I. BALLET AND PHYSIQUE

Chapter 3. Limbs

In our ideal candidate, the measurement from hip to knew was approximately the same as from knee to the ground. When the thigh is short from hip to knee it is most often combined with the long back and the disadvantageous therefore are concerned with those referred to in that connection. Moreover, the chances are that being short, growth will take place in girth as well as length, resulting in heavy bulky thighs and correspondingly big hips. It becomes an aesthetic rather than anatomical question and as has already been mentioned, occurs more often in boys than girls.

The short lower leg is seen more often in girls but this is not a serious matter from the point of view of technique. Indeed, it is often found amongst those with good elevation, and of course is less noticeable when the dancer is on pointe. Only an unusual degree of shortening need be considered seriously and then the legs will in any case be muscular and ugly.

The straightness of the legs is of great importance, and some judgment is required in deciding how far deviations may be over-looked. The three most common variations in the alignment are:

Knock-knees
Bow legs
“Sway-back” or over-extended knees.

Before discussing these, it may help to revise very briefly the anatomical formation of the lower limbs.

The lower half of the body consists of the pelvic girdle, a series of six bones joined to each other and to the sacrum behind to form a basin-like cavity. This cavity is wider and shallower in the female than in the male. (figures 9a & b) On the outer side, the femur (thigh) with its rounded head fits into a cup-shaped socket and by virtue of the shape of the pelvis slopes inward, expanding at the lower end into two bony masses (condyles) to form part of the knee joint. The shaft of this bone is not straight, but curves forward. The lower leg consists of two bones (tibia and fibula) the larger of which (tibia) forms the knee joint with the femur. A complicated system of ligaments and muscles connects these bones, allowing the joint to move in the manner of a hinge, and in the last moment of tightening, with a very small rotation of the tibia on the femur. (figure 10.)

	a.
	b.
Figure 9. The Pelvic Girdle a. Male b. Female		Figure 10. The Bonks of the Legs

Figure 11. A greater degree of knock knee than is here shown is likely to be a severe handicap in the slim type of structure. Note also the "rolling" right foot, often found in con­junction with knock knees.