She was trapped in her vehicle for about an hour after the collision at the intersection of Great King and Howe Sts about 3.30pm.
She received chest and hip injuries.
Mrs Dunlop MacTavish's family feared the worst on Saturday night, her daughter Terry MacTavish said yesterday, but by yesterday her mother was "marvellously bright".
"It was a very terrible bash for a person of any age and mum is 92. But she is a tough old bird . . . and is doing better than the initial prognosis."
Mrs Dunlop MacTavish's ribs were fractured but she did not require surgery, Ms MacTavish said.
"Today, she has been teasing us [her family] about being worried about her. But she always surprises us.
"She is very courageous. She is a dancer, and dancers recover quickly."
Ms MacTavish said she suspected her mother would be doing "high kicks for the nursing staff" as soon as she could.
Her mother had been on her way to help a sick friend when the collision occurred, Ms MacTavish said.
She was conscious throughout as firefighters cut the roof off her vehicle and ambulance officers and passersby helped her.
"She is very grateful to everyone who helped. She particularly mentioned the nice young man who was holding her hand."
Mrs Dunlop MacTavish opened the first modern dance studio in New Zealand and is also a choreographer, pioneer in liturgical dance, critic and author.
Born in Dunedin, she studied dance in Vienna as a teenager and danced and taught with the Bodenwieser Ballet for a decade until 1948.
She married missionary Donald MacTavish and worked alongside him in China, Taiwan and South Africa before his sudden death in 1956.
She returned to Dunedin with her three young children and has lived here ever since.
Senior Sergeant Steve Aitken said it appeared Mrs Dunlop MacTavish had pulled out of Howe St to cross Great King St and was struck by a vehicle travelling north along Great King St.
No determination of charges could be made until police were able to speak to her, he said.
