Dance Down the Cobblestone Road

Dance Down the Cobblestone Road by Marrina Jacka Edited by Aston K. McCullough For five years now, I have been actively volunteering with Stony Brook Hospital, where I assist with the Dance for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) program. The Dance for PD classes utilize structures that often appear in dance classes to help people with PD […]

LAB:SYNC in Fanfare

The University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Music & Dance made mention of LAB:SYNC in their annual periodical, Fanfare, focusing on the LAB:SYNC team and its commitment to the study of dance and health in adults as a National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab. See pages 8 & 9 in the Fanfare article. [Read more…]

American Physiological Society writes about Dance for Health

I Spy Physiology Blog writer for the American Physiological Society, Adithi Ramakrishnan, recently interviewed Dr. Aston K. McCullough, LAB:SYNC Director, about some of the known benefits of dance for health. McCullough points toward research on moderate intensity dance and cardiovascular health, as well as toward some of the current research about the benefits of dance for […]

New Team Members at LAB:SYNC

LAB:SYNC is excited to have the following new team members as part of our group at UMass Amherst: Karisma Pathak (Research Assistant) Karisma Pathak is an aspiring physician who received her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2020 with a dual concentration in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Dance Applications in Maternal Health (BDIC). […]

Movement Toward Change: “Dance Injury Prevention and Cross-Training” with Michelina Cassella Kulak, PT

by Rachel Marchica Movement Toward Change (MTC) is a podcast that uses dance as a means to cultivate community and start conversations. The podcast covers a variety of topics such as injury prevention, mental health, eating disorders, arts accessibility, career advice and more. It can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and through the website movementtowardchange.org. The podcast is co-hosted by friends and […]

gravity Volume 1, Issue 3: publication highlights

Publications featured in gravity Volume 1, Issue 3 (September 21, 2021) A number of exciting papers have been published this summer in the field of dance science. Here are just a few highlights that the LAB:SYNC team wanted to share: Li, Y. Dance Motion Capture Based on Data Fusion Algorithm and Wearable Sensor Network. Complexity 2021, 2021, 2656275. […]

gravity Volume 1, Issue 2: publication highlights

Publications featured in gravity Volume 1, Issue 2 (June 19, 2021) A number of exciting papers have been published this spring in the field of dance science. Here are just a few highlights that the LAB:SYNC team wanted to share: Note: Asterisk (*) indicates the author has been a Dance Science Symposium presenter *Seifert, A.M.; […]

Virtual Dance Science Symposium 2021 at UMass Amherst a Success

With a wonderful panel of experts who each shared their original research, the Dance Science Symposium (DSS) 2021 offered a rich blend of quantitative and qualitative findings that moved our scientific imaginations. Presenters included Dr. Allison Seifert (Central Connecticut State University), Aviva Kornel (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance), Drs. Barry Parker & Jessica […]

Laboratory for the Scientific Study of Dance Receives NEA Award

“UMass-based NEA Research Lab is first in the nation to focus on health benefits of dance in adults” The National Endowment for the Arts recently selected Laboratory for the Scientific Study of Dance (LAB:SYNC) based at the University of Massachusetts as a recipient of a Research Lab Award. Aston K. McCullough, Assistant Professor of Dance Science […]