POINTE READINESS ASSESSMENTS: As a Doctor of Physical Therapy and former professional ballet dancer, Cary uses Physical Therapy assessment tests and measures to evaluate a dancer's readiness for pointe shoes. Some studios allow dancers to be en pointe by only considering their age and number of years studying ballet. And while those are factors to the decision, there are many other tests and measures that Cary uses to assess the physical readiness for pointe shoes.

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Going en pointe before a dancer's body is ready isn't just a performance issue—it's an injury risk. Insufficient strength, alignment, or control through the foot, ankle, hips and core can lead to overuse injuries, stress fractures, and compensations that follow a dancer for years. A thorough pointe readiness assessment identifies these gaps early, giving dancers and their families a clear picture of what to strengthen before adding the demands of pointe work—protecting not just their next performance, but their long-term dance career.

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DANCE COACHING:  Cary loves coaching dance pieces for competition or performance — ballet, contemporary, heels, musical theater, you name it. She works one-on-one with dancers of all ages and experience levels, and every session is built around what that dancer actually needs that day — whether it's cleaning up technique, finding style and texture in a piece, retaining choreography, building confidence, or just polishing a number until it's performance-ready.