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Wellness Workshop Sept. 30

Join us Saturday, September 30, for a lecture/demonstration that addresses health and wellness in young dancers. The Occupational Therapy Global Day of Service is sponsoring a “Pay It Forward Initiative,” and has asked occupational therapists and occupational therapy students to volunteer their time to make a difference in the world. To this end three graduate students from Sacred Heart University will be giving a FREE lecture/demonstration to NHB students and families.

Stephanie Dumond, Katilyn Romain, and our own Jennifer Rockwell Edwards will be discussing the importance of rest and sleep in children and teens, good sleep habits, nutrition for growing young athletes, and dance bag safety. Come have your dance bag weighed to see how much you’re really lugging around, and learn how to pack and carry your dance bag to reduce the risk of injury. We hope to see all of you there!

When: 1:30-2:30, followed by Q & A and bag weigh-in
Where: Studio 70, 70 Audubon St, New Haven
Who: NHB Level 2 through 8 students
Fee: FREE

Please call 203-782-9038 to reserve your spot

Jennifer Rockwell is an aluma of the Walnut Hill School for the Fine Arts in Natick, MA, where she studied dance performance, dance pedagogy and choreography. After graduating from high school Ms. Rockwell became a company member of Rosella Hightower’s Jeune Ballet International in France and, after returning to the United States, she performed as a principal guest artist with the Amherst Ballet and Pioneer Valley Ballet. At this time Ms. Rockwell began teaching at the Amherst Ballet School, and choreographed extensively for their school performances. She graduated suma cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2004, where she earned a BFA in Dance and a BA in Psychology. Her honors thesis for the Commonwealth College dealt with the importance of dance physiology and injury prevention training for young dancers. After graduating from college Ms. Rockwell danced with the Twin Cities Metropolitan Ballet as well as Minnesota Dance Theater and, was eventually invited to join the Saint Paul City Ballet Company as a principal artist in 2007. During her time with SPCB, she danced such roles as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, and the title role in Raymonda, while also serving on the faculty of the Saint Paul City Ballet School. Ms. Rockwell has been on the faculty of the New Haven Ballet since moving to Connecticut in 2012, and she is currently pursuing a Master’s of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.

Katilyn Romain is originally from Bridgeport, WV. She graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 2017 with a BS in Biochemistry. During college Ms. Romain served as a Service Scholar, where she volunteered in a 2nd-3rd grade special education classroom at a local elementary school for three years. It was this experience that inspired her to become an occupational therapist. Ms. Romain is currently pursuing a Master’s of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.

Stephanie Dumond attended Sacred Heart University, where she earned a BS in Health Science with a minor in Psychology. She played soccer all her life and has always been interested in athletic science and sports medicine. It was the result of a soccer injury which allowed her to experience first-hand the medical aspect of therapy. Although that incident disabled her sports career, it fortunately led Ms. Dumond to the profession of Occupational Therapy. It is her mission to help those who are not able to perform the activities which are meaningful to them, and to enrich their lives through activity and occupation. Ms. Dumond is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.