Maya's Return: Safe Practice in a School Hall
Seven dancers aged 15–16 are rehearsing a five-minute group piece in a school hall. The performance is in 18 days. The floor is polished tile with a thin vinyl covering, not a sprung dance floor, and the hall is 14°C at the start of after-school rehearsals. Maya, one dancer, is returning from a grade 2 ankle sprain; her physiotherapist has cleared her for 'light activity' with no jumping. Another dancer, Karl, has asthma and keeps his inhaler in his school bag in the changing room. The choreography includes eight unison jumps and four partnered lifts. Rehearsals run 16:00–18:00 three times a week, and the last one ends 30 minutes before the school buses leave. The teacher is absent for one rehearsal and asks you, as senior student, to run it. You must keep the piece performance-ready without compromising safety.
1. Identify the three most urgent risks and justify their order of priority.
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1. Maya's ankle and the jumping section. She is cleared only for light activity with no jumping. Eight unison jumps on a polished tile floor with thin vinyl is the highest-consequence risk: re-injury, compensation, and possible long-term damage. It is most urgent because it is a known medical restriction, not a hypothetical. 2. The floor and cold room. 14°C means muscles are cold at the start; polished tile is slippery, especially with dance shoes or socks. The risk is slips and strains across all seven dancers. This is second because it affects everyone and can be reduced immediately with a warm-up, appropriate footwear and mopping. 3. Asthma inhaler in the changing room. Karl's reliever is not accessible during a two-hour rehearsal. This is lower probability but high consequence. It becomes urgent the moment he shows symptoms, so the control is simple: inhaler at the side of the hall, teacher informed. The partnered lifts are a further risk, but they are a planned activity that can be controlled by reducing them and using spotters. Ordering by severity and likelihood, Maya's restriction comes first because it is non-negotiable.
2. Propose how to adapt Maya's role for this rehearsal and the next two weeks without making her feel excluded.
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Keep her in the piece but change the function of her movement. In the eight jumps, she can perform a low, grounded travelling phrase on the same counts, or mark the jump with a rise and arm shape while the others jump. The key is that she must not suddenly stand still in the middle of a unison section, because that reads as an error rather than an adaptation. Give her a clear 'shadow' pathway: for example, during the jump section she travels on a diagonal behind the front line, so the audience sees a deliberate counter-line. In the lifts, she can act as a spotter or take a supported floor position rather than being lifted. Progress her load: week 1, no jumps and no lifts; week 2, reintroduce small hops only if the physiotherapist agrees; week 3, full return only with clearance. Ask her privately what she wants the others to know, and brief the group on the adaptation without discussing her medical details. This protects her confidence and keeps the choreography coherent.
3. Write a two-hour rehearsal plan for the session you must run, including safety controls and what you would document.
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16:00–16:15 - arrival and safety check. Check the floor is dry, mop any patches, open doors for ventilation, confirm Karl's inhaler is at the side of the hall, and ask Maya how her ankle feels. Record attendance and any concerns. 16:15–16:30 - warm-up. Raise body temperature gradually: pulse raiser, mobility for ankles, hips and shoulders, and progressive jumps on the spot. In a 14°C hall, this cannot be shortened. 16:30–17:15 - choreography. Work the unison section at half tempo, then three-quarter tempo. Replace Maya's jumps with her adapted pathway. Remove partnered lifts for this session and rehearse the surrounding transitions instead. 17:15–17:25 - break. Water, rest, check for pain or breathlessness. 17:25–17:50 - run sections. Run the middle section twice, then a full run-through with marking for Maya. Stop if technique deteriorates. 17:50–18:00 - cool-down and debrief. Slow stretches, confirm next rehearsal, remind dancers to report any pain. Document: risk assessment, attendance, Maya's modified activity, any incident, and a note that lifts were postponed pending teacher supervision.