About Me

I’m a specialist ballet podiatrist and former ballet teacher.

I trained at the Royal Ballet School, taught for 25 years in London, including at Chelsea Ballet Schools, Young Dancers Academy (now LVB), Millennium Dance and was a Cecchetti examiner. I’ve unique insight into the demands of dance and to help dancers, here’s what I do:

o   Musculoskeletal assessments

o   Diagnose and treat foot and ankle pathology

o   Advise, educate and prescribe from footwear to skin and nail care to orthoses and more

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My Background

  • I wasn’t always a podiatrist. In my many years as a ballet teacher, I always found feet fascinating. Whether they’re sublime, stiff or slightly shambolic, feet deserve careful study to become supple, strong and stable. Ankles and arches are critical for jumps, turns and pointe work so understanding them was essential to my teaching.

  • Over the years, I saw countless ballet-related lower-limb issues from overuse and faulty technique to poorly fitting pointe shoes, inadequate training, growth changes or the occasional mishap. These challenges and their effects on movement and confidence have always piqued my interest and are what first drew me toward podiatry.

  • My years of teaching ballet gave me a deep understanding of the demands placed on the feet and ankles, and how vital they are for movement, balance and expression. That insight continues to shape the way I work with patients. 

  • The lower limb is where strength, stability and mobility meet. Small issues here can quickly impact overall well-being, so I was drawn to a field where timely care makes a visible difference in people’s lives. 

  • A young girl with a ballet bun, wearing a leotard and ballet slippers, smiling and interacting with a woman who is kneeling, wearing glasses and a dark jacket, in a dance studio or practice space with a plain wall and wooden floor.

  • A person in a red shirt and jeans standing with arms outstretched in front of a colorful shadow wall display.

  • Ballet dancer on stage with red curtain background, wearing a light blue tutu and headband, posing with arms raised gracefully.

  • Young girls in ballet costumes with numbered tags preparing backstage, receiving instructions, and waiting in a dance studio.

  • Logo for Ballet Podiatrist with large initials P and K and small text 'Ballet Podiatrist'

  • Black and white photo of a ballet dancer's legs and feet, standing en pointe against a dark background.

Working With People

  • Dancers of all disciplines.

    I also care for those less agile, from people who dance in spirit to anyone unable to tend to their own feet.  

  • No. After graduating from The Royal Ballet School, I vowed never to subject my legs to pink tights again. I’ve always preferred something a little more forgiving!

My Clinical Experience

  • As part of my Podiatry degree, I wrote a research proposal entitled ‘A comparison of modern pointe shoes with traditional pointe shoes for vocational students: the risk of injury to the foot and ankle’, which won the Mark Tagoe Award for Best Research Project. 

    Long before that, in 2004, I wrote a paper for my Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing Licentiate qualification examining ‘Pointe Work for the Once-A-Week Ballet Student’ focusing on feet alone. Awarded Distinction, it examined the risks of recreational pointe, including views from leading ballet teachers. My conclusion offered a guided method for assessing students’ feet and identifying the attributes needed for safe study of pointe. 

  • I spent four wonderful years with South West Podiatry in Earlsfield and Maidenhead, working with advanced technologies including SWIFT, 3D Gait Analysis, EMS Shockwave, point-of-care Ultrasound, K-laser Therapy and Dermoscopy. The company’s ethos created an ideal environment for learning and development, always placing the patient front and centre. 

    With my special interest in dance and sports injuries, I'm committed to continuous development through further training and specialist courses to stay current with emerging research and best practice guidance. At weekends, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, you’ll find me at Active Life Podiatry in Fulham, helping people move better and stay pain-free. 

“ Whether dancing or not, strong, cared-for feet support balance, movement and daily life for everyone” 

Penny Kay, Podiatrist

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