At Kings we constantly strive to assist and train the artiste in their entirety - we are aware that it is not just the physical studio training which will create the dancers of tomorrow and so we are constantly looking at ways to improve both their physical and mental health.
We have an association with a number of highly qualified physiotherapists, chiropractors, physicians etc all of whom are local to us, to ensure that our students have access to the very best injury prevention and injury care.
We cannot stress enough, that injury, (both prevention and treatment) as in any sport, is part of a dancer's life.
We actively encourage all students of Kings to get private health insurance as this drastically brings down the expense of individual visits to private practitioners and of course would significantly reduce the lengthy waiting process when dealing with the NHS!!
Injury prevention is of the utmost importance to Kings and it is obligatory for all students enrolled with us to have a full body screening to be performed by a physio of our choice.
The body screening will enable us to identify any weaknesses the student may need to be aware of before they start their training with us and the student will be given personalised exercises to assist them and in turn, help with injury prevention.
It will also, should the student suffer an injury, assist in the healing process as the physio will already have the full body screening and health report of each student.
The screenings/appointments take place during the Spring prior to commencing studies with us in the September and includes a private full body screening session and of course results of said scan.
We have a wonderful relationship with both the Kaizen Centre and Mrs Rebecca Parker,both located in Birmingham. The students are encouraged to visit the Kaizen centre for a personalised Cross Training Programme once every six weeks and we arrange pilates sessions with Mrs Parker twice a term for our Diploma and Post Graduate students.
We firmly believe that the mental and emotional well being of our students is of the utmost importance. Employees of large businesses, sports people and many others are being provided with the option of speaking to a counsellor should it be needed and we at Kings think its about time that our future artists (our students) be given access to the same service.
Therefore, we have arranged for a counsellor, who specialises in and has a wealth of experience working with high achieving (mainly sports) young adults, Mr Kris Godden to visit Kings on a regular basis, providing our students with an option of dropping in sessions.Should the students require specialist help, or indeed a female counsellor, we can provide details at the time. We are currently investigating the possibility of expanding our mental health team as we recognise that this is contributes greatly to the students well being .
All students enrolled with us are classed as "a child' regardless of age and as such we will communicate any concerns or incidents which arise whilst the student is in the studios of Kings to the parent. We operate an " Open Door Policy" at Kings and are happy for parents to contact us at any time - whilst we are not a "boarding school' nor do we provide 24/7 care we do appreciate that at times the young students need an adult to help guide them.
Finally, it is clear that how the students fuel their bodies has a drastic affect on the performance they will give and how injury prone they are.
Kings has access to a team of nutritionalists and other health professionals who come into Kings to help and assist the students as they prepare for their professional lives.