Dance your way to wellness.
I’m Heather Finn.
My mission is to provide proactive and preventative physiotherapy assessment and treatment services in your studio, training environment or performance space. I support dancers, performing artists, artistic athletes (synchro swimmers, cheerleaders, gymnasts) and anyone who loves to move.
I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same.
Martha Graham
Services
physiotherapy
I assess and treat pre-professional, professional and recreational artists and athletes using education, exercise, manual therapy and modalities. Contact my clinic for your discipline-specific, evidence-based physiotherapy assessment and treatment program.
I also offer on-site physiotherapy assessment and treatment for dancers, musicians, performers, and technicians during a performance or tour. Contact me if you would like backstage physiotherapy on your tour.
CLINICAL PILATES
I offer private and group Clinical Pilates classes to support your rehabilitation and improve your performance in everyday life, work, artistic or sporting activities.
Wellness Workshops
I offer interactive workshops and presentations at conferences for dancers, dance educators and health care professionals. Workshop topics include Dance Injury Prevention and Management, Strength Training for Dancers, and interactive anatomy sessions such as On Your Toes: The Dancer’s Foot. Contact me if you would like a wellness workshop at your school, training space, or event.
DANCER screening
I perform screening assessments for dancers of any age, especially if they are growing, returning to dance after a break, preparing for an exam, audition, competition or pointe work. Contact my clinic for a full 1-hour Healthy Dancer Canada screen, or contact me if you would like to offer mini screening sessions in your studio or school.
Performance PRofiling
I help dancers to complete their own performance profile, a visual representation of the physical, technical, psychological and artistic elements of dance performance developed by Healthy Dancer Canada. This profile promotes your development as an artist and performer, helps with goal-setting and training schedule development, and helps monitor your progress. Contact me if you would like an individual session or group workshop on Performance Profiling.
About me
I HAVEN’t STOPPED MOVING SINCE…
I took my first dance class in a church basement in my hometown of Elmira. I studied ballet with Carolyn Zettel in Waterloo, modern and break dance at McMaster University Centre for Dance, and danced professionally with Hamilton Dance Company, Caroline Barriere Danse (Ottawa) and Suzette Sherman/Dancetheatre David Earle (Guelph).
During my time at McMaster University, I taught dry land training for the Burlington Synchronized Swimming Club and worked in front-of-house at St. Jacobs Schoolhouse Theatre (Drayton Entertainment) and Theatre Aquarius (Hamilton). I completed my Bachelor of Arts and Science in 2001 and my Masters in Physiotherapy in 2004. I apprenticed with Joanna Speller of the National Ballet School, researched perfectionism in dancers with Donna Krasnow of York University Dance Department, and completed a dance medicine internship with Sunday Homitz of the Cleveland Ballet. I began my physiotherapy career working alongside Donna Lamport-Durocher and Joelle Segers at Motion Matters Physiotherapy in Ottawa. It was with Joelle that I began working backstage at the National Arts Centre with touring companies like the Alberta Ballet and Phantom of the Opera. I moved to Guelph in 2010, where I continued to work with the casts of Wicked and The Book of Mormon, and provide ongoing treatment for Ballet Jorgen. I spend my clinic hours at Speed River Physiotherapy where I treat dancers, performing artists, and artistic athletes such as synchronized swimmers, cheerleaders, and gymnasts.
I have completed post-graduate courses in Pilates Mat, Reformer, Total Barre, Manual Therapy, Acupuncture and Pelvic Health and am a member of Healthy Dancer Canada, the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists, Canadian Physiotherapy Association, and the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science.
