The Dancer's Journey: Injury Recovery

Cindy Case
Jun 30
6 min read

Like any athlete, dancers dread injuries. Getting hurt can happen from chronic overuse, such as shin splints or stress fractures, or it can result from an acute injury, like an ankle sprain. Whatever the cause, injuries may lead to difficult setbacks both physically and mentally.

I caught up with company demi-soloists Cassandra Hope and Rowan Treece to learn more about how their injuries and recoveries have impacted them as dancers.

Cassandra Hope

Cassandra has danced with BTM since 2020, but she faced challenges last year due to an injury. During a dress rehearsal for The Nutcracker in December 2023, Cassandra ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament [ACL]. She says,

"I knew I had a long recovery ahead of me, but I was completely surprised by just how long it took me to get back to the stage. My surgeon told me that it would take six months to recover from my reconstruction surgery."

"Rehabbing and working on getting back to the stage became a full-time job. I was going to physical therapy multiple times a week and started working with a personal trainer. However, at six months post-op, I could barely get through barre."

It's not uncommon for doctors to underestimate the physical demands that dancers put on their bodies. Six months is ample time to return to a conventional level of activity; for dancers, though, reaching that point is only the beginning. Despite Cassandra's commitment to injury recovery, her body needed more time.

"It was then that I found out that I was looking at another six months of recovery until I would begin to feel anything like the dancer I was at the time of my injury. Over the next several months, I had to reteach myself how to do almost everything in ballet because I discovered that my body wasn't moving the same way I was used to."

Cassandra's injury happened in December of 2023, and her first performance back with the company wasn't until February of 2025! We were happy to share the stage with her again in Momentum: A Mixed Bill and Swan Lake last season. She says that the Swan Lake performances were particularly satisfying:

"It took a lot of frustration, patience, and encouragement from my friends and family to get back on stage. Being able to perform the quick synchronicity of the Little Swans in Swan Lake at the end of last season was a true personal achievement."

Cassandra, far left, as a Little Swan with Victoria Siracusa, Caroline Anderson, and Karen Fleming

Of the lessons that came along with her injury, Cassandra says, "I feel like a stronger dancer now than I was at the time of my injury. Having to relearn how to dance forced me to ensure I was activating the right muscles. Starting essentially from scratch made me think about the basics of ballet in a way I hadn't for years. I now have a whole new approach and mindset when I'm dancing."

This change in perspective can help dancers be more mindful about their body mechanics, meaning the ways they move their bodies throughout the day. Moreover, this improved mindset can also make us more grateful for the preciousness of this phase of our lives. Overall, Cassandra appreciates the outcome of her injury recovery.

Although the duration of Cassandra's recovery journey was a surprise, the road itself was clearly laid out. In many ways, that clarity is the best-case scenario. For Rowan Treece, that path was more winding.

Rowan Treece

Rowan also joined BTM in 2020, and she says she's no stranger to ankle injuries. About hurting herself during a rehearsal for Don Quixote in 2023, she admits, "I had bounced back from so many ankle injuries that I was unwilling to admit that this one was different."

She was dancing as a bridesmaid in the wedding act and caught her shoe on the floor as she took off for a jump. This ruptured her anterior talo-fibular ligament (ATFL) and partially tore her calcaneofibular ligament (CFL).

An orthopedist told her it would require surgery, and she would be out for a year. Although the orthopedist turned out to be incorrect, Rowan had to cope with spending the next few months rehabbing instead of dancing. She painted her nails bright blue as a consolation* and got to work.

She found a physical therapist who could help her work her way back from injury without surgery. After spending the summer wearing a boot, seeing her physical therapist, and working with her personal trainer, Rowan tentatively stepped back into the ballet season.

"Casting came out for our first show, and I had gotten a role that would be my first professional solo en pointe. I was determined to do it, but I hadn't danced all summer. My foot was still bothering me, so I was avoiding jumps in class, icing my foot, and doing my PT [physical therapy]. I would go full-out in rehearsal and then have trouble walking to the dressing room. In retrospect, this was a really bad way to deal with injury."

She got through the performances, but describes the experience as "very cursed." During her solo, the heel of her pointe shoe slipped off, she lost an earring onstage, and her headpiece fell out. Whether this was a signal from a higher power or a symptom of her stress, Rowan took the message: she went to our director and admitted how much she was struggling.

Our artistic staff takes a healthy approach to injury recovery and management, but dancers often struggle communicating something so vulnerable. For Rowan, this was an important lesson. "I learned how to take care of my needs better and work with the director to make the choices that will allow me to better serve the company," she says. She was able to take on lower-intensity casting for The Nutcracker, which gave her time to continue healing.

The second half of the season was something of "a redemption arc" between stepping in for other dancers in The Nutcracker and being cast as Lady Macbeth in Roman Mykyta's one-act work Macbeth, but Rowan still didn't feel totally healed.

Rowan in performance as Lady Macbeth, joined by Rachel Visosky and Alexander Collen.

Post-season, a new physical therapist (who had more experience with dancers) put her back in a boot to start her ankle rehabilitation from zero. She admits, "I often wonder what might have been different if I hadn't tried to come back so soon. So really mine is a cautionary tale." She laughs.

This past season, Rowan shifted into a mode of chronic injury maintenance that allows her to minimize discomfort while continuing to grow stronger. When her ankle does act up, she knows how to support it with icing, kinesiology tape, and a Graston device recommended by her physical therapist.

"I think I had been on this path before the injury, but it clarified for me that as a dancer, I have to treat my body like an athlete. Especially getting into my mid-20s, I have to ensure that I'm taking care of my toolbox and that I have it in the best possible shape to be the best dancer I can be."

These can be difficult lessons for all of us to learn, but they have made both Rowan and Cassandra more resilient as dancers.

Navigating Injury Recovery

Although each recovery journey is unique to the individual, there are common-sense practices pre-pro and professional dancers should follow:

Listen to your body when it tells you that it's hurting or overly fatigued. This can prevent or mitigate many injuries.
Seek the expertise of medical professionals, preferably ones who've worked with dancers and other athletes.
Communicate with your teachers, ballet masters/mistresses, and artistic staff members about your recovery process.
Follow your prescribed recovery activities, such as RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation).
Maintain whole-health wellness with adequate sleep, hydration, and nutrition.
Under the supervision of an expert, develop the strength and new coordination patterns that will help prevent future injury or chronic conditions.

Dancers can feel a sense of urgency to get back in the studio, but the key to long-term success is allowing yourself the full time it takes to recover. Injuries are inevitable in such a physical art form, but they don't determine who you are as a dancer or what your career will look like. When approached correctly, injuries can be an opportunity to build yourself back up stronger than before.