Trinity Laban

At Trinity Laban, Sanna undertakes daily research work associated with the research project the Development of Contemporary Dance Talent among Young People: a Longitudinal Interdisciplinary Research Project. The project includes eight Centres for Advanced Training (CATs) across England. The work includes leading the psychology strand of the project and co-supervising Imogen Walker’s PhD (with Emma Redding).

At present, her research for the project focuses on the following:

- Creativity (on-going qualitative and quantitative studies)
- Perfectionism and disordered eating attitudes
- Motivational climates in the CATs
- Teachers’ perceptions of student talent

Sanna’s previous and external research additionally focuses on imagery, perfectionism, anxiety, self-confidence and related cognitions.

• BSc Psychology and Sport Sciences, University of Birmingham, 2002
• PhD Dance and Sport Psychology, University of Birmingham, 2006
• Chartered Psychologist with full membership of the Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology, British Psychological Society, 2010

Sanna guest lectures on various programmes at Laban and elsewhere, with a focus on dance psychology. In particular, she contributes to the psychology component of the MSc in dance science and supervises psychology-focused dissertations.

Publications: Journal Articles

• Nordin-Bates, S. M., Cumming, J., Sharp, L., &. Aways, D. (in press). Imagining Yourself Dancing to Perfection? Correlates of Perfectionism in Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology.
• Nordin- Bates, S. M.,Walker, I., & Redding, E. (in press).Correlates of Disordered Eating Attitudes among Male and Female Young Talented Dancers: Findings from the UK Centres for Advanced Training. Eating Disorders: the Journal of Treatment and Prevention.
• Nordin- Bates, S. M.,Walker, I., Baker, J., Garner, J., Hardy, C., Irvine, S., Jola, C., Laws, H., & Lindsay, P. (in press).A Healthy Mind in an Injured Body? Injury, Imagery, and Self-Esteem in Dance. Journal of Dance Medicine and Science.
• Walker, I., Nordin-Bates, S. M.,& Redding, E. (in press). Developmental Stages of Talent in Dance and Age Group Differences: Findings from the UK Centres for Advanced Training. High Ability Studies.
• Walker, I. J. & Nordin-Bates, S. M. (2010). The Importance of Control: Performance Anxiety Experiences of Professional Ballet Dancers. Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, 14 (4), 133-145.
• Walker, I., Nordin-Bates, S.,& Redding, E. (2010). Talent identification and development in dance: A review of the literature. Research in Dance Education, 11 (3), 165-189.
• Nordin, S. (2009). Setting Precise Aims in an Imprecise World: Reflections on Goal Setting in Dance. Swedish Yearbook of Sport Psychology, 61-73.
• Nordin, S. M. & McGill, A. (2009). Standing on the shoulders of a young giant: How dance teachers can benefit from learning about positive psychology. The IADMS Teachers Bulletin, 1 (2), 4-7.
• Nordin, S. M. & Cumming, J. (2008). Exploring common ground: Comparing the imagery of dancers and aesthetic sport performers. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20, 1-17.
• Nordin, S. M. (2008). Review of Nancy Upper's book Ballet Dancers in Career Transition. Research in Dance Education, 9(1), 103-106.
• Nordin, S. M. & Cumming, J. (2008). Types and functions of athletes' imagery: Testing predictions from the applied model of imagery use by examining effectiveness. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 6(2), 189-206.
• Nordin, S. M. & Cumming, J. (2007). Where, When, and How: A Quantitative Account of Dance Imagery. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 78(4), 390-395.
• Nordin, S. M. & Cumming, J. (2006a). The development of imagery in dance: Part I. Qualitative data from professional dancers. Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, 10(1&2), 21-27.
• Nordin, S. M. & Cumming, J. (2006b). The development of imagery in dance: Part II. Quantitative data from a mixed sample of dancers. Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, 10(1&2), 28-34.
• Nordin, S. M. & Cumming, J. (2006c). Measuring the content of dancers' images: Development of the Dance Imagery Questionnaire (DIQ). Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, 10(3&4), 85-98.
• Nordin, S. M., Cumming, J., Vincent, J., & McGrory, S. (2006). Mental Practice or spontaneous play? Examining which types of imagery constitute deliberate practice in sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 18, 345-362.
• Cumming, J., Nordin, S. M., Horton, R., & Reynolds, S. (2006). Examining the direction of imagery and self-talk on dart-throwing performance and self efficacy.The Sport Psychologist, 20, 257-274.
• Nordin, S. M. & Cumming, J. (2005a). More than meets the eye: Investigating imagery type, direction, and outcome. The Sport Psychologist, 19, 1-17.
• Nordin, S. M. & Cumming, J. (2005b). Professional dancers describe their imagery: Where, When, What, Why and How. The Sport Psychologist, 19, 395-416.
• Nordin, S. M., Harris, G., & Cumming, J. (2003). Disturbed eating in young, competitive gymnasts: Differences between three gymnastics disciplines. European Journal of Sports Science 3 (5).

Publications: Book Chapters

• Nordin-Bates, S. M. (due 2011). Performance Psychology in the Performing Arts. In S. Murphy (Ed.), Handbook of Sport and Performance Psychology. Oxford University Press Psychology Handbooks Series.
• Cohen, R., Nordin, S. M., & Abrahamson, E. (2010). Psychology and Sports Rehabilitation. In E. Abrahamson & P. Comfort (Eds.), Sports Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention. (Chapter 15). Wiley & Sons.
• Murphy, S. M., Nordin, S. M., & Cumming, J. (2008). Imagery in Sport, Exercise and Dance. In T. Horn (Ed.), Advances in sport psychology (3^rd ed., pp. 297-324). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Evaluation Reports

• Nordin, S. M. (2009).Making Leaps & Bounds toward the Every Child Matters Agenda: Evaluating Wrosne and Chasing Fate.
• Nordin, S. M. & Hardy, C. (2009). Dance4Health: A Research-based Evaluation of the Impact of Seven Community Dance Projects on Physical Health, Psychological Wellbeing and aspects of Social Inclusion. Available at: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/Web/corporate/pages.nsf/Links/932AF6E9DC05B28F80257434004BD579

Sanna is the psychology consultant for English National Ballet (2007- ) and the Royal Ballet upper school (2009 - ). She also provides regular sessions for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and led the psychology module of the MSc in Dance Science at Wolverhampton for five years (2006-2010).