Dance Kinesiology

This book (in the second edition) is a fantastic resource for dancers, dance teachers, Pilates instructors, and physical therapists in training. It covers a lot of functional anatomy as it relates to dance. The first 2/3 of the book are devoted to anatomy. The last 1/3 is devoted to articles on various topics related to dancer health and conditioning. There is an excellent article on Pectoralis Minor Syndrome - a condition that I have not seen addressed in other texts outside the physical therapy arena. The chapter on Somatics, Relaxation, and Efficiency is very useful, with the exception of the article on Pilates, which reads like advertising copy for the Pilates Studio in NY. Mary Bond writes the article on Rolfing which is an excellent article for introducing Rolfing to people who may not have been exposed to the method before.

Dr. Fitt's book fills an important gap in the education of all dancers. Anatomical knowledge is of crucial importance to dancers and this book qualifies as both a basic reference for beginners and as an important resource for intermediate/advanced students of the body. It is easy to read but is not lacking in depth. My only complaint (about the first edition) is that all of her dancers are headless (there is no chapter on the head - Alexander would roll over in his grave!). This minor oversight should in no way take away from the monumental acheivement of this most excellent book