & Traverse Theatre. The residency will focus on developing new audiences for Dance retour of existing work (Breath Spring 2016) (WT Successful applications to Creative Scotland total of £71, 000 awarded Jan 2016)
5. 2016, Seedcorn funding awards UOE
a. Body Language project: McDowell M & Timmons W, £2500
b. Teacher resilience project: Mulholland R & Timmons W, £2500
6. 2016, open project funding award £30,000 Jan 2016, Creative Scotland. Margaret Morris Archive Alive project in collaboration with Margaret Morris Movement International

View all 19 publications on Research Explorer

Conference details

International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, 

 

 

Papers delivered

Wendy Timmons & Simon Blaschke, title: Dancing With Dementia, 10 min scientific presentation. International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, Helsinki , Finland 24th October 2018

 

Wendy Timmons, title: Interoceptive sensibility and proprioception in classical dancers with hypermobility10 min scientific presentation. International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, Helsinki, Finland 24th October 2018

 

Helen Gould, Wendy Timmons, Mark Pace title: Dancing with Parkinson’s 10 min scientific presentation. International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, Helsinki, Finland 24th October 2018

Sian Salmond Wendy Timmons, Dave Saunders title: Heart rate and perceived exertion differences between class and competition in freestyle-disco dance, 10 min scientific presentation. International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, Helsinki, Finland 24th October 2018

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