The Perfect Pointe Parent's Manual

It is so hard for the parents of dance students to know what is best for their child, when they usually have no-one to ask but the studio owner or dance teacher. I have written a comprehensive manual for parents who want to be informed about common trials and issues that young dancers face. This includes information on diet considerations, physical development and psychological challenges that dancers face.

Lisa Howell is a physiotherapist specializing in the education and treatment of dancers. She trained at Otago University in New Zealand, and after working in New Zealand, Australia and Austria, she has returned to Australia to fulfill her dream of sharing her fascination of the human body with the world. She owns and runs the Perfect Form Physiotherapy practice in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and also lectures internationally to various ballet schools and sporting institutions on exercise rehabilitation and safe technique. She has a close working relationship with several ballet schools; she treats injured dancers and performs pre-pointe assessments and screening tests to identify any possible issues as soon as possible. Sessions are often aimed at maximizing an individual's performance, rather than waiting for an injury to occur. Lisa's aim is to develop a series of resources to allow dancers, athletes and the general public - wherever they are in the world - to have access to vital information that may change the way they work with their bodies. She enjoys working with athletes because of the responsibility they take for their own management, and their drive to achieve, or return to, full capacity as quickly as possible. Lisa began dancing at the age of 5, doing both the RAD Syllabus and Flamenco dance. Throughout her professional studies and career she has continued her involvement with dance and uses her personal experience as a constant learning tool to advance her knowledge. She loves to have a close interaction with her clients, so please feel free to contact her through the open blog at www.theballetblog.com.