When the body is properly aligned in a normal standing position, the line of weight passes just in front of the shoulder joint, bony processes of the vertebrae and the patella and tarsals joints.
This forward pull on the erect body affects actions in the joints. The body is finely engineered to counteract this pressure through the integration of the structures and functions of the bones, joints, ligaments and muscles.
Bones are hard and strong, and shaped to deliver weight through the centre joints to balance the body.
The skeleton is important in dance for the following reasons: