The word essence to me is almost philosophical in meaning: “That in being which underlies all outward manifestations ." Applied to drawing it is the motive, mood or emotion as displayed through the gestures of the physical body. Anatomy and mechanics are always present too, but in the end the essence of each pose must prevail if we want to win the award for best animated scene (’scuse me - scenes). Lots of things to think about: proportion, anatomy, line, structure, weight, negative space, angles, squash and stretch, perspective, and more, but you can be off in lots.
