Floor Warm-Up Part II

ON YOUR SIDE

Leg Lengthening With Rotation – Lay on your right side with feet in a pointed parallel position.  Lengthen the top leg and lift it a few inches.  In this exercise, lower is better.  Rotate both legs to a turned-out position, then back to a parallel position, and lower the leg.  Flex both feet and repeat the exercise, this time rotating only the top leg.  Continue to repeat as desired.  After the last repetition, move into a parallel passé position.  The top arm circles frontward and over the head, always keeping contact with the floor, until you must turn your torso and head to complete the arc.  On the return from this, both arms raise over the head and the body rotates to lie on your front in a turned-out passé position.  Press up to elbows or higher, even to suspension position if you wish.  At the top, look right, center, and left.

It is recommended that when in passé on stomach, you add a stretch of straightening the passé leg to à la seconde and push backward on the floor, easing into a 4^th position split.  Cambré forward, pulling the hip of the back leg forward, then cambré back into a full arch.  Lay back on your stomach and slowly lower leg, then bring your knees under you and stretch your arms out over your head as your hips reach back.  Gently uncurl, trying to sense each vertebra on the way up.  Repeat whole exercise on your left side.

Turned Out Leg Raises From Sus-Sous -- Lay on your right side with feet in a pointed sus-sous position.  Lengthen the top leg, then raise it in an à la seconde battement.  Bend to passé, then extend the leg back to its highest position.  Slowly lower the leg back to sus-sous.  The technical terminology for this sequence is battement à la seconde, passé, retiré, sus-sous.  Repeat as many times as desired.  On the last repetion, catch hold of the leg and encourage the height of the extension, making sure the lower leg is very straight and extended and that the hips are exactly in line.  Relax the ankle and knee of the working leg, placing the elbow at the front of the knee and pressing back while the energy in the hip presses forward, and then return to the stretch.  Repeat as desired. 

Lift the leg to a right angle and flex the foot as though you were going to stand on the ceiling, and lengthen out of the hip.  Point through the foot and come to passé.  Place the foot at the back of the knee and slide out to attitude derrière.  Drop the knee to a parallel position and slide through to a parallel passé, then rotate to a turned-out passé with the hips pressing forward and the working thigh back for best rotation.  Repeat as desired.  On the last repetition, slowly lower the leg back to sus-sous, keeping maximum rotation the whole way down.  Repeat whole exercise on your left side.

FOR YOUR KNEES

Turn to your stomach, curl your toes under, and very slowly bend and straighten your legs.  Repeat as desired.  When finished, bring your knees under you and stretch your arms out over your head as your hips reach back.  Gently uncurl, trying to sense each vertebra on the way up.