Every dancer dreams of floating her leg up to her ear, but time spent in the splits isn’t enough to make it a reality. “Someone who can put their leg up there with their hand isn’t necessarily able to développé it there,” points out Richardson*. “Extension requires both flexibility and strength.”
And it’s not just about the working leg: The primary area you need to strengthen is actually your core. “The first muscle to activate when we move our legs is the transverse abdominis (the deep abdominal muscle),” explains Richardson. To strengthen it, Richardson says, lie on your back with your pelvis in neutral position, knees bent, feet on the floor. Keeping your pelvis and ribs still, draw your stomach down to the floor and up toward your chest—think of drawing the pelvic bones together and scooping the abdomen into a “bowl.” Holding this position, lift one shin up to tabletop position, then the other. Dip one foot down to the floor (moving your leg from the hip, not the knee). Return to tabletop, and repeat on the other side. Then place one leg at a time back down on the floor in starting position. Repeat that entire sequence, performing a total of two to three sets of ten.
Even if your extension doesn’t reach much past 90 degrees, proper execution can still make it look striking. Bresnahan says to be sure you’re really stretching the leg to its maximum from the hip to the end of your shoe. “Most important,” she says, “especially if the leg isn’t as high, is that the line of the foot is beautiful.”
* Megan Richardson - certified trainer and clinical specialist.
From Pointe Magazine.
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