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Career steps

What steps should I take if I would like to study Kinesiology and exercise science to become a dance physiologist. ?

healthcare dance kinesiology exercise-science health-care physiology
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Shawndra’s Answer

If dance has always made sense to you, and you’re also curious about how the body works, this could be a really good fit. Dance physiologists are people who help dancers stay strong, healthy, and able to keep doing what they love. If you go to college for kinesiology or exercise science, you’ll take a lot of science classes. Some will be tough. That’s normal. What matters is whether you find yourself interested, not whether it feels easy.
It helps to keep dance in your life, even if it looks different than it used to. Teaching, assisting, or just staying involved gives you perspective that science alone can’t. Try to see what the work actually looks like. Shadow someone. Volunteer. Ask questions. Seeing the day-to-day helps you decide if this is right for you. I've worked in professional dance and all star dance studio competitions - Find an internship or studio that will let you attend or shadow with them. Visit schools that have strong competitive dance programs and ask to connect with their sports medicine departments!
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Mason’s Answer

While I’ve never heard of this exact profession, I would think a strong background in anatomy and biomechanics would be necessary for this role. I would research schools with a strong kinesiology school/department, particularly those who do research into biomechanics. While in school, I’d apply to work in the biomechanics lab to bolster your resume, future applications, and knowledge. Even better if the school also has a strong dance program that you could maybe volunteer with to learn about dance and the needs of high-level dancers. I would focus on learning about the strength, conditioning, practice, and recovery needs of these specialized athletes. I can also imagine where a background in nutrition would be beneficial as well so I would take a couple of nutrition courses and maybe look into sports nutrition certifications.

If this job is about injury prevention and healing injuries, I would assume you’re also going to need to go to physical therapy school and get your doctorate or to an athletic training school for your masters degree (this is sports medicine, which is what I do). So I would make sure while in college, to check prerequisite coursework for PT/AT programs and plan to take any additional classes that aren’t required for your major and to tailor your required electives to complete those prerequisites. I’m unsure if these exist, but see if any PT or AT programs pair with dance departments or local dance programs to provide care/learning experiences for students. I would think it would be more likely to find this sort of collaboration within an AT program.

I hope this helps!

Mason recommends the following next steps:

Look into colleges with strong kinesiology programs - biomechanics research lab would be a nice touch
Focus courses on prerequisites for PT or AT school + nutrition and biomechanics
Look into PT/AT programs who may partner with dance academies or programs. You can also always suggest it to a program as an interest in interviews - definitely a unique interest that would help you stand out
Orient learning experiences in school to opportunities to work with dance OR build knowledge that would benefit you working with dancers
Seek out professionals in the field and shadow now, while in college, and/or graduate school. Dance Medicine programs exist and most professionals are happy to mentor and teach.
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