Medical team
From its inception, The Australian Ballet had a degree of medical support through minimal part-time in-house specialists, who did not tour with the company. Since 1984 there was a gradual shift towards establishing full-time, centralised, multidisciplinary care with an emphasis on prevention. The first significant move towards implementing this was the appointment of a full-time in-house physiotherapist in 1997. This was then extended into a fully fledged proactive risk management model following the appointment of the current Artistic Director in 2001 and a second full-time physiotherapist in 2002.
The Medical Team today comprises two touring physiotherapists, a touring myotherapist, a body conditioning specialist, rqo part-time sports physicians, a part-time general practitioner and a health and safety/WorkCover co-ordinator.
The Injury Management and Prevention Programme outlined in the handbook was initiated by the Medical Team and developed in collaboration with other key members of the program, including a rehabilitation facilitator, the Artistic Director, artistic staff and the dancers themselves.
This innovative programme was recently recognised in the prestigious WorkSafe Victoria Awards where The Australian Ballet received the award for 'Best Strategy for Health and Safety Management'.
The Injury Management and Prevention Programme is aimed at promoting the health and wellbeing of dancers, allowing them to perform at their optimum level. It is also intended to contribute to the body of knowledge in dance medicine worldwide. While it has been customised for a ballet company, this program is suitable for any dance company that wishes to use it as a guide to implementing systems and processes for the prevention of injury.
Download Injury Management and Prevention Programme handbook (PDF 1.8MB)
Online video
This informative online video features principal physiotherapist Susan Mayes and dancers discussing how they handle the physical demands of ballet on the body.
Watch now (Duration 3.28 / 9.4MB)
