The Dance Physio Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Progressing to pointe work has long been considered a rite of passage for many aspiring ballet dancers. However, it does not come without risks. Dancing en pointe increases the forces placed on the foot by up to 12x bodyweight, and if progressed too soon can lead to an increased risk of pain and injury.

Historically, dancers were thought to be ready to start training en pointe at 12 years of age.  However, with advances in dance science, it is now known that there are many complex factors besides chronological age which can help to determine when it is safe for a dancer to progress en pointe.

In this week's podcast episode, I discuss the benefits of having a formal pre-pointe readiness screening assessment, including an update on current research. You'll learn which functional tasks have been validated in the research to have the highest correlation with readiness to progress to pointe work.

Pointe Assessment Resources:
Pre-Pointe Assessment Toolkit

Research articles mentioned in this episode:
Determining Pointe Readiness Readiness in Young Adolescent Female Dancers: A Systematic Review

Pointe Assessment Screen Shah Edison (PASSE) for Pointe Readiness: A Pilot Study

Functional Criteria for Assessing Pointe Readiness

Episodes mentioned in this podcast:
Episode 4: Pre-Pointe Assessments

Learn more about Erika Mayall:

• Follow me on Instagram: @dancephysioerika
• Learn more about me on my website: https://www.allegroperformance.com
• Sign up for my newsletter: Click here
• Send me an email: hello@allegroperformance.com

Registration is now open for The Savvy Dance Teacher: applied dance science teacher training course. Check out www.allegroperformance.com/the-savvy-dance-teacher for all the details. Use code SAVVYEB before July 1st to save $100 off your registration.

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Did you know that despite ballet being predominantly populated by cis gender girls in training settings (92% in the UK), men take up the vast majority of leadership roles (artistic directors, choreographers etc). In this week's podcast episode, I sit down with Anna Morgan to chat about her master's research into gender equity in ballet leadership and training, and what she's learned over the past few years diving into this data. She shares some of the problems that arise when ballet is taught with a rigid, binary structure and ways we can make ballet a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all dancers, regardless of their gender identity.

About Anna Morgan 

Anna is an educator, choreographer, adjudicator and researcher, working mainly within ballet. Her choreography has been presented worldwide, with recent work in the USA, France, Puerto Rico and at Sadler’s Wells, London. She has taught for institutions including the Royal Ballet School, Bird College and Performers College, and adjudicates for All England Dance. She also sits on the Advisory Board for the TIRED Movement. 

Anna has recently completed the MA course at Rambert School, where her research focuses on gender equity in ballet leadership and training. She has shared this research widely through lectures, digital content and professional development seminars, including as a speaker at the 2025 IADMS Conference in Las Vegas.

Connect with Anna:
Website: www.annamorgandance.com
Instagram: @annamorgandance

Download your FREE guide - Gender in Ballet: best practice guide for teachers and leaders

Learn more about Erika Mayall:

• Follow me on Instagram: @dancephysioerika
• Learn more about me on my website: https://www.allegroperformance.com
• Sign up for my newsletter: Click here
• Send me an email: hello@allegroperformance.com

Registration is now open for The Savvy Dance Teacher: applied dance science teacher training course. Check out www.allegroperformance.com/the-savvy-dance-teacher for all the details. Use code SAVVYEB before July 1st to save $100 off your registration.

Support the show

As you may or may not have heard, the Royal Ballet School recently announced changes in the structure to their full time vocational training program. Starting in 2026 they will no longer be accepting students in year 7 (11-12 years old) and in 2027 will follow suit with students in year 8 (12-13 years old). 

In this week's podcast episode I discuss these changes and some of the rationale behind them, what this will practically look like for students going forward, and why I think this could be a game changer for the world of vocational dance training.

Official Announcement from The Royal Ballet School

Royal Ballet School article on early specialization

Podcast episodes mention in this episode:
Episode 48: Early Sport Specialization in Dance - Part 1

Episode 49: Early Sport Specialization in Dance - Part 2

Learn more about Erika Mayall:

• Follow me on Instagram: @dancephysioerika
• Learn more about me on my website: https://www.allegroperformance.com
• Sign up for my newsletter: Click here
• Send me an email: hello@allegroperformance.com

Registration is now open for The Savvy Dance Teacher: applied dance science teacher training course. Check out www.allegroperformance.com/the-savvy-dance-teacher for all the details. Use code SAVVYEB before July 1st to save $100 off your registration.

Support the show

In this episode, I'll discuss periodization and how it can be implemented into dance specific settings. You'll learn the most common phases of periodization - pre season, in season, post season and off season - and what dancers should be prioritizing during each specific phase.

Periodization and Programming for Peak Performance webinar: Click here 

Learn more about Erika Mayall:

• Follow me on Instagram: @dancephysioerika
• Learn more about me on my website: https://www.allegroperformance.com
• Sign up for my newsletter: Click here
• Send me an email: dancephysio@shaw.ca

Registration is now open for The Savvy Dance Teacher: applied dance science teacher training course. Check out www.allegroperformance.com/the-savvy-dance-teacher for all the details. Use code SAVVYEB before July 1st to save $100 off your registration.

Support the show

In this episode, I'll discuss the current landscape with regards to injury rates in dance. You'll learn common terminology used when discussing injury rates, and how dance injury rates compare with other sports populations. 

Learn more about Erika Mayall:

• Follow me on Instagram: @dancephysioerika
• Learn more about me on my website: https://www.allegroperformance.com
• Sign up for my newsletter: Click here
• Send me an email: dancephysio@shaw.ca

Registration is now open for The Savvy Dance Teacher: applied dance science teacher training course. Check out www.allegroperformance.com/the-savvy-dance-teacher for all the details. Use code SAVVYEB before July 1st to save $100 off your registration.

Support the show

In this episode, I'll discuss the who, what, where, when and why of pre-pointe assessments. You'll learn the science behind pre-pointe testing, as well as the 3 most important physical tasks to determine pointe readiness.

Resources discussed in this episode:

The Pre-Pointe Assessment Toolkit
https://www.allegroperformance.com/ballet-resources

Learn more about Erika Mayall:

• Follow me on Instagram: @dancephysioerika
• Learn more about me on my website: https://www.allegroperformance.com
• Sign up for my newsletter: Click here
• Send me an email: dancephysio@shaw.ca

Registration is now open for The Savvy Dance Teacher: applied dance science teacher training course. Check out www.allegroperformance.com/the-savvy-dance-teacher for all the details. Use code SAVVYEB before July 1st to save $100 off your registration.

Support the show

In this episode, I'll discuss the specifics around dance specific screening assessments. You'll learn the components of dance screen, what makes it different from a general functional movement screen, how often dancers should have a screening assessment done and resources for conducting dancer screens.

Resources discussed in this episode:

Healthy Dancer Canada Healthcare Practitioner and Dance Educator screening tools: https://www.healthydancercanada.org/

Learn more about Erika Mayall:

• Follow me on Instagram: @dancephysioerika
• Learn more about me on my website: https://www.allegroperformance.com
• Sign up for my newsletter: Click here
• Send me an email: dancephysio@shaw.ca

Registration is now open for The Savvy Dance Teacher: applied dance science teacher training course. Check out www.allegroperformance.com/the-savvy-dance-teacher for all the details. Use code SAVVYEB before July 1st to save $100 off your registration.

Support the show

In this episode, you'll hear why I think EVERY dancer should have access to dance specific care. I discuss what makes dancers' healthcare needs unique, and what sets them apart from other athletes and patient populations.

Resources discussed in this episode:

• International Association for Dance Medicine and Science: https://iadms.org/
• Doctors for Dancers: https://doctorsfordancers.com/ 
• Healthy Dancer Canada: https://www.healthydancercanada.org/

Learn more about Erika Mayall:

• Follow me on Instagram: @dancephysioerika
• Learn more about me on my website: https://www.allegroperformance.com
• Sign up for my newsletter: Click here
• Send me an email: dancephysio@shaw.ca

Registration is now open for The Savvy Dance Teacher: applied dance science teacher training course. Check out www.allegroperformance.com/the-savvy-dance-teacher for all the details. Use code SAVVYEB before July 1st to save $100 off your registration.

Support the show

In this episode, I discuss my journey into becoming a dance physiotherapist. From falling in love with dance as a young child, my own experiences of attending physiotherapy as a teenager and realizing that teaching dance wasn’t for me.

You’ll hear about my post-secondary eduction journey, and how that led to a clinical practice that specializes in dancers and artistic athletes.

Learn more about Erika Mayall:

• Follow me on Instagram: @dancephysioerika
• Learn more about me on my website: https://www.allegroperformance.com
• Sign up for my newsletter: Click here
• Send me an email: dancephysio@shaw.ca

Registration is now open for The Savvy Dance Teacher: applied dance science teacher training course. Check out www.allegroperformance.com/the-savvy-dance-teacher for all the details. Use code SAVVYEB before July 1st to save $100 off your registration.

Support the show

The new dance season is fast approaching in most of North America, and on this week's podcast episode I discuss some things to consider as we head into a new season. Every year, we see an increase in injury rates in the first 6 weeks of a new dance year. This is for a variety of reasons, but some of the most common ones are dancers doing too much too soon, dancers who are coming into the season fatigued and under-recovered from not having a proper off-season, and dancers who are dealing with niggling injuries that haven't been fully dealt with previously.

In this episode, we discuss these different scenarios, as well as touch on things we can do to adjust training load to ensure that dancers are gradually progressing into the new season and staying healthy and injury-free.

Podcast episodes mention in this episode:
Episode 6: Periodization in Dance
Episode 10: Training Load Management for Dancers

Learn more about Erika Mayall:

• Follow me on Instagram: @dancephysioerika
• Learn more about me on my website: https://www.allegroperformance.com
• Sign up for my newsletter: Click here
• Send me an email: hello@allegroperformance.com

Registration is now open for The Savvy Dance Teacher: applied dance science teacher training course. Check out www.allegroperformance.com/the-savvy-dance-teacher for all the details. Use code SAVVYEB before July 1st to save $100 off your registration.

Support the show