Podiatry and dance

[phunnypharm]

Hello everyone! I'm curious as to how often/ how common it is for podiatrists to work with dancers, particularly ballet dancers and dance companies. From reading through old threads I see that some sports teams have their own podiatrists, is there anything like this in the dance world? I mean, does American Ballet Theatre have their own podiatrist? Are there any podiatrists that specialize in working with dancers? Also, I'm wondering what kind of opportunities, if any, there are at NYCPM for this sort of thing.

Thanks in advance!

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[dtrack22]

NYCPM would be the best program for experience with dance/broadway related foot and ankle pathologies. I believe they have a PT (maybe he's a dpm?) who works with the different companies/shows. Someone from NYCPM, I'm sure, would love to comment....Sig, it's your time to shine...

 

[PADPM]

I'm not sure that New York has the monopoly regarding treating dancers. Although NY is well known for it's ballet and obviously for Broadway and the dancing associated with that, every major city also has a dance company/ballet.

Additionally, there are a very finite number of positions available to treat the elite dancers associated with these institutions. However, every small town, every city, etc., has some form of ballet or dance company that can begin from a very early age. Therefore, if that area interests you, the opportunity is readily available no matter where you go to school or no matter where you practice.

I personally rarely treat dance injuries because it's not my area of interest nor is it my area of expertise. I am not familiar with the mechanics of dance and there is a DPM in my area that IS involved with a very large well known ballet. I can obviously treat the actually injury, but for the ultimate care, you should really have an understanding of how the injury occurred, therefore you should understand the nuances and mechanics of the sport/activity.

 

[bocajuniors]

i don't know about NYCPM but at Barry one of the professor's works very closely with dancers of all kinds.

 

[DancerPod]

Actually, I can field this one. I was a professional dancer for many years and I'm VERY interested in using my former education in Podiatry. While I cannot speak for other schools, I will say that NYCPM has at least 3 professors that I know of that have worked with the huge dance names (ABT, Alvin Ailey, Joffrey [obviously, not in New York], New York City Ballet, the list goes on).
Here's a great link to one of the professors, Dr. Spilken: http://www.nycpm.edu/newsEvents/studentalumni2011.pdf
He's written books about the subject of dance medicine and tells some fantastic stories. Another great resource is Dr. Novella, you can find his personal blog online pretty easily.
Our Director of Physical Therapy has over a decade of experience treating performing artists and dancers (he used to be one himself). He's worked with New York City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and over a dozen different Broadway productions. He takes a group of third years to teach at New York City Ballet every year.
So all of that being said, if you want it, we have the resources and professors/mentors to educate you.
Now I agree with what PADPM said, the positions post graduation are finite, it is pretty unlikely that you will only treat the elite dance world, because I'll be there first. Kidding. But from what I've gathered, the opportunities are there, and dance is a very small world. Once word gets around about you (assuming its a good word) you'll probably start seeing more dance injuries coming into your practice.
Best of luck.

 

[Wodiatrist]

Another huge name in dance podiatry is Dr. Thomas Novella. You can easily find him by google- his website has pointe shoes on it. He has treated the top dancers and schools (SAB, JKO, NYCB, ABT, Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham). He is an editor for Pointe magazine & a part time professor for NYCPM.