Technical Tuesday Patella
That cute little bone that rides up and down in the front of
the knee is the patella. It is colloquially referred to as the “kneecap”, and
most students know this term. The word “patella” comes from the Latin meaning “small
pan, dish, or plate”.
It is technically a “sesamoid” bone, sesamoid meaning “like
a sesame seed”, although in an adult the patella is about 2 inches – quite a
bit larger than a sesame seed – and the patella is the largest sesamoid bone in
the body.
The patella is attached to the tendon of the quadriceps femoris
muscle. This muscle contracts to allow the leg (knee) to straighten. This is particularly
important for dancers, and I have blogged before about how a straight knee is a
safe knee. When the leg is straightening the patella can be seen moving upward.
If the patella doesn’t move, the knee isn’t fully straight.
Become familiar with the way the front of the leg (the
patella) looks whether the knee is straight, bent, or during a plie.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Secret #24d:
The patella is colloquially called the “kneecap”.
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