IADMS New York 2002   [back to the Category]

“Hands-On” Anatomy: Discovering Dancers’ “Key” Deep Muscles: Building Them In Clay On A Skeleton   [read the french version]

Author :   Maureen O’Rourke, BFA, LMT, CNMT

“Hands-On” Anatomy: Discovering Dancers’ “Key” Deep Muscles: Building Them In Clay On A Skeleton


Maureen O’Rourke, BFA, LMT, CNMT
New World School of the Arts
Dance Division
Miami, Florida, USA


Dancers, and dance teachers, educators and therapists dealing with dance technique, injury prevention and treatment, often depend on 2-dimensional textbook illustrations for an understanding of the musculoskeletal structure of the body. This can lead to confusion when dealing with a dancer’s 3-dimensional body, and thus inaccurate or ineffectual corrections, images, or teaching methods. Many dancers court injury resulting from over-use or mis-use of muscles, due to dependence upon large superficial muscles for both power and specificity, because they haven’t discovered how to coordinate movement with some of the key deeper muscles.

The process of studying the location and attachments of key deep muscles, discussing their actions, and then building them layer by layer on a skeleton, accesses visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning modes to increase musculoskeletal awareness. This allows a relationship of the knowledge to one’s own body, aiding in retention of the information, and increasing understanding of technical corrections and dance images. To quote Jon Zahourek, creator of the Maniken® skeleton model used in the class, “The mind cannot forget what the hands have learned.” And, as kinesthetically-adept dancers have always known, once you’ve got knowledge in your body, it’s yours forever!

This interactive workshop allows participants to work with a skeletal model, building the muscles in clay, or to simply watch and listen, to increase 3-dimensional awareness of “turnout,” “center,” and other key dance concepts.