Dr Elsa Urmston is a UK-based independent dance educator and researcher with interests in vocational education, community practice, dance science, and the impact of arts participation. She completed her PhD in Education at the University of Exeter, focusing on the implications of periodisation for dance education. Elsa is an artist-in-residence at Copperdot Studio, Norwich and also teaches at numerous Higher Education Institutions including London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS). At LCDS, Elsa consults on educational change, supporting the school’s adoption of periodisation as part of their curriculum development. She co-leads LCDS’s longitudinal research focussing on students’ health and wellbeing, and also co-facilitates the Learning Exchange Programme for teaching artists. She also teaches dance science and reflection on the undergraduate degree. Much of Elsa’s freelance work is as an evaluator, exploring dance participation and its impact on people’s lives from social, psychological and health perspectives with companies such as English National Ballet, Dance Umbrella, Royal Ballet and Opera and East London Dance. Elsa is the newly-appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin for Dancers and Teachers published by the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS). She is also Chair of Dance Network Association, a dance for health organisation based in Essex. Elsa has recently been nominated for IADMS Dance Educator Award (2025).

Currently working on

Publishing numerous papers focussed on the implementation of periodisation in vocational dance education including how training in a periodised dance context feels to participants, how periodisation influences dance pedagogy and what contributions periodisation make to vocational dance education.

Legitimising artistic ways of knowing in scientific contexts

Exploring how participatory and creative methods of data gathering can be used in dance science and education research contexts whilst maintaining trustworthiness, clarity and effectiveness in contributing to knowledge

Longitudinal changes in undergraduate dance students’ health and wellbeing (with colleagues, Stephanie De’Ath and Dr Sarah Needham-Beck) including:

Understanding undergraduate contemporary dance student perceptions of class intensity

Perceptions amongst students and faculty of embedding dance science education in undergraduate dance degree provision

Exploring the retention and application of health, wellbeing, and dance science knowledge amongst LCDS alumni (Class of 2024)

I welcome PhD proposals in the following areas:

Dance education including vocational education, pre-professional training, dance in schools, community dance practice

Dance science, dance for health, creative health

Qualitative, interpretive approaches to research, feminist research paradigms, social constructionism, embodiment, thematic analysis, content analysis, movement analysis