About Dr. Lily McCrossin

My clinical career journey began at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, where I was fortunate to receive high quality mentorship in sports medicine physical therapy, and mentorship in dance medicine. This later translated to leading the hospital’s dance medicine program, hosting workshops, and training other clinicians and physical therapy students. My journey then took me to the Miami City Ballet, where I served as the Lead Physical Therapist and oversaw the Artistic Health Department. Here, in addition to providing physical therapy, I managed workers compensation cases, managed the schedule of my four talented team members, oversaw clinic resources, and met with the artistic director and rehearsal directors on a weekly basis to coordinate care progressions. After my first season concluded, I recognized that I did not have the work-life balance I needed to sustain my best work, and made the difficult decision to take a step back to prioritize my own wellbeing.

Since my years transitioning out of being a full time dancer and into the healthcare arena, I have been pleased to see gradual changes taking place in the dance world. I believe there is an active shift happening, gradually improving the culture and redefining what it means to have a successful and healthy career in dance. But, we still have a lot of work to do until the average age of professional dancers compares to the average age of NARP’s (non-athletic regular people) working in the other most highly ranked physically demanding jobs a person can have.

This thinking led to my creation of Ballet Rehab Coaching; my biggest “brainchild”. Not exactly physical therapy, and not exactly a private dance class – it’s the best of both worlds. My level of Ballet Rehab Coaching is the first of its kind. Combining my knowledge as a physical therapist and dance artist, I am able to prescribe specific dance combinations based on tissue tolerance, recommend therapeutic exercises, and share body recovery tactics. This is hugely advantageous for a dancer returning from an injury, as we know the healing process is not linear. Ballet Rehab Coaching is deeply personal and intentional to the dancer returning to the studio and stage.

Having worked in both traditional and non-traditional healthcare settings, I recognize the limitations of each – which is why Ballet Rehab Coaching meets virtually. This structure grants schedule flexibility for my artists, allows for patient privacy, and grants access to resources for dancers that do not have the luxury or convenience of an onsite dance medicine specialist.

In my free time when I am not coaching dancers or reading research, I can be found taking drop-in dance classes, immersed in my own art projects, attending dance performances, training at the gym, spending time with my loved ones, and reading books from my local library.