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Experience the raw energy and aesthetic beauty of dance as you perfect your technique with Dance Anatomy. Featuring hundreds of full-color illustrations, Dance Anatomy presents more than 100 of the most effective dance, movement, and performance exercises, each designed to promote correct alignment, improved placement, proper breathing, and prevention of common injuries. The exercises are drawn in stunning detail, capturing the dancer in motion and highlighting the active muscles associated with each movement so you can develop and strengthen different areas of the body. You will clearly see how muscular development translates into greater poise and elegance on the stage.
Each chapter addresses a key principle of movement to help you improve performance, beginning with the center of the body, where dance begins. You will learn exercises to target specific areas, such as shoulders and arms, pelvis, and lower legs to enhance flexibility and ensure safety. You will also discover more efficient ways of improving your lines and technique by implementing a supplementary conditioning program that takes into account your changing cycles of classes, practices, and times of rest.
Regardless of your ability level or dance style, Dance Anatomy will help you master the impeccable balance, intense muscular control, and grace to prepare you for your next leading role!
Chapter 1: The Dancer in Motion
Chapter 2: Brain Health
Chapter 3: Injury Prevention
Chapter 4: Spine
Chapter 5: Ribs and Breath
Chapter 6: Core
Chapter 7: Shoulders and Arms
Chapter 8: Pelvis and Hips
Chapter 9: Legs
Chapter 10: Ankles and Feet
Chapter 11: Whole-Body Training for Dancers
Exercise Finder
References
Jacqui Greene Haas has been the athletic trainer for Cincinnati Ballet since 1989 and is currently the supervisor of performing arts medicine at Mercy Health Orthopaedics and Sports Rehabilitation (formerly Wellington Orthopaedics) in Cincinnati. Her successful outreach program includes working closely with numerous local dance studios, teaching injury prevention and providing screenings and dance conditioning workshops. She has presented workshops to instructors at Texas A&M University, University of Cincinnati, and Wittenberg University as well as to dancers at Louisville Ballet, Charlotte Ballet (formerly North Carolina Dance Theatre), West Virginia Dance Festival, McGing Irish Dancers, and Cincinnati Ballet.
Jacqui learned ballet, tap, and jazz at The School of Dance Arts in central Florida. She went on to dance professionally for Southern Ballet Theatre, New Orleans City Ballet, and Cincinnati Ballet. She also enjoyed dancing professionally with the Orlando Opera, Cleveland Opera, and Cincinnati Opera companies.
Jacqui holds a bachelor's degree in dance from the University of South Florida and an athletic training certificate from the University of Cincinnati. She is currently working toward her master's degree in the Northern Kentucky University integrated studies program. She also teaches dance physiology and special topics in dance at Northern Kentucky University.
As an active member of the National Athletic Trainers' Association, Jacqui has spoken at their annual conventions in Dallas, St. Louis, Anaheim, Philadelphia, and New Orleans as well as having served on the association's committee for emerging practices. She is also a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science and the National Dance Education Organization.
Jacqui has been happily married for over 30 years and has a lovely stepdaughter and two lovely daughters. She resides in Northern Kentucky with her family on their 47-acre farm.
“Dance Anatomy brings to life the relationship between muscle development and dancing. It is a must-read for every dancer.”
Victoria Morgan
Artistic Director and CEO of Cincinnati Ballet
“Jacqui Haas has created the perfect tool for teachers and dancers of all forms and styles of dance. Dance Anatomy allows one to see the relationship between each exercise and the goal of refining a dancer’s physique and improving technique.”
James Nelson
Executive Director of Houston Ballet
“Jacqui Haas is one of my heroes in dance medicine. She speaks with the accomplished wisdom of two careers: dance and health care. Her new edition of Dance Anatomy is a must-have for all dancers and dance teachers who care about how their dancing bodies work. Her approach to anatomy will inspire a new generation of dancers to embrace the essential combination of technical excellence and whole-person wellness. Quite honestly, the book revolutionized how I teach kinesiology to dancers. It’s also an excellent resource to help health care practitioners understand the anatomical foundations of dance practice. Bottom line? Buy it! Read it! Then offer the knowledge to others.”
Dr. Jeff Russell
Assistant Professor of Athletic Training and Director of Science and Health in Artistic Performance at Ohio University
Fellow of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science
Abdominal stretch demonstrated
Execution: 1. Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
Execution
- Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
- As you inhale, lengthen through your spine and press your hands into the ground to lift your chest off the ground. Keep the abdominals engaged toward the spine.
- Move along the longest possible arc through your thoracic spine, avoiding overuse in the lower spine.
- Continue, lifting your hips off the floor as long as you are supporting your entire spine and not just moving in the lower segments of the spine. Feel a nice stretch along the rectus abdominis.
- Upon exhalation, reverse and bring yourself back down to start position with control. Perform 4 to 6 times.
Muscles Involved
- Shoulders: Lower trapezius, triceps brachii, infraspinatus
- Trunk: Transversus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, rectus abdominis, iliacus, psoas major, spinal extensors
Dance Focus
As you have seen, the abdominals need to be strengthened for spine stability; they also need to be stretched. Beautiful extension of the spine is required, for example, in arabesque, cambré derrière, and tour jeté. To help you acquire that strong yet beautiful arch along your spine, this exercise emphasizes spinal extension through the entire spine with abdominal lengthening. You are using your arms to assist in the stretch and using your abdominals to support your spine. This exercise can also help you maintain posture as you get older.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Understand the mechanics of turnout
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck.
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck. The majority of the turnout must come from movement in the hip socket. The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science states that on average 60 percent of turnout comes from the hip, 20-30 percent from the ankle and the remaining 10-20 percent comes from the knee and tibia.The strength in your deep hip external rotators can help you achieve quality turnout. Whenever you are required to lift your leg while it's turned out, initiate the movement by contracting the deep external hip rotators to fully turn out within the hip socket. Maintain the muscle contraction through the entire movement of the leg while other muscles assist.
For example, in arabesque, the deep rotators contract and the gluteus maximus assists as a turnout muscle to help bring the hip into extension. Without the contraction of the deep six rotators, your leg would swing back in parallel! When executing plié, allow the rotators to contract to keep the femurs open along the frontal plane and aligned over the toes. On the downward phase, the inner-thigh muscles assist by working eccentrically; on the upward phase, they work concentrically.
Visualize the location of the small external rotators as they connect the femur with the sacrum and lower pelvis. As the muscle fibers contract and shorten, the femur rotates laterally in the socket. The femur can turn out in the hip socket without unwanted movement in the lower back or pelvis, which supports the hip disassociation theory. Practice moving your femur inward and outward while sitting, lying down, and standing. Focus on movement only deep within the socket; notice that you don't need to twist your pelvis or tuck under to actively rotate your femur in the joint. Just move your thigh, not your pelvis or spine.
Understanding the passive range of motion in your hip can help you understand your natural hip rotation, but your functional turnout - what you can actually hold and work with - is more useful. As discussed previously, 60 percent of your turnout comes from your hip and the rest through your knees, tibia, foot and ankle. To attain ideal functional turnout, you must work within your means and with proper skeletal alignment. Ideal turnout of 180 degrees is physically challenging and can create compensation and potential injuries for some dancers. Focusing on turning your legs out from your hips can minimize the stresses on the knee and ankle. Consider these keys for better functional turnout:
- Always align your patella (kneecap) over your second toe, to avoid screwing or twisting through the knee joint
- Keep your weight placed equally over your heel and first and fifth metatarsals to avoid the overpronating of the feet
- Maintain your pelvis in a firm, neutral position, utilizing your abdominals and deep hip external rotators avoiding the anterior pelvic tilt
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Growth-related issues specific to young dancers
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique.
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique. In such cases, it can be hard at first to understand why technique seems to be getting worse despite more and more practice. It is normal, however, to see a decline in technical performance during rapid growth. Adolescence is a tough time, during which a young person may feel awkward and weak. These challenges may be the reason that 55 percent of dancers quit during adolescence. When hormones are added to the mix, this transition period can really challenge a person's self-esteem.
Changes related to rapid growth may include the following:
- Bones growing faster than soft tissue
- Leg and arm bones growing faster than the trunk
- Weight changing
- Muscles and ligaments tightening
- Balance and coordination being compromised
- Thoracic spine growing faster than lumbar spine
The body is particularly vulnerable in the growth plates, which are areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones. Because growth plates are soft, they are weak and vulnerable, especially during periods of rapid growth; the pull exerted on growth plates increases as muscles tighten. Injury in these areas can occur either acutely or through overuse, and growth plate injury can affect how bones grow. Depending on the severity of injury, growth plates may close prematurely, thus cutting off blood flow and causing the injured side to be shorter than the unaffected side. Higher-level stress fractures can occur in the lower spine, tibia, femur, and fifth metatarsal. Without proper evaluation and sufficient healing time, such injuries may result in bone deformity.
Thus, if you are a young dancer, it is vital to avoid these injuries now in order to be free of complications as you age. Once you stop growing, your growth plates will harden and turn to bone. Try to remember that you will grow out of this stage! It may take a year or two, but don't let that discourage you. Instead, be patient; this is a natural process of growing up.
Here are some actions you can take to reduce your risk of injury as you grow:
- Perform daily static stretching, which involves taking your muscles to a stretched position and holding it. Focus on feeling a good stretch and holding it for about 30 seconds; repeat at least three times per leg twice a day. Include stretches for your calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors, which can experience tightness during adolescence.
- Limit jumping movements in order to reduce the impact on your joints. Use that time in class to stretch instead.
- Perform abdominal work for spine stabilization. Chapter 6 presents several choices for abdominal exercise, including the trunk curl, oblique lift, and side lift.
- Incorporate balance training to maintain your balance skills as you grow. Fundamental training exercises for proprioception and balance are included in the book's last chapter.
- Communicate with your teachers. Reach out to your instructors and explain to them your frustrations with growth-related discomfort. Let them know that you are trying to maintain your strength and balance but are struggling with pain and tightness. Talk to them about the need to do fewer jumping combinations and add more stretches to your classes and rehearsals.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Abdominal stretch demonstrated
Execution: 1. Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
Execution
- Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
- As you inhale, lengthen through your spine and press your hands into the ground to lift your chest off the ground. Keep the abdominals engaged toward the spine.
- Move along the longest possible arc through your thoracic spine, avoiding overuse in the lower spine.
- Continue, lifting your hips off the floor as long as you are supporting your entire spine and not just moving in the lower segments of the spine. Feel a nice stretch along the rectus abdominis.
- Upon exhalation, reverse and bring yourself back down to start position with control. Perform 4 to 6 times.
Muscles Involved
- Shoulders: Lower trapezius, triceps brachii, infraspinatus
- Trunk: Transversus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, rectus abdominis, iliacus, psoas major, spinal extensors
Dance Focus
As you have seen, the abdominals need to be strengthened for spine stability; they also need to be stretched. Beautiful extension of the spine is required, for example, in arabesque, cambré derrière, and tour jeté. To help you acquire that strong yet beautiful arch along your spine, this exercise emphasizes spinal extension through the entire spine with abdominal lengthening. You are using your arms to assist in the stretch and using your abdominals to support your spine. This exercise can also help you maintain posture as you get older.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Understand the mechanics of turnout
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck.
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck. The majority of the turnout must come from movement in the hip socket. The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science states that on average 60 percent of turnout comes from the hip, 20-30 percent from the ankle and the remaining 10-20 percent comes from the knee and tibia.The strength in your deep hip external rotators can help you achieve quality turnout. Whenever you are required to lift your leg while it's turned out, initiate the movement by contracting the deep external hip rotators to fully turn out within the hip socket. Maintain the muscle contraction through the entire movement of the leg while other muscles assist.
For example, in arabesque, the deep rotators contract and the gluteus maximus assists as a turnout muscle to help bring the hip into extension. Without the contraction of the deep six rotators, your leg would swing back in parallel! When executing plié, allow the rotators to contract to keep the femurs open along the frontal plane and aligned over the toes. On the downward phase, the inner-thigh muscles assist by working eccentrically; on the upward phase, they work concentrically.
Visualize the location of the small external rotators as they connect the femur with the sacrum and lower pelvis. As the muscle fibers contract and shorten, the femur rotates laterally in the socket. The femur can turn out in the hip socket without unwanted movement in the lower back or pelvis, which supports the hip disassociation theory. Practice moving your femur inward and outward while sitting, lying down, and standing. Focus on movement only deep within the socket; notice that you don't need to twist your pelvis or tuck under to actively rotate your femur in the joint. Just move your thigh, not your pelvis or spine.
Understanding the passive range of motion in your hip can help you understand your natural hip rotation, but your functional turnout - what you can actually hold and work with - is more useful. As discussed previously, 60 percent of your turnout comes from your hip and the rest through your knees, tibia, foot and ankle. To attain ideal functional turnout, you must work within your means and with proper skeletal alignment. Ideal turnout of 180 degrees is physically challenging and can create compensation and potential injuries for some dancers. Focusing on turning your legs out from your hips can minimize the stresses on the knee and ankle. Consider these keys for better functional turnout:
- Always align your patella (kneecap) over your second toe, to avoid screwing or twisting through the knee joint
- Keep your weight placed equally over your heel and first and fifth metatarsals to avoid the overpronating of the feet
- Maintain your pelvis in a firm, neutral position, utilizing your abdominals and deep hip external rotators avoiding the anterior pelvic tilt
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Growth-related issues specific to young dancers
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique.
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique. In such cases, it can be hard at first to understand why technique seems to be getting worse despite more and more practice. It is normal, however, to see a decline in technical performance during rapid growth. Adolescence is a tough time, during which a young person may feel awkward and weak. These challenges may be the reason that 55 percent of dancers quit during adolescence. When hormones are added to the mix, this transition period can really challenge a person's self-esteem.
Changes related to rapid growth may include the following:
- Bones growing faster than soft tissue
- Leg and arm bones growing faster than the trunk
- Weight changing
- Muscles and ligaments tightening
- Balance and coordination being compromised
- Thoracic spine growing faster than lumbar spine
The body is particularly vulnerable in the growth plates, which are areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones. Because growth plates are soft, they are weak and vulnerable, especially during periods of rapid growth; the pull exerted on growth plates increases as muscles tighten. Injury in these areas can occur either acutely or through overuse, and growth plate injury can affect how bones grow. Depending on the severity of injury, growth plates may close prematurely, thus cutting off blood flow and causing the injured side to be shorter than the unaffected side. Higher-level stress fractures can occur in the lower spine, tibia, femur, and fifth metatarsal. Without proper evaluation and sufficient healing time, such injuries may result in bone deformity.
Thus, if you are a young dancer, it is vital to avoid these injuries now in order to be free of complications as you age. Once you stop growing, your growth plates will harden and turn to bone. Try to remember that you will grow out of this stage! It may take a year or two, but don't let that discourage you. Instead, be patient; this is a natural process of growing up.
Here are some actions you can take to reduce your risk of injury as you grow:
- Perform daily static stretching, which involves taking your muscles to a stretched position and holding it. Focus on feeling a good stretch and holding it for about 30 seconds; repeat at least three times per leg twice a day. Include stretches for your calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors, which can experience tightness during adolescence.
- Limit jumping movements in order to reduce the impact on your joints. Use that time in class to stretch instead.
- Perform abdominal work for spine stabilization. Chapter 6 presents several choices for abdominal exercise, including the trunk curl, oblique lift, and side lift.
- Incorporate balance training to maintain your balance skills as you grow. Fundamental training exercises for proprioception and balance are included in the book's last chapter.
- Communicate with your teachers. Reach out to your instructors and explain to them your frustrations with growth-related discomfort. Let them know that you are trying to maintain your strength and balance but are struggling with pain and tightness. Talk to them about the need to do fewer jumping combinations and add more stretches to your classes and rehearsals.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Abdominal stretch demonstrated
Execution: 1. Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
Execution
- Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
- As you inhale, lengthen through your spine and press your hands into the ground to lift your chest off the ground. Keep the abdominals engaged toward the spine.
- Move along the longest possible arc through your thoracic spine, avoiding overuse in the lower spine.
- Continue, lifting your hips off the floor as long as you are supporting your entire spine and not just moving in the lower segments of the spine. Feel a nice stretch along the rectus abdominis.
- Upon exhalation, reverse and bring yourself back down to start position with control. Perform 4 to 6 times.
Muscles Involved
- Shoulders: Lower trapezius, triceps brachii, infraspinatus
- Trunk: Transversus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, rectus abdominis, iliacus, psoas major, spinal extensors
Dance Focus
As you have seen, the abdominals need to be strengthened for spine stability; they also need to be stretched. Beautiful extension of the spine is required, for example, in arabesque, cambré derrière, and tour jeté. To help you acquire that strong yet beautiful arch along your spine, this exercise emphasizes spinal extension through the entire spine with abdominal lengthening. You are using your arms to assist in the stretch and using your abdominals to support your spine. This exercise can also help you maintain posture as you get older.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Understand the mechanics of turnout
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck.
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck. The majority of the turnout must come from movement in the hip socket. The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science states that on average 60 percent of turnout comes from the hip, 20-30 percent from the ankle and the remaining 10-20 percent comes from the knee and tibia.The strength in your deep hip external rotators can help you achieve quality turnout. Whenever you are required to lift your leg while it's turned out, initiate the movement by contracting the deep external hip rotators to fully turn out within the hip socket. Maintain the muscle contraction through the entire movement of the leg while other muscles assist.
For example, in arabesque, the deep rotators contract and the gluteus maximus assists as a turnout muscle to help bring the hip into extension. Without the contraction of the deep six rotators, your leg would swing back in parallel! When executing plié, allow the rotators to contract to keep the femurs open along the frontal plane and aligned over the toes. On the downward phase, the inner-thigh muscles assist by working eccentrically; on the upward phase, they work concentrically.
Visualize the location of the small external rotators as they connect the femur with the sacrum and lower pelvis. As the muscle fibers contract and shorten, the femur rotates laterally in the socket. The femur can turn out in the hip socket without unwanted movement in the lower back or pelvis, which supports the hip disassociation theory. Practice moving your femur inward and outward while sitting, lying down, and standing. Focus on movement only deep within the socket; notice that you don't need to twist your pelvis or tuck under to actively rotate your femur in the joint. Just move your thigh, not your pelvis or spine.
Understanding the passive range of motion in your hip can help you understand your natural hip rotation, but your functional turnout - what you can actually hold and work with - is more useful. As discussed previously, 60 percent of your turnout comes from your hip and the rest through your knees, tibia, foot and ankle. To attain ideal functional turnout, you must work within your means and with proper skeletal alignment. Ideal turnout of 180 degrees is physically challenging and can create compensation and potential injuries for some dancers. Focusing on turning your legs out from your hips can minimize the stresses on the knee and ankle. Consider these keys for better functional turnout:
- Always align your patella (kneecap) over your second toe, to avoid screwing or twisting through the knee joint
- Keep your weight placed equally over your heel and first and fifth metatarsals to avoid the overpronating of the feet
- Maintain your pelvis in a firm, neutral position, utilizing your abdominals and deep hip external rotators avoiding the anterior pelvic tilt
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Growth-related issues specific to young dancers
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique.
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique. In such cases, it can be hard at first to understand why technique seems to be getting worse despite more and more practice. It is normal, however, to see a decline in technical performance during rapid growth. Adolescence is a tough time, during which a young person may feel awkward and weak. These challenges may be the reason that 55 percent of dancers quit during adolescence. When hormones are added to the mix, this transition period can really challenge a person's self-esteem.
Changes related to rapid growth may include the following:
- Bones growing faster than soft tissue
- Leg and arm bones growing faster than the trunk
- Weight changing
- Muscles and ligaments tightening
- Balance and coordination being compromised
- Thoracic spine growing faster than lumbar spine
The body is particularly vulnerable in the growth plates, which are areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones. Because growth plates are soft, they are weak and vulnerable, especially during periods of rapid growth; the pull exerted on growth plates increases as muscles tighten. Injury in these areas can occur either acutely or through overuse, and growth plate injury can affect how bones grow. Depending on the severity of injury, growth plates may close prematurely, thus cutting off blood flow and causing the injured side to be shorter than the unaffected side. Higher-level stress fractures can occur in the lower spine, tibia, femur, and fifth metatarsal. Without proper evaluation and sufficient healing time, such injuries may result in bone deformity.
Thus, if you are a young dancer, it is vital to avoid these injuries now in order to be free of complications as you age. Once you stop growing, your growth plates will harden and turn to bone. Try to remember that you will grow out of this stage! It may take a year or two, but don't let that discourage you. Instead, be patient; this is a natural process of growing up.
Here are some actions you can take to reduce your risk of injury as you grow:
- Perform daily static stretching, which involves taking your muscles to a stretched position and holding it. Focus on feeling a good stretch and holding it for about 30 seconds; repeat at least three times per leg twice a day. Include stretches for your calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors, which can experience tightness during adolescence.
- Limit jumping movements in order to reduce the impact on your joints. Use that time in class to stretch instead.
- Perform abdominal work for spine stabilization. Chapter 6 presents several choices for abdominal exercise, including the trunk curl, oblique lift, and side lift.
- Incorporate balance training to maintain your balance skills as you grow. Fundamental training exercises for proprioception and balance are included in the book's last chapter.
- Communicate with your teachers. Reach out to your instructors and explain to them your frustrations with growth-related discomfort. Let them know that you are trying to maintain your strength and balance but are struggling with pain and tightness. Talk to them about the need to do fewer jumping combinations and add more stretches to your classes and rehearsals.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Abdominal stretch demonstrated
Execution: 1. Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
Execution
- Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
- As you inhale, lengthen through your spine and press your hands into the ground to lift your chest off the ground. Keep the abdominals engaged toward the spine.
- Move along the longest possible arc through your thoracic spine, avoiding overuse in the lower spine.
- Continue, lifting your hips off the floor as long as you are supporting your entire spine and not just moving in the lower segments of the spine. Feel a nice stretch along the rectus abdominis.
- Upon exhalation, reverse and bring yourself back down to start position with control. Perform 4 to 6 times.
Muscles Involved
- Shoulders: Lower trapezius, triceps brachii, infraspinatus
- Trunk: Transversus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, rectus abdominis, iliacus, psoas major, spinal extensors
Dance Focus
As you have seen, the abdominals need to be strengthened for spine stability; they also need to be stretched. Beautiful extension of the spine is required, for example, in arabesque, cambré derrière, and tour jeté. To help you acquire that strong yet beautiful arch along your spine, this exercise emphasizes spinal extension through the entire spine with abdominal lengthening. You are using your arms to assist in the stretch and using your abdominals to support your spine. This exercise can also help you maintain posture as you get older.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Understand the mechanics of turnout
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck.
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck. The majority of the turnout must come from movement in the hip socket. The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science states that on average 60 percent of turnout comes from the hip, 20-30 percent from the ankle and the remaining 10-20 percent comes from the knee and tibia.The strength in your deep hip external rotators can help you achieve quality turnout. Whenever you are required to lift your leg while it's turned out, initiate the movement by contracting the deep external hip rotators to fully turn out within the hip socket. Maintain the muscle contraction through the entire movement of the leg while other muscles assist.
For example, in arabesque, the deep rotators contract and the gluteus maximus assists as a turnout muscle to help bring the hip into extension. Without the contraction of the deep six rotators, your leg would swing back in parallel! When executing plié, allow the rotators to contract to keep the femurs open along the frontal plane and aligned over the toes. On the downward phase, the inner-thigh muscles assist by working eccentrically; on the upward phase, they work concentrically.
Visualize the location of the small external rotators as they connect the femur with the sacrum and lower pelvis. As the muscle fibers contract and shorten, the femur rotates laterally in the socket. The femur can turn out in the hip socket without unwanted movement in the lower back or pelvis, which supports the hip disassociation theory. Practice moving your femur inward and outward while sitting, lying down, and standing. Focus on movement only deep within the socket; notice that you don't need to twist your pelvis or tuck under to actively rotate your femur in the joint. Just move your thigh, not your pelvis or spine.
Understanding the passive range of motion in your hip can help you understand your natural hip rotation, but your functional turnout - what you can actually hold and work with - is more useful. As discussed previously, 60 percent of your turnout comes from your hip and the rest through your knees, tibia, foot and ankle. To attain ideal functional turnout, you must work within your means and with proper skeletal alignment. Ideal turnout of 180 degrees is physically challenging and can create compensation and potential injuries for some dancers. Focusing on turning your legs out from your hips can minimize the stresses on the knee and ankle. Consider these keys for better functional turnout:
- Always align your patella (kneecap) over your second toe, to avoid screwing or twisting through the knee joint
- Keep your weight placed equally over your heel and first and fifth metatarsals to avoid the overpronating of the feet
- Maintain your pelvis in a firm, neutral position, utilizing your abdominals and deep hip external rotators avoiding the anterior pelvic tilt
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Growth-related issues specific to young dancers
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique.
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique. In such cases, it can be hard at first to understand why technique seems to be getting worse despite more and more practice. It is normal, however, to see a decline in technical performance during rapid growth. Adolescence is a tough time, during which a young person may feel awkward and weak. These challenges may be the reason that 55 percent of dancers quit during adolescence. When hormones are added to the mix, this transition period can really challenge a person's self-esteem.
Changes related to rapid growth may include the following:
- Bones growing faster than soft tissue
- Leg and arm bones growing faster than the trunk
- Weight changing
- Muscles and ligaments tightening
- Balance and coordination being compromised
- Thoracic spine growing faster than lumbar spine
The body is particularly vulnerable in the growth plates, which are areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones. Because growth plates are soft, they are weak and vulnerable, especially during periods of rapid growth; the pull exerted on growth plates increases as muscles tighten. Injury in these areas can occur either acutely or through overuse, and growth plate injury can affect how bones grow. Depending on the severity of injury, growth plates may close prematurely, thus cutting off blood flow and causing the injured side to be shorter than the unaffected side. Higher-level stress fractures can occur in the lower spine, tibia, femur, and fifth metatarsal. Without proper evaluation and sufficient healing time, such injuries may result in bone deformity.
Thus, if you are a young dancer, it is vital to avoid these injuries now in order to be free of complications as you age. Once you stop growing, your growth plates will harden and turn to bone. Try to remember that you will grow out of this stage! It may take a year or two, but don't let that discourage you. Instead, be patient; this is a natural process of growing up.
Here are some actions you can take to reduce your risk of injury as you grow:
- Perform daily static stretching, which involves taking your muscles to a stretched position and holding it. Focus on feeling a good stretch and holding it for about 30 seconds; repeat at least three times per leg twice a day. Include stretches for your calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors, which can experience tightness during adolescence.
- Limit jumping movements in order to reduce the impact on your joints. Use that time in class to stretch instead.
- Perform abdominal work for spine stabilization. Chapter 6 presents several choices for abdominal exercise, including the trunk curl, oblique lift, and side lift.
- Incorporate balance training to maintain your balance skills as you grow. Fundamental training exercises for proprioception and balance are included in the book's last chapter.
- Communicate with your teachers. Reach out to your instructors and explain to them your frustrations with growth-related discomfort. Let them know that you are trying to maintain your strength and balance but are struggling with pain and tightness. Talk to them about the need to do fewer jumping combinations and add more stretches to your classes and rehearsals.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Abdominal stretch demonstrated
Execution: 1. Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
Execution
- Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
- As you inhale, lengthen through your spine and press your hands into the ground to lift your chest off the ground. Keep the abdominals engaged toward the spine.
- Move along the longest possible arc through your thoracic spine, avoiding overuse in the lower spine.
- Continue, lifting your hips off the floor as long as you are supporting your entire spine and not just moving in the lower segments of the spine. Feel a nice stretch along the rectus abdominis.
- Upon exhalation, reverse and bring yourself back down to start position with control. Perform 4 to 6 times.
Muscles Involved
- Shoulders: Lower trapezius, triceps brachii, infraspinatus
- Trunk: Transversus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, rectus abdominis, iliacus, psoas major, spinal extensors
Dance Focus
As you have seen, the abdominals need to be strengthened for spine stability; they also need to be stretched. Beautiful extension of the spine is required, for example, in arabesque, cambré derrière, and tour jeté. To help you acquire that strong yet beautiful arch along your spine, this exercise emphasizes spinal extension through the entire spine with abdominal lengthening. You are using your arms to assist in the stretch and using your abdominals to support your spine. This exercise can also help you maintain posture as you get older.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Understand the mechanics of turnout
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck.
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck. The majority of the turnout must come from movement in the hip socket. The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science states that on average 60 percent of turnout comes from the hip, 20-30 percent from the ankle and the remaining 10-20 percent comes from the knee and tibia.The strength in your deep hip external rotators can help you achieve quality turnout. Whenever you are required to lift your leg while it's turned out, initiate the movement by contracting the deep external hip rotators to fully turn out within the hip socket. Maintain the muscle contraction through the entire movement of the leg while other muscles assist.
For example, in arabesque, the deep rotators contract and the gluteus maximus assists as a turnout muscle to help bring the hip into extension. Without the contraction of the deep six rotators, your leg would swing back in parallel! When executing plié, allow the rotators to contract to keep the femurs open along the frontal plane and aligned over the toes. On the downward phase, the inner-thigh muscles assist by working eccentrically; on the upward phase, they work concentrically.
Visualize the location of the small external rotators as they connect the femur with the sacrum and lower pelvis. As the muscle fibers contract and shorten, the femur rotates laterally in the socket. The femur can turn out in the hip socket without unwanted movement in the lower back or pelvis, which supports the hip disassociation theory. Practice moving your femur inward and outward while sitting, lying down, and standing. Focus on movement only deep within the socket; notice that you don't need to twist your pelvis or tuck under to actively rotate your femur in the joint. Just move your thigh, not your pelvis or spine.
Understanding the passive range of motion in your hip can help you understand your natural hip rotation, but your functional turnout - what you can actually hold and work with - is more useful. As discussed previously, 60 percent of your turnout comes from your hip and the rest through your knees, tibia, foot and ankle. To attain ideal functional turnout, you must work within your means and with proper skeletal alignment. Ideal turnout of 180 degrees is physically challenging and can create compensation and potential injuries for some dancers. Focusing on turning your legs out from your hips can minimize the stresses on the knee and ankle. Consider these keys for better functional turnout:
- Always align your patella (kneecap) over your second toe, to avoid screwing or twisting through the knee joint
- Keep your weight placed equally over your heel and first and fifth metatarsals to avoid the overpronating of the feet
- Maintain your pelvis in a firm, neutral position, utilizing your abdominals and deep hip external rotators avoiding the anterior pelvic tilt
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Growth-related issues specific to young dancers
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique.
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique. In such cases, it can be hard at first to understand why technique seems to be getting worse despite more and more practice. It is normal, however, to see a decline in technical performance during rapid growth. Adolescence is a tough time, during which a young person may feel awkward and weak. These challenges may be the reason that 55 percent of dancers quit during adolescence. When hormones are added to the mix, this transition period can really challenge a person's self-esteem.
Changes related to rapid growth may include the following:
- Bones growing faster than soft tissue
- Leg and arm bones growing faster than the trunk
- Weight changing
- Muscles and ligaments tightening
- Balance and coordination being compromised
- Thoracic spine growing faster than lumbar spine
The body is particularly vulnerable in the growth plates, which are areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones. Because growth plates are soft, they are weak and vulnerable, especially during periods of rapid growth; the pull exerted on growth plates increases as muscles tighten. Injury in these areas can occur either acutely or through overuse, and growth plate injury can affect how bones grow. Depending on the severity of injury, growth plates may close prematurely, thus cutting off blood flow and causing the injured side to be shorter than the unaffected side. Higher-level stress fractures can occur in the lower spine, tibia, femur, and fifth metatarsal. Without proper evaluation and sufficient healing time, such injuries may result in bone deformity.
Thus, if you are a young dancer, it is vital to avoid these injuries now in order to be free of complications as you age. Once you stop growing, your growth plates will harden and turn to bone. Try to remember that you will grow out of this stage! It may take a year or two, but don't let that discourage you. Instead, be patient; this is a natural process of growing up.
Here are some actions you can take to reduce your risk of injury as you grow:
- Perform daily static stretching, which involves taking your muscles to a stretched position and holding it. Focus on feeling a good stretch and holding it for about 30 seconds; repeat at least three times per leg twice a day. Include stretches for your calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors, which can experience tightness during adolescence.
- Limit jumping movements in order to reduce the impact on your joints. Use that time in class to stretch instead.
- Perform abdominal work for spine stabilization. Chapter 6 presents several choices for abdominal exercise, including the trunk curl, oblique lift, and side lift.
- Incorporate balance training to maintain your balance skills as you grow. Fundamental training exercises for proprioception and balance are included in the book's last chapter.
- Communicate with your teachers. Reach out to your instructors and explain to them your frustrations with growth-related discomfort. Let them know that you are trying to maintain your strength and balance but are struggling with pain and tightness. Talk to them about the need to do fewer jumping combinations and add more stretches to your classes and rehearsals.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Abdominal stretch demonstrated
Execution: 1. Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
Execution
- Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
- As you inhale, lengthen through your spine and press your hands into the ground to lift your chest off the ground. Keep the abdominals engaged toward the spine.
- Move along the longest possible arc through your thoracic spine, avoiding overuse in the lower spine.
- Continue, lifting your hips off the floor as long as you are supporting your entire spine and not just moving in the lower segments of the spine. Feel a nice stretch along the rectus abdominis.
- Upon exhalation, reverse and bring yourself back down to start position with control. Perform 4 to 6 times.
Muscles Involved
- Shoulders: Lower trapezius, triceps brachii, infraspinatus
- Trunk: Transversus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, rectus abdominis, iliacus, psoas major, spinal extensors
Dance Focus
As you have seen, the abdominals need to be strengthened for spine stability; they also need to be stretched. Beautiful extension of the spine is required, for example, in arabesque, cambré derrière, and tour jeté. To help you acquire that strong yet beautiful arch along your spine, this exercise emphasizes spinal extension through the entire spine with abdominal lengthening. You are using your arms to assist in the stretch and using your abdominals to support your spine. This exercise can also help you maintain posture as you get older.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Understand the mechanics of turnout
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck.
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck. The majority of the turnout must come from movement in the hip socket. The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science states that on average 60 percent of turnout comes from the hip, 20-30 percent from the ankle and the remaining 10-20 percent comes from the knee and tibia.The strength in your deep hip external rotators can help you achieve quality turnout. Whenever you are required to lift your leg while it's turned out, initiate the movement by contracting the deep external hip rotators to fully turn out within the hip socket. Maintain the muscle contraction through the entire movement of the leg while other muscles assist.
For example, in arabesque, the deep rotators contract and the gluteus maximus assists as a turnout muscle to help bring the hip into extension. Without the contraction of the deep six rotators, your leg would swing back in parallel! When executing plié, allow the rotators to contract to keep the femurs open along the frontal plane and aligned over the toes. On the downward phase, the inner-thigh muscles assist by working eccentrically; on the upward phase, they work concentrically.
Visualize the location of the small external rotators as they connect the femur with the sacrum and lower pelvis. As the muscle fibers contract and shorten, the femur rotates laterally in the socket. The femur can turn out in the hip socket without unwanted movement in the lower back or pelvis, which supports the hip disassociation theory. Practice moving your femur inward and outward while sitting, lying down, and standing. Focus on movement only deep within the socket; notice that you don't need to twist your pelvis or tuck under to actively rotate your femur in the joint. Just move your thigh, not your pelvis or spine.
Understanding the passive range of motion in your hip can help you understand your natural hip rotation, but your functional turnout - what you can actually hold and work with - is more useful. As discussed previously, 60 percent of your turnout comes from your hip and the rest through your knees, tibia, foot and ankle. To attain ideal functional turnout, you must work within your means and with proper skeletal alignment. Ideal turnout of 180 degrees is physically challenging and can create compensation and potential injuries for some dancers. Focusing on turning your legs out from your hips can minimize the stresses on the knee and ankle. Consider these keys for better functional turnout:
- Always align your patella (kneecap) over your second toe, to avoid screwing or twisting through the knee joint
- Keep your weight placed equally over your heel and first and fifth metatarsals to avoid the overpronating of the feet
- Maintain your pelvis in a firm, neutral position, utilizing your abdominals and deep hip external rotators avoiding the anterior pelvic tilt
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Growth-related issues specific to young dancers
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique.
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique. In such cases, it can be hard at first to understand why technique seems to be getting worse despite more and more practice. It is normal, however, to see a decline in technical performance during rapid growth. Adolescence is a tough time, during which a young person may feel awkward and weak. These challenges may be the reason that 55 percent of dancers quit during adolescence. When hormones are added to the mix, this transition period can really challenge a person's self-esteem.
Changes related to rapid growth may include the following:
- Bones growing faster than soft tissue
- Leg and arm bones growing faster than the trunk
- Weight changing
- Muscles and ligaments tightening
- Balance and coordination being compromised
- Thoracic spine growing faster than lumbar spine
The body is particularly vulnerable in the growth plates, which are areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones. Because growth plates are soft, they are weak and vulnerable, especially during periods of rapid growth; the pull exerted on growth plates increases as muscles tighten. Injury in these areas can occur either acutely or through overuse, and growth plate injury can affect how bones grow. Depending on the severity of injury, growth plates may close prematurely, thus cutting off blood flow and causing the injured side to be shorter than the unaffected side. Higher-level stress fractures can occur in the lower spine, tibia, femur, and fifth metatarsal. Without proper evaluation and sufficient healing time, such injuries may result in bone deformity.
Thus, if you are a young dancer, it is vital to avoid these injuries now in order to be free of complications as you age. Once you stop growing, your growth plates will harden and turn to bone. Try to remember that you will grow out of this stage! It may take a year or two, but don't let that discourage you. Instead, be patient; this is a natural process of growing up.
Here are some actions you can take to reduce your risk of injury as you grow:
- Perform daily static stretching, which involves taking your muscles to a stretched position and holding it. Focus on feeling a good stretch and holding it for about 30 seconds; repeat at least three times per leg twice a day. Include stretches for your calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors, which can experience tightness during adolescence.
- Limit jumping movements in order to reduce the impact on your joints. Use that time in class to stretch instead.
- Perform abdominal work for spine stabilization. Chapter 6 presents several choices for abdominal exercise, including the trunk curl, oblique lift, and side lift.
- Incorporate balance training to maintain your balance skills as you grow. Fundamental training exercises for proprioception and balance are included in the book's last chapter.
- Communicate with your teachers. Reach out to your instructors and explain to them your frustrations with growth-related discomfort. Let them know that you are trying to maintain your strength and balance but are struggling with pain and tightness. Talk to them about the need to do fewer jumping combinations and add more stretches to your classes and rehearsals.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Abdominal stretch demonstrated
Execution: 1. Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
Execution
- Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
- As you inhale, lengthen through your spine and press your hands into the ground to lift your chest off the ground. Keep the abdominals engaged toward the spine.
- Move along the longest possible arc through your thoracic spine, avoiding overuse in the lower spine.
- Continue, lifting your hips off the floor as long as you are supporting your entire spine and not just moving in the lower segments of the spine. Feel a nice stretch along the rectus abdominis.
- Upon exhalation, reverse and bring yourself back down to start position with control. Perform 4 to 6 times.
Muscles Involved
- Shoulders: Lower trapezius, triceps brachii, infraspinatus
- Trunk: Transversus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, rectus abdominis, iliacus, psoas major, spinal extensors
Dance Focus
As you have seen, the abdominals need to be strengthened for spine stability; they also need to be stretched. Beautiful extension of the spine is required, for example, in arabesque, cambré derrière, and tour jeté. To help you acquire that strong yet beautiful arch along your spine, this exercise emphasizes spinal extension through the entire spine with abdominal lengthening. You are using your arms to assist in the stretch and using your abdominals to support your spine. This exercise can also help you maintain posture as you get older.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Understand the mechanics of turnout
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck.
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck. The majority of the turnout must come from movement in the hip socket. The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science states that on average 60 percent of turnout comes from the hip, 20-30 percent from the ankle and the remaining 10-20 percent comes from the knee and tibia.The strength in your deep hip external rotators can help you achieve quality turnout. Whenever you are required to lift your leg while it's turned out, initiate the movement by contracting the deep external hip rotators to fully turn out within the hip socket. Maintain the muscle contraction through the entire movement of the leg while other muscles assist.
For example, in arabesque, the deep rotators contract and the gluteus maximus assists as a turnout muscle to help bring the hip into extension. Without the contraction of the deep six rotators, your leg would swing back in parallel! When executing plié, allow the rotators to contract to keep the femurs open along the frontal plane and aligned over the toes. On the downward phase, the inner-thigh muscles assist by working eccentrically; on the upward phase, they work concentrically.
Visualize the location of the small external rotators as they connect the femur with the sacrum and lower pelvis. As the muscle fibers contract and shorten, the femur rotates laterally in the socket. The femur can turn out in the hip socket without unwanted movement in the lower back or pelvis, which supports the hip disassociation theory. Practice moving your femur inward and outward while sitting, lying down, and standing. Focus on movement only deep within the socket; notice that you don't need to twist your pelvis or tuck under to actively rotate your femur in the joint. Just move your thigh, not your pelvis or spine.
Understanding the passive range of motion in your hip can help you understand your natural hip rotation, but your functional turnout - what you can actually hold and work with - is more useful. As discussed previously, 60 percent of your turnout comes from your hip and the rest through your knees, tibia, foot and ankle. To attain ideal functional turnout, you must work within your means and with proper skeletal alignment. Ideal turnout of 180 degrees is physically challenging and can create compensation and potential injuries for some dancers. Focusing on turning your legs out from your hips can minimize the stresses on the knee and ankle. Consider these keys for better functional turnout:
- Always align your patella (kneecap) over your second toe, to avoid screwing or twisting through the knee joint
- Keep your weight placed equally over your heel and first and fifth metatarsals to avoid the overpronating of the feet
- Maintain your pelvis in a firm, neutral position, utilizing your abdominals and deep hip external rotators avoiding the anterior pelvic tilt
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Growth-related issues specific to young dancers
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique.
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique. In such cases, it can be hard at first to understand why technique seems to be getting worse despite more and more practice. It is normal, however, to see a decline in technical performance during rapid growth. Adolescence is a tough time, during which a young person may feel awkward and weak. These challenges may be the reason that 55 percent of dancers quit during adolescence. When hormones are added to the mix, this transition period can really challenge a person's self-esteem.
Changes related to rapid growth may include the following:
- Bones growing faster than soft tissue
- Leg and arm bones growing faster than the trunk
- Weight changing
- Muscles and ligaments tightening
- Balance and coordination being compromised
- Thoracic spine growing faster than lumbar spine
The body is particularly vulnerable in the growth plates, which are areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones. Because growth plates are soft, they are weak and vulnerable, especially during periods of rapid growth; the pull exerted on growth plates increases as muscles tighten. Injury in these areas can occur either acutely or through overuse, and growth plate injury can affect how bones grow. Depending on the severity of injury, growth plates may close prematurely, thus cutting off blood flow and causing the injured side to be shorter than the unaffected side. Higher-level stress fractures can occur in the lower spine, tibia, femur, and fifth metatarsal. Without proper evaluation and sufficient healing time, such injuries may result in bone deformity.
Thus, if you are a young dancer, it is vital to avoid these injuries now in order to be free of complications as you age. Once you stop growing, your growth plates will harden and turn to bone. Try to remember that you will grow out of this stage! It may take a year or two, but don't let that discourage you. Instead, be patient; this is a natural process of growing up.
Here are some actions you can take to reduce your risk of injury as you grow:
- Perform daily static stretching, which involves taking your muscles to a stretched position and holding it. Focus on feeling a good stretch and holding it for about 30 seconds; repeat at least three times per leg twice a day. Include stretches for your calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors, which can experience tightness during adolescence.
- Limit jumping movements in order to reduce the impact on your joints. Use that time in class to stretch instead.
- Perform abdominal work for spine stabilization. Chapter 6 presents several choices for abdominal exercise, including the trunk curl, oblique lift, and side lift.
- Incorporate balance training to maintain your balance skills as you grow. Fundamental training exercises for proprioception and balance are included in the book's last chapter.
- Communicate with your teachers. Reach out to your instructors and explain to them your frustrations with growth-related discomfort. Let them know that you are trying to maintain your strength and balance but are struggling with pain and tightness. Talk to them about the need to do fewer jumping combinations and add more stretches to your classes and rehearsals.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Abdominal stretch demonstrated
Execution: 1. Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
Execution
- Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
- As you inhale, lengthen through your spine and press your hands into the ground to lift your chest off the ground. Keep the abdominals engaged toward the spine.
- Move along the longest possible arc through your thoracic spine, avoiding overuse in the lower spine.
- Continue, lifting your hips off the floor as long as you are supporting your entire spine and not just moving in the lower segments of the spine. Feel a nice stretch along the rectus abdominis.
- Upon exhalation, reverse and bring yourself back down to start position with control. Perform 4 to 6 times.
Muscles Involved
- Shoulders: Lower trapezius, triceps brachii, infraspinatus
- Trunk: Transversus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, rectus abdominis, iliacus, psoas major, spinal extensors
Dance Focus
As you have seen, the abdominals need to be strengthened for spine stability; they also need to be stretched. Beautiful extension of the spine is required, for example, in arabesque, cambré derrière, and tour jeté. To help you acquire that strong yet beautiful arch along your spine, this exercise emphasizes spinal extension through the entire spine with abdominal lengthening. You are using your arms to assist in the stretch and using your abdominals to support your spine. This exercise can also help you maintain posture as you get older.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Understand the mechanics of turnout
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck.
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck. The majority of the turnout must come from movement in the hip socket. The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science states that on average 60 percent of turnout comes from the hip, 20-30 percent from the ankle and the remaining 10-20 percent comes from the knee and tibia.The strength in your deep hip external rotators can help you achieve quality turnout. Whenever you are required to lift your leg while it's turned out, initiate the movement by contracting the deep external hip rotators to fully turn out within the hip socket. Maintain the muscle contraction through the entire movement of the leg while other muscles assist.
For example, in arabesque, the deep rotators contract and the gluteus maximus assists as a turnout muscle to help bring the hip into extension. Without the contraction of the deep six rotators, your leg would swing back in parallel! When executing plié, allow the rotators to contract to keep the femurs open along the frontal plane and aligned over the toes. On the downward phase, the inner-thigh muscles assist by working eccentrically; on the upward phase, they work concentrically.
Visualize the location of the small external rotators as they connect the femur with the sacrum and lower pelvis. As the muscle fibers contract and shorten, the femur rotates laterally in the socket. The femur can turn out in the hip socket without unwanted movement in the lower back or pelvis, which supports the hip disassociation theory. Practice moving your femur inward and outward while sitting, lying down, and standing. Focus on movement only deep within the socket; notice that you don't need to twist your pelvis or tuck under to actively rotate your femur in the joint. Just move your thigh, not your pelvis or spine.
Understanding the passive range of motion in your hip can help you understand your natural hip rotation, but your functional turnout - what you can actually hold and work with - is more useful. As discussed previously, 60 percent of your turnout comes from your hip and the rest through your knees, tibia, foot and ankle. To attain ideal functional turnout, you must work within your means and with proper skeletal alignment. Ideal turnout of 180 degrees is physically challenging and can create compensation and potential injuries for some dancers. Focusing on turning your legs out from your hips can minimize the stresses on the knee and ankle. Consider these keys for better functional turnout:
- Always align your patella (kneecap) over your second toe, to avoid screwing or twisting through the knee joint
- Keep your weight placed equally over your heel and first and fifth metatarsals to avoid the overpronating of the feet
- Maintain your pelvis in a firm, neutral position, utilizing your abdominals and deep hip external rotators avoiding the anterior pelvic tilt
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Growth-related issues specific to young dancers
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique.
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique. In such cases, it can be hard at first to understand why technique seems to be getting worse despite more and more practice. It is normal, however, to see a decline in technical performance during rapid growth. Adolescence is a tough time, during which a young person may feel awkward and weak. These challenges may be the reason that 55 percent of dancers quit during adolescence. When hormones are added to the mix, this transition period can really challenge a person's self-esteem.
Changes related to rapid growth may include the following:
- Bones growing faster than soft tissue
- Leg and arm bones growing faster than the trunk
- Weight changing
- Muscles and ligaments tightening
- Balance and coordination being compromised
- Thoracic spine growing faster than lumbar spine
The body is particularly vulnerable in the growth plates, which are areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones. Because growth plates are soft, they are weak and vulnerable, especially during periods of rapid growth; the pull exerted on growth plates increases as muscles tighten. Injury in these areas can occur either acutely or through overuse, and growth plate injury can affect how bones grow. Depending on the severity of injury, growth plates may close prematurely, thus cutting off blood flow and causing the injured side to be shorter than the unaffected side. Higher-level stress fractures can occur in the lower spine, tibia, femur, and fifth metatarsal. Without proper evaluation and sufficient healing time, such injuries may result in bone deformity.
Thus, if you are a young dancer, it is vital to avoid these injuries now in order to be free of complications as you age. Once you stop growing, your growth plates will harden and turn to bone. Try to remember that you will grow out of this stage! It may take a year or two, but don't let that discourage you. Instead, be patient; this is a natural process of growing up.
Here are some actions you can take to reduce your risk of injury as you grow:
- Perform daily static stretching, which involves taking your muscles to a stretched position and holding it. Focus on feeling a good stretch and holding it for about 30 seconds; repeat at least three times per leg twice a day. Include stretches for your calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors, which can experience tightness during adolescence.
- Limit jumping movements in order to reduce the impact on your joints. Use that time in class to stretch instead.
- Perform abdominal work for spine stabilization. Chapter 6 presents several choices for abdominal exercise, including the trunk curl, oblique lift, and side lift.
- Incorporate balance training to maintain your balance skills as you grow. Fundamental training exercises for proprioception and balance are included in the book's last chapter.
- Communicate with your teachers. Reach out to your instructors and explain to them your frustrations with growth-related discomfort. Let them know that you are trying to maintain your strength and balance but are struggling with pain and tightness. Talk to them about the need to do fewer jumping combinations and add more stretches to your classes and rehearsals.
Learn more about Dance Anatomy, Second Edition.
Abdominal stretch demonstrated
Execution: 1. Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
Execution
- Lie prone with your palms on the ground and your elbows bent and close to your sides. Glide your shoulder blades down toward your hips.
- As you inhale, lengthen through your spine and press your hands into the ground to lift your chest off the ground. Keep the abdominals engaged toward the spine.
- Move along the longest possible arc through your thoracic spine, avoiding overuse in the lower spine.
- Continue, lifting your hips off the floor as long as you are supporting your entire spine and not just moving in the lower segments of the spine. Feel a nice stretch along the rectus abdominis.
- Upon exhalation, reverse and bring yourself back down to start position with control. Perform 4 to 6 times.
Muscles Involved
- Shoulders: Lower trapezius, triceps brachii, infraspinatus
- Trunk: Transversus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, rectus abdominis, iliacus, psoas major, spinal extensors
Dance Focus
As you have seen, the abdominals need to be strengthened for spine stability; they also need to be stretched. Beautiful extension of the spine is required, for example, in arabesque, cambré derrière, and tour jeté. To help you acquire that strong yet beautiful arch along your spine, this exercise emphasizes spinal extension through the entire spine with abdominal lengthening. You are using your arms to assist in the stretch and using your abdominals to support your spine. This exercise can also help you maintain posture as you get older.
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Understand the mechanics of turnout
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck.
Turnout of the legs is used in movements performed by ballet dancers. There are a few anatomical factors that determine your turnout: strength of the external rotators, flexibility of the internal rotators, and the bony alignment of the femoral head and neck. The majority of the turnout must come from movement in the hip socket. The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science states that on average 60 percent of turnout comes from the hip, 20-30 percent from the ankle and the remaining 10-20 percent comes from the knee and tibia.The strength in your deep hip external rotators can help you achieve quality turnout. Whenever you are required to lift your leg while it's turned out, initiate the movement by contracting the deep external hip rotators to fully turn out within the hip socket. Maintain the muscle contraction through the entire movement of the leg while other muscles assist.
For example, in arabesque, the deep rotators contract and the gluteus maximus assists as a turnout muscle to help bring the hip into extension. Without the contraction of the deep six rotators, your leg would swing back in parallel! When executing plié, allow the rotators to contract to keep the femurs open along the frontal plane and aligned over the toes. On the downward phase, the inner-thigh muscles assist by working eccentrically; on the upward phase, they work concentrically.
Visualize the location of the small external rotators as they connect the femur with the sacrum and lower pelvis. As the muscle fibers contract and shorten, the femur rotates laterally in the socket. The femur can turn out in the hip socket without unwanted movement in the lower back or pelvis, which supports the hip disassociation theory. Practice moving your femur inward and outward while sitting, lying down, and standing. Focus on movement only deep within the socket; notice that you don't need to twist your pelvis or tuck under to actively rotate your femur in the joint. Just move your thigh, not your pelvis or spine.
Understanding the passive range of motion in your hip can help you understand your natural hip rotation, but your functional turnout - what you can actually hold and work with - is more useful. As discussed previously, 60 percent of your turnout comes from your hip and the rest through your knees, tibia, foot and ankle. To attain ideal functional turnout, you must work within your means and with proper skeletal alignment. Ideal turnout of 180 degrees is physically challenging and can create compensation and potential injuries for some dancers. Focusing on turning your legs out from your hips can minimize the stresses on the knee and ankle. Consider these keys for better functional turnout:
- Always align your patella (kneecap) over your second toe, to avoid screwing or twisting through the knee joint
- Keep your weight placed equally over your heel and first and fifth metatarsals to avoid the overpronating of the feet
- Maintain your pelvis in a firm, neutral position, utilizing your abdominals and deep hip external rotators avoiding the anterior pelvic tilt
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Growth-related issues specific to young dancers
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique.
Young dancers experience challenging physical changes during adolescence, typically between the ages of 11 and 14 for girls and between ages 13 and 16 for boys. Growth spurts can cause changes in balance and flexibility that affect technique. In such cases, it can be hard at first to understand why technique seems to be getting worse despite more and more practice. It is normal, however, to see a decline in technical performance during rapid growth. Adolescence is a tough time, during which a young person may feel awkward and weak. These challenges may be the reason that 55 percent of dancers quit during adolescence. When hormones are added to the mix, this transition period can really challenge a person's self-esteem.
Changes related to rapid growth may include the following:
- Bones growing faster than soft tissue
- Leg and arm bones growing faster than the trunk
- Weight changing
- Muscles and ligaments tightening
- Balance and coordination being compromised
- Thoracic spine growing faster than lumbar spine
The body is particularly vulnerable in the growth plates, which are areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones. Because growth plates are soft, they are weak and vulnerable, especially during periods of rapid growth; the pull exerted on growth plates increases as muscles tighten. Injury in these areas can occur either acutely or through overuse, and growth plate injury can affect how bones grow. Depending on the severity of injury, growth plates may close prematurely, thus cutting off blood flow and causing the injured side to be shorter than the unaffected side. Higher-level stress fractures can occur in the lower spine, tibia, femur, and fifth metatarsal. Without proper evaluation and sufficient healing time, such injuries may result in bone deformity.
Thus, if you are a young dancer, it is vital to avoid these injuries now in order to be free of complications as you age. Once you stop growing, your growth plates will harden and turn to bone. Try to remember that you will grow out of this stage! It may take a year or two, but don't let that discourage you. Instead, be patient; this is a natural process of growing up.
Here are some actions you can take to reduce your risk of injury as you grow:
- Perform daily static stretching, which involves taking your muscles to a stretched position and holding it. Focus on feeling a good stretch and holding it for about 30 seconds; repeat at least three times per leg twice a day. Include stretches for your calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors, which can experience tightness during adolescence.
- Limit jumping movements in order to reduce the impact on your joints. Use that time in class to stretch instead.
- Perform abdominal work for spine stabilization. Chapter 6 presents several choices for abdominal exercise, including the trunk curl, oblique lift, and side lift.
- Incorporate balance training to maintain your balance skills as you grow. Fundamental training exercises for proprioception and balance are included in the book's last chapter.
- Communicate with your teachers. Reach out to your instructors and explain to them your frustrations with growth-related discomfort. Let them know that you are trying to maintain your strength and balance but are struggling with pain and tightness. Talk to them about the need to do fewer jumping combinations and add more stretches to your classes and rehearsals.
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