I just started reading Dance Medicine: Head to Toe: A Dancer’s Guide to Health by Judith R. Peterson.  I’ve read many books on this topic, but this book is easy to read and the illustrations help to explain the material.

I’m not looking to be a doctor nor am I trying to diagnose ailments that my students have. But I believe that it is important to understand the body when teaching dance and fitness classes.  I don’t want students to do anything in class that will hurt them. This is true for all of my students – young and old alike.

In addition to the pictures of the body, this book also has beautiful photos of dancers from the Pennsylvania Ballet Company. It’s a nice to view those while trying to digest the technical information.

I recommend this book for dancers, fitness professional, dance teachers and welcome suggestions of other dance medicine/injury prevention books.