Live Course Series - Assessing & Treating Dancers and Artistic Athletes, Level 2

Early-bird pricing ends March 2nd at midnight!

Overview

Assessing & Treating Dancers and Artistic Athletes, Level 2 is an advanced, 8‑week live virtual course designed for clinicians who want to deepen their expertise in working with dancers and artistic athletes across styles, genders, and life stages.

Building on the foundations introduced in Level 1, this course integrates current research, real‑world case examples, live assessments, and expert guest speakers to address complex and often under‑represented clinical presentations in artistic athletes. Topics include scoliosis, foot fractures, pelvic health and menopause, mental performance, male dancer considerations, nutrition and recovery, and objective performance testing.

Participants will leave with practical, immediately applicable strategies to enhance assessment, guide rehabilitation, interpret performance data, and support safe, confident return to performance across a wide range of artistic disciplines.

Why This Matters

Dancers and artistic athletes place exceptional physical, psychological, and aesthetic demands on their bodies. Traditional sports medicine models often fail to fully address the unique technical, artistic, and cultural factors that influence injury risk, recovery, and performance in these populations.

This course bridges the gap between research and practice, equipping clinicians with the specialized knowledge and clinical reasoning required to:

• Manage complex and recurrent injuries

• Support longevity and career sustainability

• Address sensitive but critical topics such as pelvic health, menopause, nutrition, and mental performance

• Communicate effectively with dancers, artistic directors, coaches, and interdisciplinary teams
  
  

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Apply advanced assessment and treatment strategies specific to dancers and artistic athletes

2. Interpret current research and emerging trends in dance medicine and performance science

3. Manage complex conditions including scoliosis, foot fractures, pelvic floor dysfunction, and menopause‑related performance changes

4. Understand the basics of pointe shoe fitting and how to integrate pointe work into rehabilitation

5. Integrate mental performance principles into rehabilitation and return‑to‑stage planning

6. Identify the unique training, performance, and injury considerations of male dancers

7. Utilize objective performance testing tools (VALD ForceDecks and DynaMo) to inform clinical decision‑making

8. Adapt treatment approaches for diverse artistic populations including ballet, commercial dance, circus arts, gymnastics, and more
   
   

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for clinicians and performance professionals working with dancers and artistic athletes, including:

• Physiotherapists

• Athletic Therapists

• Chiropractors

• Sports Medicine Physicians

• Strength & Conditioning Coaches

• Rehabilitation and performance professionals supporting artistic populations

Prerequisite: Completion of Assessing & Treating Dancers and Artistic Athletes – Level 1 or equivalent clinical experience working with dancers or artistic athletes.

Early-bird pricing ends March 2nd at midnight! Register now to secure your spot!

Course Format & Schedule

Format: Live virtual sessions (recordings available)

Course Length: 8 weeks (2 hours per week)

Day: Mondays
Time: 4:00–6:00 PM EST

Start Date: Monday, March 23
End Date: Monday, May 11

Weekly Schedule and Special Guests

March 23 WEEK 1 – Foundations & Advanced Assessment
Theme: Setting the Stage

• Welcome & Objectives 

• Hot Topics in Dance Science

• Overview of Pivot Dancer Resources & Related Courses

• Live Virtual Assessment with Senior dancer/pointe TBD

• Takeaway Points from Assessment

• Pointe shoe breakdown with Kristin Ruggieri, pointe shoe fitter

• Case-Based Discussion  

March 30 WEEK 2 – Pelvic Health & Menopause in Performers
Theme: Pelvis, Hormones & Longevity

• Menopause & Performance with Brooke Winder PT, DPT, OCS BFA Chapman University, Associate Professor in the Department of Dance at California State University, Long Beach

• Pelvic Floor Exercise Session

• Dancer Perspective Q&A with Heather Ogden, Principal dancer Canada’s National Ballet

• Discussion: Menstruation, pelvic health and RED-D, HRT & Program Modifications

April 6 WEEK 3 – Scoliosis in the Artistic Athlete
Theme: Clinical and Functional Implications

• Research Review: Scoliosis in Dancers 

• Live Scoliosis Assessment with Elsbeth Ward

• Discussion of Management Strategies 

• Guest: Jordan Long, Principal Soloist Miami City Ballet 

April 13 WEEK 4 – Foot Fractures in Dancers
Theme: Injury-Specific Management

• Foot & Ankle Fractures Overview

• Avulsion fracture with guest Sarah Ouellet

• A Jones Fracture Case with guest: Macyn Vogt, Artist Indianapolis Ballet

• A Lisfranc Fracture Case with guest: Emma Ouellet 

• Bracing, Booting & Return-to-Dance Progression

• Q&A + Clinical Pearls 

April 20 WEEK 5 – Mental Performance & Resilience (Note: Potentially a different start time for this session)
Theme: Mental Health & Readiness

• Performance Psychology Tools with guest: Lauren Ostrander, Master’s in Sport and Performance Psychology, former Soloist Sarasota Ballet

• Bulletproof Brain & Body Circuit

• Panel/Case Discussion: Integrating Mental Skills into Rehab

• Optional Resource: Perfectionism, Anxiety, Burnout in Artistic Athletes

April 27 WEEK 6 – Nutrition, Supplements & Recovery
Theme: Fueling the Artistic Athlete

• Performance Nutrition for Dancers

• Supplements: What’s Safe, What’s Effective? RED-D with Sarah Power, RD

• Case-Based Scenarios Dancer perspective with Lindy Mesmer, Artist The Joffrey Ballet

• Special Topic: Nutrition for injury prevention and recovery

Optional Homework: Fueling Diary Review or Case Share

May 4 WEEK 7 – Performance Testing & The Male Dancer
Theme: Objective Testing & Male Needs

• Male Dancer Considerations: Injury Risk, Training Needs 

• VALD Testing Overview: ForceDecks & DynaMo

• CMJ, isometric testing, asymmetry & strength profiling

• A personal experience journey; demands, challenges, successes with Lucas Ayranto, Canada’s National Ballet School 

• Interpreting Data & Case Application 

• Shamrockk foundation with Mariana Wagner

May 11 WEEK 8 – Artistic Athlete Populations & Wrap-Up
Theme: Expanding Your Clinical Lens

• Special Populations Overview: figure skating, artistic swimming, gymnastics, diving

• Guest Panel:

  • Journie Kalous, Artist Indianapolis Ballet

  • Jacqline Simoneau, World Champion, 3 x Olympian Artistic Swimming

  • William Emard Olympian Men’s Gymnastics

  • Katelyn Fung, Canadian National Diving team

• Guest Clinician Panel: Circus, Gymnastics, Skating, Artistic Swimming – Common Themes & Unique Needs:

  • Emily Scherb PT, DPT “The Circus Doc”

  • Mireille Landry BScPT, MSc, Sport Physio Diploma, Olympics Team Canada Figure Skating

  • Katie Smith BscPT, FCAMPT, Sport Physio Diploma, Olympics Team Canada Artistic Swimming

• Final Discussion: What’s Next? Your Evolving Role with Artistic Athletes

Registration Options

Standard Registration: CA$599

Early Bird Registration: CA$549
Available until March 2nd

Student / Resident Rate: CA$499
Limited spots available (verification required by following these steps)

Group & Member Discounts:

• 10% off for Pivot Dancer Dance Science Members

• Group and organizational discounts available upon request. Please email support@embodiaapp.com with the number of registrants in your group

What’s Included

• Live access to all 8 sessions

• Full course recordings

• Select downloadable resources and clinical tools

• Certificate of completion
  
  

Take Your Practice to the Next Level

If you work with dancers and artistic athletes and want to confidently manage complex presentations while supporting performance, longevity, and career sustainability, this course will provide the depth, tools, and clinical insight you need.

Register now to secure your spot.