School of Sport, Performing Arts and Leisure

Frances Clarke

Name	Frances Clarke
Job Title	Course Leader BA (Hons) Dance; Course Leader BA(Hons) Dance and Drama
School	School of Sport, Performing Arts and Leisure
Tel	01902 32 3194
Email	frances.clarke@wlv.ac.uk

Biographical summary

Frances Clarke is the Course Leader for BA(Hons) Dance and BA(Hons) Dance and Drama, and lectures on the undergraduate dance programme and the postgraduate dance science programme.

In her career, she has worked as a professional dancer, educator, and dance scientist, and these three areas influence her teaching and research at the University of Wolverhampton. In a performance career spanning over two decades she primarily worked as a dancer and Artistic Director of Springs Dance Company. As a trained secondary school teacher, she set up and led a number of dance departments in the UK, and has worked as an artist in residence and an educational advisor. Keen to develop her interest in dance training and performance enhancement, she gained an MSc (Distinction) in Dance Science and is currently working on her PhD thesis: Static and dynamic balance within dance populations.

Frances has been at the University of Wolverhampton since 2004 and lectures on a range of areas including technique, repertoire, dance science, choreography, Laban Movement Analysis, and Labanotation. She supervises dissertations in dance science, education and dance history and analysis, and lectures in performance psychology at postgraduate level.

Frances regularly presents her research at international conferences and has co-authored a number of peer-reviewed journal papers. Frances is a member of the Research Centre for Sport Exercise and Performance at the University of Wolverhampton.

Teaching Responsibilities

Technique/Performance (Introduction to Dance Practice, Dance Practice-Intermediate)
Repertoire/Performance (Introduction to Performance Practice, Advanced Performer)
Dance Science (Fit and Healthy Dancer, Dance Science strands in Enterprise and Employability: Dance Now, and Research, Interpretation and Analysis, Performance Psychology)
Choreography (Choreography)
Movement Analysis (Ways of Seeing Dance)
Supervision of final year research projects (practice-based and written)

Non-teaching responsibilities

Course Leader for BA(Hons) Dance and BA(Hons) Dance and Drama
Programme Manager for FD Musical Theatre (Dudley College in partnership with the University of Wolverhampton)
Member of the Annual Research Development committee
Member of the Health and Safety committee
Member of the Accredited Prior Learning committee
Member of the Collaborative Links committee
Member of the University Research Committee
Member of the Research Centre for Sport Exercise and Performance
Lead organiser of the Gala Show (Dance department)

Research Interests

Frances’s research interests primarily focus on the application of dance science to enhance dance training and performance. In particular, she is interested in the development of balance testing and training for dancers. Other research interests include the effects of dance footwear on stability, the use of imagery and self- talk in dance training and performance, and performance enhancement mentoring for professional teachers and artists.

Qualifications

Currently working on a PhD University of Wolverhampton (Director of Studies: Prof Matt Wyon)
2010: MSc Dance Science (Distinction) University of Wolverhampton
1986: PGCE Secondary Education Bedford College of Higher Education
1985 BA(Hons) Dance Theatre 2:1 Laban Centre (now Trinity Laban)
1980 Professional Diploma (Dance) Arts Educational Schools

Membership of Professional Organisations

Full member of Equity from 1981
Member of IADMS
Member of CORD
Member of the Arts Centre Group

Employment history

2004-Present: Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Dance, University of Wolverhampton
2002-2004: Course Leader of Dance, Halesowen College
2001-2002: Dance Lecturer (P/T), Halesowen College
1992-1993: Supervisor on PGCE course, Bedford College of Higher Education.
1991-1993: Dance Lecturer (P/T), Thamesdown Studios, Swindon
1991-1999: Dance Lecturer (P/T), City and Islington College, London
1990-1991: Head of Dance (Acting), City and Islington College, London
1986-1990: Head of Dance, Burntwood School, London.

Advisory:

2010-present: Assessor for Dance, Trinity College, London
2010: Inset for teachers at the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT), DanceXchange
2003-2004 : Mentor for Birmingham Royal Ballet Safahr project
1997: Advisor to SCAA on new “A” level courses.
1997: Advisor and participant on “Sports bank” BBC Dance Education series.

Performance:

1998, 2000, 2002, 2005: Dancer and Choreographer, Spring Harvest, UK
1992-1997: Artistic Director, Springs Dance Company, UK
1991-1992: Dancer and Choreographer (project-based), Springs Dance Company
1986-1990: Dancer (project-based international and UK tours) Springs Dance Company
1980-1982: Dancer, Gin-Pak Ballet, Madrid & Barcelona; Ferrante Dance Company (TV), Barcelona; Springs Dance Company, UK
1979: Founder member of Springs Dance Company

Peer reviewed papers in journals:

Wyon, M.A.; Twitchett, E.; Angioi, M.; Clarke, F.; Metsios, G.; and Koutedakis, Y. (2011) Time Motion and Video Analysis of Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance Performance. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 32(11), pp.851-855.
Wyon, M., Nevill, A., Dekker, K., Brown, D., Clarke, F., Pelly, J., and Koutedakis, Y. (2010) Effect of leg length on range of motion, vertical jump and leg dexterity in dance. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 31, pp.1-5.
Cloak, R., Nevill, A,M., Clarke, F., Day, S., and Wyon, M, A., (2010) Vibration training improves balance in unstable ankles. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 31, pp.894-900.
Koutedakis, Y.; Clarke, F.; Wyon, M.; Aways, D.; and Owolabi, E.O. (2009) Muscular Strength: Application for Dancers. Medical Problems of Performing Artists. 24(4), pp.157-165.

Published international conference presentations (peer reviewed):

Clarke, F.; and Wyon, M. (2011). The effects of lateral preference on balance ability in an undergraduate dance population. In: Solomon R, Solomon J (eds): Proceedings of the 21st Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science 2011. Washington, DC, USA: IADMS, 2011, pp.96-97.
Wyon, M.; Cloak, R.; and Clarke, F. (2011) How do we test for balance in dance? In: Solomon R, Solomon J (eds): Proceedings of the 21st Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science 2011. Washington, DC, USA: IADMS, 2011, p.35.
Wyon, M.; Cloak, R.; Lucas, J.; Clarke, F.; and Williams, D. (2011) The effect of dance shoes on dynamic postural stability during landing. In: Solomon R, Solomon J (eds): Proceedings of the 21st Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science 2011. Washington, DC, USA: IADMS, 2011, pp.140-141.
Clarke, F.; and Wyon, M. (2010) Rotational forces in two different types of jazz shoe in an undergraduate dance population. In: Solomon R, Solomon J (eds): Proceedings of the 20th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science 2010.Birmingham, UK: IADMS, 2010, pp. 28-29.
Wyon, M.; Nevill, A.; Dekker, K.; Brown, D.; Clarke, F.; Twitchett, E.; and Koutedakis, Y. (2010). Effect of leg length on range of motion, vertical jump, and leg dexterity in dance. In: Solomon R, Solomon J (eds): Proceedings of the 20th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science 2010.Birmingham, UK: IADMS, 2010, pp. 63-64.
Clarke, F.; Cloak, R.; and Wyon, M. (2009) The effect of vibration training on balance performance in an undergraduate dance population. In: Solomon R, Solomon J (eds): Proceedings of the 19th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science 2009. The Hague, The Netherlands: IADMS, 2009, pp. 27-28.
Wyon, M.; Clarke, F.; Russell, J.A.; and Wilmerding, V. (2008) The research process: from start to finish. In: Solomon R, Solomon J (eds): Proceedings of the 18th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science 2008. Cleveland, Ohio, USA: IADMS, 2008.
Clarke, F. (2007) Rotational forces in two different types of jazz shoe in a développé devant. In: Solomon R, Solomon J (eds): Proceedings of the 17th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science 2007. Canberra, Australia: IADMS, 2007, pp.271-274.

Working session panel (Chairs)

Frances Clarke, Dr Vicki Thoms, Dr Matt Wyon and Prof Ruth Solomon (2010): Invited to chair the working session: Dance and the Power of Aging: Embodiment at the intersection of nature and culture. CORD/ASTR 2010 conference Seattle, WA, USA.

Clarke, F. (2010) Dance and the Power of Aging: Personal Perspectives. CORD/ASTR 2010.

Symposium:

Wyon, M.; Clarke, F.; and Thoms, V. (2011) Is it their bodies that let them down? Dancing past 35 years old. International Symposium on Performance Science. ISBN 978-94-90306-02-1. Legacyweb.rcm.ac.uk.

Awards:

President’s Prize for overall excellence in poster research at the 17th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science 2007. Canberra, Australia: IADMS, 2007