Dance Anatomy & Kinesiology

264 Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology

leg in many movements performed at the barre or

center floor.

Knee Rotation

The internal rotators and external rotators of the

knee listed in table 5.2 are key for controlling twisting

or pivoting movements of the body when the foot

is on the ground, as in association with changes in

direction. In dance the subtle rotations of the tibia

are also sometimes used when the foot is in the air to

enhance the aesthetics of a movement. For example,

in a back attitude, slight external rotation of the tibia

and “winging” of the foot are sometimes encouraged

in classical ballet to help effect the desired turned-

out line of the lower extremity. Less frequently,

rotations of the tibia are actually incorporated into

the movement, as in performing a rond de jambe

FIGURE 5.21 Sample dance movement showing knee extension.
© Martha Swope. Dancer: Susan McLain in “Diversion of Angels” with the Martha Graham Dance
Company.

en l’air that includes circling of the foot (en dehors

and en dedans). With this movement dancers are

classically instructed to keep the knee stationary as

the foot describes a semicircle, oval, or tear shape

(depending on the teacher’s approach).

Key Considerations for the Knee in Whole Body Movement

When analyzing more complex movement that

encompasses multiple joints, it is important to take

into account the actions of multijoint muscles and

specifically Lombard’s paradox.

Actions of Two-Joint Muscles

Of the 12 muscles that act on the knee joint, all

except the vasti muscles and popliteus cross the hip

joint or the ankle joint in addition to the knee joint.

When these muscles contract to produce movement

at the knee, they also tend to move other joints. In

some cases the multiple actions of a given muscle can

be used together. For example, in a développé to the

front, the actions of the rectus femoris (hip flexion

and knee extension) are both utilized to effect the

motion. However, this is actually a difficult situation

for the muscle in that it is shortening across both

joints and can easily reach such a shortened posi-

tion that it has difficulty generating force (active

insufficiency). And many dancers may experience

discomfort or cramping in the rectus femoris when

performing a développé to the front, especially when

working on increasing the height of the leg, until

adequate strength of other hip flexors, such as the

iliopsoas, is developed.

However, more frequently, the multiple actions

are not desired simultaneously, and the muscle

remains the same length or is actually lengthened

across one joint as it shortens across the other joint.

An example of the former condition occurs with

relevés in which the gastrocnemius remains the

same length across the knee joint, as no change in

joint angle occurs there, while it shortens across

the ankle joint to effect ankle plantar flexion. An

example of the second condition occurs when one

extends the leg back from a passé position (such as

with an arabesque) in which the rectus femoris is

being lengthened across the hip joint (via hip hyper-

extension) as it is shortening across the knee joint

to produce knee extension. This latter condition

allows a more favorable length of the muscle to be

maintained such that greater force can be generated