IADMS New York 2002   [back to the Category]

Teaching the Experiential Anatomy of the Hip in Modern Technique Class   [read the french version]

Author :  

Teaching the Experiential Anatomy of the Hip
in Modern Technique Class

Jennifer Salk, MFA
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, USA


The hip joint is one of the most difficult joints of the body to teach students of dance to use properly on a consistent basis. The “care and feeding of the hip” is often neglected. By incorporating an experiential anatomy component into the modern technique class a teacher can educate students about the body and its possibilities and individual differences in a way that will permanently and positively impact how they move. It is our responsibility as dance educators whether at the elementary, secondary, or college level, to teach the future professionals of the dance world to take care of their own bodies and to make smart choices about how to move with efficiency. Because of our current knowledge of the body dancers now look forward to long performance careers. We are moving with confidence and intelligence. We make decisions about how we want to train our bodies and how we want to move.

However, a student can take kinesiology and anatomy and still not know how to integrate the knowledge into their daily regimen. My movement session will consist of several examples of how experiential anatomy and kinesiology of the hip are incorporated into the modern technique class and will utilize simple partnering and movement exploration exercises to demonstrate the concepts, followed by a thorough warm-up, and center and across the floor material that demonstrate how to incorporate the experiential hip-work into material for class. The participants should be prepared to move and should dress in comfortable clothing.