What is a Dance Assessment?
This is an assessment performed by a qualified physiotherapist. It assesses a dancer’s physical attributes to determine areas that may be prone to injury or that can be improved to optimize performance.
The assessment looks at:
- Which muscles are flexible and which muscles need to improve in flexibility (e.g. flexible hamstrings will allow of good height of leg in devant)
- Which muscles are strong and which muscles need to improve in strength (e.g. strong back and bottom muscles will improve arabesque height)
- Structural features of the dancer that can impact on his/her ability to dance (e.g. scoliosis, “turn out” at the hip joint)
- Identify faults in the dancer’s technique to assist in preventing injury (e.g. “sickling” the foot can lead to tendon injuries)
Why do a Dance Assessment?
- Fix an injury
- Prevent an injury
- Optimize performance
When should I get a Dance Assessment?
- During rapid growth spurt
- When training hours suddenly increase (e.g. staring a full time dance course)
- If you seem to have ongoing difficulties or get the same corrections in class
- If you seem to be getting the same injury repeatedly