Dance Anatomy & Kinesiology

182 Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology

the chain (head) can become functionally fixed

in many movements by the need to keep the head

upright and over the base of support (Levangie and

Norkin, 2001). When these two conditions exist,

movements of the pelvis can be termed closed-chain

pelvic movements, and they produce predictable

movements at the hip joint and lumbar spine. For

example, when one is standing erect, if the pelvis tilts

anteriorly from its neutral position (figure 4.19A) as

seen in figure 4.19B it will produce hip flexion and

a compensatory increase in the arch of the lumbar

curve (lumbar hyperextension) in order to bring the

torso and head back over the pelvis. In contrast, when

the pelvis tilts posteriorly as seen in figure 4.19C, it

will tend to create hip hyperextension (unless the

knees are simultaneously bent) and compensatory

decrease in the lumbar curve (lumbar flexion) in

order to bring the upper torso and head back over

the pelvis. Note that during anterior and posterior

pelvic tilts, the movements of the pelvis actually

involve “opposite movements” at the lumbosacral

and hip joints due to their opposite facings. When

the pelvis laterally tilts to the right (with the right

side lower than the left), the tilt is accompanied by

slight abduction of the right hip, slight adduction

of the left hip, and compensatory left lateral flexion

of the lumbosacral joint, resulting in a curve convex

to the right. When the pelvis rotates right (with the

front of the pelvis rotating to the right without the

feet or head moving), this is accompanied by slight

external rotation of the left hip, slight internal rota-

tion of the right hip, and compensatory spinal rota-

tion to the left. Left lateral tilt and left rotation of

the pelvis are associated with opposite movements

to those described for the right.

These linked movements are summarized in table

4.2, and it is important to note that the same linkings

tend to occur if the movement is initiated from the

spine. For example, arching the low back as in jazz or

African dance (lumbar hyperextension) produces an

automatic anterior tilt of the pelvis and hip flexion,

while flattening the low back (flexion, or decreased

lumbar lordosis) as with a contraction is linked to a

posterior tilt of the pelvis and extension of the hip.

However, in dance, cueing from the pelvis can often

produce the desired motion with less stress for the

low back. For example, using the cue to reach the

bottom of the pelvis down toward the floor and back

FIGURE 4.19 Closed-chain pelvic movements. (A) Neutral, (B) anterior pelvic tilt, (C) posterior pelvic tilt.

TABLE 4.2 Primary Movements of the Pelvis When Standing With Secondary Movements

of the Spine and Hip

Movement of the pelvic girdle Associated movement of the spine Associated movement of the hip

Anterior pelvic tilt Lumbar hyperextension Hip flexion

Posterior pelvic tilt Lumbar flexion Hip extension

Right lateral tilt (right side lower) Left lateral spinal flexion Right hip abduction

Left hip adduction

Right rotation (front of pelvis rotating

right)

Left spinal rotation Right hip internal rotation

Left hip external rotation