Dance Technique and Injury Prevention

This is an indispensable resource for the physical therapist or Pilates instructor who works with dancers. It covers functional anatomy as it relates to the dancer, teaches the analysis of posture and movement as it relates to the classical dancer, the typical injuries sustained by dancers and their management and rehabilitation.This text, combined with Sally Fitt's, Dance Kinesiology, should be in every therapist's library. If the book has one fault, it is that is focuses almost exclusively on classical dancers.

This book written by Justin Howse, Consultant Orthepaedic Surgeon to the Royal Ballet Schools, The Royal Academy of Dancing and the Remedial Dance Clinic, London , and also by Shirley Hancock, Principal Physiotherapist to the Royal Ballet Schools, the Royal Academy of Dancing and the Remedial Dance Clinic ,London.This book is a study reading requirement for the Royal Academy of Dancing Anatomy paper.The foreward by Dame Ninette de Valois, says it all really. "This book gives us the opportunity to indulge in some serious reflection. It is full of highly technical observations on movement as related to the world of ballet and is accompanied by helpful instructions. A great deal of it should be rewarding to students, dancers, teachers, repetiteurs and ballet staff in general. I dare to add that in my opionion, it is also food for thought for choreographers. Today it is not customary for choreographers to give either scientific or practical thought to their choreographic demands. Let us recall that a composer has to remember to keep within the range of a singer's voice. It therefore seems right for a choreographer to study more carefully not only the limitation of dancer's limbs but also the limitation of their general stamina ."You will never regret spending the money on this book.I refer to this book often. It has excellent photographs also.I am fortunate in that one of my friends is a physiotherapist who works at the local medical centre.This book provides excellent back up.