To lengthen your muscles and create long lines with your body in dance, you must stretch. There are five types of stretching: static, dynamic, ballistic, eccentric, and proprioceptive; static and dynamic are the most common forms. Static stretching is when you push yourself into your full stretch and hold it; dynamic stretching is when you gradually increase the stretch to your maximum. Always perform stretches after your muscles are warm; a quick, five-minute warm-up will suffice.
Step 1
Stretch your waist. Stretching your core helps increase flexibility for better ports de bras, jumping moves and side extensions. One basic dance stretch for the waist is the bar port de bras. Begin standing at the bar in first position, holding the bar with your right hand and extending your left arm above your head in fifth position. Plié and rise up, leaning to the back, extending your left arm slightly behind your head. Come back to an upright position, plié again and lean in toward the bar, extending your left arm to the right. Come back to center, plié once more and lean forward at hip level, extending your left arm forward. Repeat this sequence five to eight times, then repeat five to eight times on the opposite side.
Step 2
Increase leg flexibility with barre stretches. Using the barre to stretch the legs is an effective way to lengthen your leg extension. One basic barre leg stretch is an extension with plié. Begin this stretch facing the barre, holding the bar lightly with your right hand, and extending your left arm over your head in fifth position. Slowly plié, come up into a relevé and lean to your right, extending your right hand toward your right foot. Repeat five to eight times, and then switch to the opposite side.
Step 3
Stretch your turnout often. Your turnout requires flexibility of your hip joints and the surrounding muscles. Turnout is one of the most important aspects of dance, and increasing your turnout flexibility will improve your dance. Many dancers stretch their turnout throughout the day. The frog is an effective stretch, helping to increase flexibility in the hip joints and surrounding muscles. Since this stretch is static, you should only do it when your muscles are warm. Begin lying face down on the floor, with your legs straight. Lift your feet up toward the ceiling, slide your knees out to the sides and press the feet together. Push your torso off the floor slightly and sit back on your legs. You will feel your body weight push the stretch further. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds or more, release and repeat three to five more times.
Step 4
Stretch your ankles and feet. Your feet and ankles support your body weight, cushion you during jump landings and create the end line of your leg extension. You should always include proper feet and ankle stretches in your daily dance routine. Rotating the ankles left and right, and pointing and flexing are effective ankle stretches. To fully stretch the foot, roll slowly through a relevé up and down.
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