Dance Medicine

What is Dance Medicine

A branch of health care, scientific research, and body conditioning specifically tailored to the needs of dancers.

The Dance Medicine Program is dedicated to the health, education, training, and performance of dancers and dance educators in the greater Portland area. Our goal is to help dancers improve performance through injury prevention and rehabilitation. Our team combines an artistic appreciation of dance with a scientific understanding of athletic performance. We understand the demands of dance and how to help dancers stay flexible, strong, and injury-free.

Three factors make our program effective and unique:

We have decades of dance experience: We understand well how a dancer relies on the body to be an instrument of expression, as well as the physical demands involved with this artistic pursuit. Dance Medicine Program Director, Kester Cotton, PT, DPT, was an esteemed professional dancer for nearly fifteen years and draws from his background to create a particularly effective program. All treatment team members have years of experience working with dancers.
We keep ourselves current with the scientific literature: Experience alone is not enough; our program is also based on scientific research. This is important because every dance educator (no matter how successful or experienced) has their own innate biases and preferences. Drawing from research helps create a program that limits personal bias by drawing from findings in peer reviewed scientific studies and scholarly articles. In other words, we utilize evidence, not just experience.
We value each dancer’s kinesthetic sense: We respect that dancers tend to have keen awareness of their bodies, and know quickly when something isn’t right. Therefore, we involve dancers’ impressions of what is wrong and involve dancers’ own ideas in creating individualized programs.

Finally, we understand that dancing isn’t something that a dancer does, rather, it is fundamentally part of who they are. Therefore, it is rare that we will examine a dancer, identify an injury, and simply tell them to “stop dancing.” If the dancer’s goal is to get back in the studio and get back on stage, then that’s our goal, too.

Program Services

Physical Therapy: For those who have been injured and seek to return to dancing, The Dance Medicine Program team is unparalleled with any clinic in the Portland area in terms of combining professional dance experience with physical therapy rehabilitation experience. If you need help getting back in the studio or back onstage, there’s no place better to come.

Dance Conditioning & Injury Prevention: Private and semi-private lessons (1 hour in length) designed to evaluate weakness, tightness, and susceptibility to injury. These individualized sessions can help dancers improve flexibility, strength, dance conditioning, and technique.

Warm up and cool down stretching
Balance, posture, and placement exercises
Strengthening exercises

Dance Educator Seminars: Dance educators are encouraged to schedule sessions to discuss dance teaching philosophy, patterns of injuries in students, and how to improve student performance. A balance between personal preference, dance tradition, and scientific evidence are encouraged.

Appointments

Download Flier (PDF)

Contact one of our participating Dance Medicine Program locations to schedule and appointment with our dance specialist today.

**NOTE** Neither Dance Conditioning nor Educator Seminars are classified as medical treatments. Rates are $70/hour, by appointment, and are not generally covered by insurance.

Participating Locations

North Portland (PACE) Physical Therapy
4829 Martin Luther King Blvd, Suite 101
Portland, OR 97211
503-283-8133
(website)

Southeast Portland Physical Therapy
4437 SE Cesar E Chavez Ave, Suite C
Portland, OR 97202
503-774-3585
(website)

Program Director

Kester Cotton PT, DPT

Kester Cotton PT, DPT Prior to becoming a physical therapist, Kester had a remarkable career as a classical ballet dancer. Kester was contracted with the prestigious San Francisco Ballet from 1993-2003 and with Portland’s Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) from 2003-2006. Kester graduated from St. Mary’s College of Moraga in 2008, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Performing Arts (Dance emphasis). He earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Pacific University of Oregon in 2011. In the clinic, Kester enjoys his work specializing in sports/dance, general orthopedics, strength & conditioning instruction, and ballet coaching. Outside the clinic, Kester enjoys spending time with his wife Kathi Martuza, who is also a dancer–a principal ballerina with OBT. Kester & Kathi are expecting their first child in October, 2011. Kester also enjoys social dancing, hiking & camping, bicycling, boating, and listening to vinyl records.