as posted on american ballet theatre’s website (www.abt.org):

The Healthy Dancer:
ABT Guidelines for Dancer Health

American Ballet Theatre is proud to announce the publication of The Healthy Dancer – ABT Guidelines for Dancer Health. This comprehensive, easy-to-follow manual…provides sound advice for dance teachers, parents and students, addressing the needs of young dancers and athletes, both pre-professional and recreational. Compiled by medical professionals from the fields of sports medicine, nutrition, physical therapy and orthopedics, the focus is on ballet training, but the advice is applicable to all types of dance and sports.

American Ballet Theatre assembled a Medical Advisory Board to assist with writing health guidelines for the ABT National Training Curriculum. After receiving great feedback from teachers and dance advocates about the larger importance of this portion of the curriculum, it became apparent that wider distribution and publication was important for the health of young dancers across the United States and beyond.

Part 1 presents an overview of anatomy and kinesiology with a particular focus on injury prevention and recovery. There are clear diagrams that relate anatomy to dance and illustrate common dance injuries. Turnout and introduction of pointe work is also discussed.

Part 2 offers advice specific to the development and health of the young dancer, addressing phases of development, the role of the teacher and parent for each stage, psychological and emotional factors of dance training, nutrition and recommendations for healthy strength and flexibility training.

Part 3 focuses on risk management and recommendations for teachers to create a healthy training environment, outlining recommended safety policies and practices for dance studios.

Order your copy today!

The Healthy Dancer – ABT Guidelines for Dancer Health is published by Macfadden Performing Arts Media and is available for purchase at dancemedia.com/abt for $19.95.