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6
April 2009 - Updated
United Nations Arts Initiative
Arts Integration Into Education
Url: www.unarts.org
Twitter: unarts
Sports Medicine & Science Institute
Url: www.esportsmedicine.org
Email: info@esportsmedicine.org
eDancescience.org: Guidelines for Child Safety -
Lower Extremity
As a parent, you need to understand the scope of training your child
participates in, with emphasis on safety and injury prevention.
Case 1.
Your child experiences an achilles tendon or ankle injury in dance
class or rehearsal. As a precautionary measure, you seek guidance
from your physician for a diagnostic work-up.
First, does the physician check the alignment mechanics in the foot/ankle/knee
complex? If the answer is no, then the direct mechanism of injury
has been overlooked and there is no foundation for true alignment stabilization,
healing and future injury prevention.
the classical ballet mechanical ideal: heel behind centerline
of foot, knee cap tracking over the center line of ankle and foot.
In the plie position (ABT Dictionary), the hip complex
and kneecap must track through this line. This alignment is maintained
through demi-pointe and pointe.
How to test lower extremity alignment: Have
the child or student stands in parallel (heel behind centerline of the foot),
and then execute demi-plie. Drop a straight line from the kneecap to
the floor. Where does the kneecap track? If the kneecap tracks
through the centerline of the ankle foot, the alignment is correct. If
the kneecap tracks to the inside of the foot, then the foot, ankle and knee
complex is in a stressed internally rotated alignment.
This internal rotation pattern represents the most common mechanism of
stress on the knee/ankle/foot complex with compensatory shifts that translate
to the pelvis and spine. This stressed alignment must be corrected
first in the parallel position, since if it cannot be executed in parallel,
it is impossible for execution in turnout.
Restoration of correct alignment, in parallel and turned out positions,
must be the objective of the physician, with guidance for the therapist,
teacher and parent regarding integration into all classroom instruction..
If ignored, the symptomatic condition may be alleviated via rest,
but the vulnerability will remain. In the context of surgery, if
the alignment variable is not addressed, then the mechanism of stress is not
addressed, resulting in an expensive procedure that could mark the end of
a career.
Turnout: External Rotation of the foot
1. What is functional limitation of the student regarding turnout and
what are the consequences of forced turnout?
In the United States, the mechanical ideal in classical ballet alignment
and the mechanical ability to execute the demands of the training is
a serious challenge. Instead of adapting a program and concentrating
on an intensive stretch and flexibility emphasis in every class,
it is common to see students subject to the same demands as the 1 out of
a1000 who would be selected in say an Eastern Bloc development program. A
common practice to function in denial, regarding the functional limitations
of the child, allowing the child's body to gradually adjust to the stresses
(which will happen when you start training at a young age).
When we take young children, progressive loading of the joints facilitates
an adaptive strengthening and capacity to execute movements with incorrect
or stressed alignment. Despite the stressed alignment, joint
complex adaptation, bone development and articular stabilization facilitates
function in a non symptomatic state. This holds true until an activity
encompasses a load that is beyond the ability of the malaligned joint complex
to accommodate, and an injury is sustained.
Joint deformation challenges from forced turnout, include compensatory
stabilization in articular development of the foot/ankle complex, knee
complex, hip complex and spine.
In teaching older developmental levels of dancers during international
summer programs, classical ballet based biomechanics classes have revealed
upwards of 90% of students being unable to execute a parallel plie correctly.
Many of these students experienced joint discomfort when instructed
how to execute the correct alignment in parallel. In classical
ballet training, if we can't execute correct parallel plie, we can't work
correctly in a turned out position.
When dancers and coaches from Eastern Bloc countries are asked about
these challenges, many will tell you that the vast majority of students
in classical ballet dance development programs do not posses the mechanical
attributes required for the training. In a strict sense, they
should never be allowed to turnout beyond what their mechanical ability
allows. But this is an unpopular view that detracts from the potential
number of participants in a program, so instead of emphasizing the unpopular
alignment instruction, they adapt accordingly.
In gymnastics, the same holds true but from a slightly different vantage
point. In Eastern Bloc development programs, young children (from
a selection process) are placed in classical ballet based choreography training,
to develop fundamental movement mechanics, 6 days per week, 45 minutes
per day (in conjunction with the introduction of sports specific movement).
But here in the United States, there is no time for the fundamental
movement mechanics training. When the former gold medal Eastern Bloc
coaches try to emphasize the importance of such training during U.S. coaches
education programs, they experience great resistance. From a business
standpoint, in order to enroll thousands of children in a program, the sessions
per week must be limited in number and duration. In order to keep their
prestigious national team coaches positions, the Eastern Bloc coaches adapt
accordingly.
My focus when teaching USA Gymnastics Coaches development programs is
integration of classical ballet based alignment and biomechanics into the
sports specific movements. [1]
Analysis, Correction and Retraining for Professional Dancers
and International Ballet Competition
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Biomechanical Analysis, Correction and
Retraining consultation with Student Emily Patterson, Joffrey Ballet,
IMDB, The Company (2003), Save the Last
Dance (2001). Parents: Dance Development Questions: Contact Susan Patterson: President,
Board of Directors, Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts.
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The development
of classical ballet based biomechanical analysis, correction and retraining
took place during the 80's and established international acclaim in conjunction
with Nutmeg Conservatory dancers training for the Prix de Lausanne international
ballet competition.
The focus of this work was to conduct a comparative alignment analysis
of the dancer, to the classical ballet based biomechanical ideal, as a
first step in correcting spine and extremity alignment developmental problems
(stabilization in ankle complex, knee, hip complex, spine, etc.) that resulted
from 8-10 years of typical classical ballet training. The next step
was to assess the potential for range of motion of the dancers spine and
extremity mechanics, concentrated flexibility work, retraining in the fundamentals
at the barre and choreography specific movement. This allowed the dancer
to progress to the next technical level of development, previously impossible
through the classical ballet development program alone. [2]
Additional information on this work is available on the International
Dancescience Development Program (eDancescience.org) [3] web
site:
Sports specific specialized applications of this work include
equestrian, football, baseball, soccer, hockey, wrestling, martial arts,
cross country and alpine skiing.
Classical Ballet Biomechanics and Orthopedic Analysis Certification
The lack of educational resources has prompted the development of the
online:
Additional programs
include:
- Educational/Development
clinics: An intensive program that includes detailed powerpoint
presentation of the CBBBOA1 materials, hands on participation in analysis
of alignment challenges, exam and certificate. This program can be
adapted for dance or sports specific applications. On site programs
also allow for integration of one on one classical ballet based biomechanical
analysis, correction and retraining sessions.
- Virtual
consultancy for dance and sports development programs. Email and telecommunications
combined with digital photos facilitates global access to classical ballet
based biomechanical analysis and guidance to assist performance optimization
and identification of articular alignment problems that are associated
with the mechanism of joint injury. For additional information visit
the International Dancescience Development web site. [3]
As an athlete, Stephen Michael Apatow [4] was fortunate enough to acquire
scholarships that allowed me to pursue my aspirations. The pursuit
of excellence and the Olympic Ideal [5] represents the motivation for the
development of our programs, and we will go out of our way to provide support
for all dancers, athletes and development programs, during this difficult
economic period.
References:
1. 1998 Gymnastics
Coaches Workshop: Choreography-Ballet Based Analysis, Correction & Retraining
for Gymnastics Development Programs: Sports Medicine & Science
Institute. Url:
http://www.esportsmedicine.org/sportscience/gtcworkshop.html
2.
Biomechanical
Analysis, Correction and Retraining: Reaching the Next Level of Performance
in Classical Ballet and Olympic Development Programs: Sports Medicine &
Science Institute. Url: http://www.esportsmedicine.org/news/82005/805001.html
3. International Dancescience Development
Program: Url: www.edancescience.org
4. Stephen Michael Apatow: Founder, Humanitarian Resource Institute, United
Nations Arts Initiative, Sports Medicine & Science Institute and International
Dancescience Development Program: Url: www.apatow.org
5. Reaffirming the Olympic Ideal for the
Purpose of Continuing the Progress of Humanity: Humanitarian
Resource Institute. Url: www.humanitarian.net/olympic_ideal.html
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