Anatomy is a fascinating subject. It is useful to know more than just what the muscles are called and their general location. What do the muscles do? How do they do it? Which bones do they move? How can you alter a movement or stretch in the presence of pain or mobility difficulties?

Understanding basic anatomy will give you the tools to help prevent your own injuries and for teachers to assist their students to get more from their dance, avoid injury, prevent pain and improve their technique so they can Dance for Life! 

Get your latin language skills ready, let’s jump into this amazing topic! 

Original illustrations by Prue Schafferius

Movement in the body mainly involves interaction of three systems;

• The bones of the skeleton,
• Are linked together by the joints,
• And are moved by the action of the muscles.

1. Anatomical Position and Planes of movement

Descriptions and understanding of movements in anatomical terms can be a little difficult. In this introduction, we will be discussing these movements from the anatomical position.(Fig 1) These movements are performed in three planes of movement. 

The sagittal plane divides the body into symmetrical right and left halves. 

The frontal plane divides the body into front (anterior) and back (posterior) halves.

The transverse plane divides the body into upper (superior) and lower (inferior) parts. 

Fig 1. The anatomical position and the planes of movement. Original illustration by Prue Schafferius.