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We're ready to begin the level one ballet workout, so let's start with some floor work
Have your legs out straight in front of you
Just in the turned-in position and start by sitting very tall weight pulled up out of the hips
We're just going to raise the arms up and with a breath out going forward over the legs to a count of four
And relax for two counts and
Lengthen the back
As you come up and again forward over
two and three
Four and relax for two counts
And lengthen the back
And again breathe forward
two and three
Four and flex the feet this time while you're relaxing feel the stretch of the backs of the legs
And up and last time forward breathe out
And flex
You
Okay good
We're going to rotate the legs now outward from the hip so that you can locate the muscles that govern the turnout
So place the arm slightly behind you
You can start with the feet turned in I'm going to rotate the legs out to a count of eight and go rotate one
two and three
four and five
six seven eight
You should be aware of where that turnout is taking place now, so raise one leg up lean slightly back
Start with the leg turned in we're going to rotate that leg out one
two three
four five
six
Seven and eight and relax it down
other leg and
rotate go one two three
four five
six seven and eight and relax down
Good, okay, draw the soles of the feet together as closely in as you can to your body
Really hold them there firmly with the hands, and we're going to just bounce the knees to the floor
to a count of 16 and one
two three four five six seven eight one two three four five six seven eight
And press the knees flat to the floor chest out along the legs
And come up
Knees to the floor press down with the elbows
And up and draw the feet a little closer little bounces one two sit up nice and tall five six seven eight
eight one two three four five six seven eight and press down
And up and press down
And
Good, okay
We're going to do a stretch called the hamstring stretch which stretches out this portion of the leg behind the knee and upwards towards the seat
So why don't you lie down flat on your back?
Take a hold of the right leg grasp firmly right behind the calf and without pulling on the leg. We're just going to work
flexing in
And to a fully pointed foot and flex in
Point and remember you're not pulling at this point
Now start to increase the height of the leg by pulling slightly with the hands in
stretch
And on these last two pull the knee right to the chest as you flex and maximum height on this last one to hold
rotate the leg
using the hands
And relax the leg down
And on the leg and flex in
Point
And point
In
In
Point
In
Point now start to increase the height of the leg by pulling slightly point and in
Point and maximum height knee right to the chest on these last two
And in
Point hold this last one rotate the leg outward use the hands to turn the leg
And relax down stay on your backs
flex
Place the hands out to the sides of your body palms to the floor to keep the shoulders flat and hips should remain
Fairly flat on the floor as you do this next exercise raise the right leg up
And cross over the body leg at the same height and draw the feet together
And raise same leg up this time rotating open hips stay square without twisting
In and down and raise up again in one and crossing over
And in and feet together and raise
open
In
And feet together let's repeat with the other leg and raise
cross over
In
And hips nice and flat now keep them flat raise keep them flat as you open
In in and together
and up
And cross over
in
together
and up
Open
In
And together
All right, let's roll over onto the stomach
This next exercise is going to work the lower back right on up through the spine to the top of the neck
It's for the arch in the back
I place the hands under the chin and we're going to raise the right leg up to a count of four smoothly and go
one
two
three
Four and relax to the floor two
three
Four and sharply raise one
and two
and three
four
five
six
Seven and eight and relax
Repeat with the left leg and raise smoothly one
two
three
Four and relax to the floor two
three
And four now sharply up
two
three
four
five
six
seven
Eight. Okay. Take a minute to just let the spine relax a little bit before you sit up
All right, good let's sit up
And have the legs open to the side of your body as far as you can sitting up very tall not slouching in the middle
Raise the arms up to a shoulder height and we're going to reach out
over to the toes
And up and out to the left leg right out over the leg
And up nice and tall and reach out
Right
Now just walk the hands forward of your body
Reaching the chest out along the floor only go as far as you can without really feeling too much of a pull
And this does get better as time goes on so don't be impatient
And come back up
And let's try and go a little further this time chest forward and try and relax at the bottom
And walk the hands up
Okay, draw the feet together just shake the legs out a little bit let the hip joints relax
Last stretch we're going to do is called the hurdler's stretch
Stretching out once again the back portion of the leg and also opening of the back hip
Front leg is slightly bent in front of you and the back leg is curled around behind
We're just going to rock slightly backwards
Reaching that back hip to the floor as you go
And sit up lengthen the front leg one hand on either side of the leg as you go forward chest out along the legs
And up and draw the front leg in again and rock slightly back hip to the floor as you go
And up and chest out over the legs square off the shoulders no twisting
And up, okay, let's try the other leg
And rocking back
And up lengthen the front leg chest out along the leg
And up and back
And up and chest out
And up, okay bring the feet together
After now that we finished the stretches and are loosened up let's move on to the bar work
Having correct posture for the bar and center work is essential so that you can gain the full effect out of each exercise
Concentration should be on keeping the spine lengthened as though you had a string through the body and out to the top of the head
Let's use Francine as an example. Francine, just stand with your feet first
The stomach should always be pulled in and up really flattened and on top of that the shoulders should be relaxed and down
Take your leg up to the front Francine
There should be a very minimal raising up of the hip as the leg is lifted to the front and now take your leg to the back
There's a normal raising of the hip at this point when the leg is to the back and take your leg to the side
The hips should remain very level at this point and bring your foot into the knee once again hips level
I'm going to talk about turnout a little bit as we felt on the floor it refers to the outward rotation of the legs from the hip joints
It's no good to force the feet into an overly turned out position if the knees and the hips are not prepared to maintain that same degree of turnout
So always stand with a firm platform of the feet on the ground
You don't need to have a bar as we have here if you have a chair or a shelf of some sort
The main thing to remember is that it be beneath the shoulder level so that the shoulder is never up
We're going to use primarily two positions of the feet those being first position with the heels together the toes pointed outward in a v
And second position with the feet about 12 inches apart
So let's begin with demi plies and releves. Demi plies are a bending of the legs
It's a very gentle bending keeping the heels on the ground at all times rising up to the balls of the feet for releve
And lowering back down
This exercise is a gentle stretching warm-up for legs and feet and while you'll be firming and toning the legs
You'll be able to slim and refine the calves and thighs at the same time
Remember to really stretch upwards and lengthen the body as much as you can each time you rise
Don't let the heels come off the floor during the demi plie
Be sure as you go down your seat is tucked under you and not sticking out
Grand plies are a deeper continuation of the demi plie. So you're passing through the demi going all the way down to the base of the plie keeping the feet on the ground
All the way down to the base of the plie keeping the turnout of the legs and pressing through the demi on the way up to a fully stretched position
In the second position at the base of the plie the heels do not come off. So let's begin with plies in first
Press those heels down as you come up
Your hips and inner thighs get a real stretch here
The plies if done slowly and smoothly will slim and tone the legs beautifully
Press those heels down as you come up
Your hips and inner thighs get a real stretch here
Press those heels down as you come up
Allow your head to follow your arm movements here
Really lengthen the spine as you come up
Press those heels down as you come up
Press those heels down as you come up
Press those heels down as you come up
Plies are a brushing of the toes along the floor to a fully extended position of the foot and returning once again to the first position
The toes are never allowed to come off the floor, they only return closing into first position
Pointing the toes and really working the feet against the floor shapes the calves and firms the legs all the way up to the thighs
Always be sure the stomach is pulled in and the spine kept long and you'll find the legs working easier
Press those heels down as you come up
Press those heels down as you come up
Okay, let's repeat the same exercise. We're going to do it with a little sharper accent and quicker on the coming into first, which is going to employ a quick reflex action from the hip.
Press those heels down as you come up
Press those heels down as you come up
We're going to learn a position called Riterre Passe and it's with the toe placed just under the kneecap with the knee right out to the side and once again this is the position where the hip must remain down
We're going to combine that with work through the foot to help strengthen and increase the flexibility of that foot
This exercise is great for the inner thighs
Press those heels down as you come up
Press those heels down as you come up
We're going to do a movement now called developpe which starts at the knee and it develops the leg to a fully extended position going through this position which is attitude right out, fully straightened leg and lowering
To the side it would look like this from the Riterre position, we take the leg to the attitude, fully extended position of the leg and lower down
When done smoothly going through all those positions requires a great deal of muscle control and once again to the side, fully extended leg and lower down
Riterre Passe, attitude front, extend and close first
Riterre Passe, attitude side, extend and close first
Now going through all these positions very smoothly with no stops
Make sure you're leading with your heel as you extend instead of your toes so that your leg is turned out
Riterre Passe, attitude side, extend and close first
Riterre Passe, attitude side, extend and close first
We're going to do an exercise now that will really work on loosening up the hip joint as we swing the leg from front, closing through first and swinging to a fully extended position to the back
We're going to start these very low on the ground, they're going to increase in height as we go
This exercise is called Balançois
Now let your back go slightly forward each time your leg swings to the back
Balançois
Ground Balançois, an exercise where we take the brush of the foot to carry the leg to a fully extended position that is done to the front and to the side, once again concentrating on keeping the hips level at all times
Start off with four kicks to the front, alternating positions of attitude and straight leg
Repeat this sequence to the side
These kicks will help take inches off the hips and thighs if you stay properly lifted
The lower back and abdominal muscles will also be strengthened
Last combination we're going to do before leaving the bar, prepares our feet for jumping, we're going to do a series of movements rolling through the feet, once again to increase the flexibility
We're going to combine this with releves, going all the way up to the balls of the feet and down to demi plie, so face the bar
Feel your legs really working here, you should soon notice an improvement in the overall shape of your legs
Balançois
Having warmed up fully at the bar we should now be prepared for some center work
Having to balance without the bar it becomes increasingly important to pull the body up lifting the weight up and out of the hips
These center work exercises will help you attain poise by improving your sense of balance and coordination
Concentrate on feeling your weight being transferred from one foot to the other
Let's do some controlled work now where we're supported only on one leg while the working leg is being raised
It becomes very difficult now to keep the hips level so try not to go for the height of the leg as much as keeping the body raised up through the middle and through the lower back
Here we are developing excellent muscle control while shaping and toning the thighs and hips
Don't be discouraged if you're having trouble finding your balance, balance is easier to feel with practice
Try not to lean away from the raised leg
Start this next exercise at the back of your work area, we're going to do a series of grand battements which are going to travel us slightly forward
We're going to do demi plies
We're going to do demi plies which we did at the bar, the bendings of the legs and releve rising up to the balls of the feet
We're going to combine those two movements with sautes done in first position which are little jumps through the feet
The rolling through the feet that we did at the bar will now be used in a small jump
To get the best results from this exercise try to fully point the toes on each jump
Let's finish off the level one workout by learning a very classical step called the wall step
It's a very gentle movement, it's done in three counts, it's shifting the weight from one foot to the other and back to the original foot again
It's very smooth and very soft
Let's move on to the next exercise
This concludes the level one workout, we hope you enjoyed your introduction to ballet
If you're ready for a new challenge let's begin with level two and start with some stretches on the floor
As we did in level one, seated have your legs out straight in front of you, sit up very nice and tall
And we're going to sweep the arms back this time and breathe forward out over the legs
And roll through the spine as you come up and sit tall and again breathe up and in and forward
And relax to counts and roll through and again up and breathe out
And flex the feet, feel the stretch of the backs of the knees and roll through and up and in
And forward and feet flex and roll through
Draw the soles of the feet together, move them as far as you can and we're going to do the little knee bounces that we did in level one
And one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight
Now draw the right leg across, try and sit up nice and tall, feel both sides of the seat on the floor and rock forward, chest out over the legs
And up and feet together and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight
Cross the left over the right, seated nice and tall, both sides of the seat to the floor and forward, try and relax
And up and stretch
The next exercise we're going to do, in level one we did the hamstring stretch, lying all the way back on the floor
We're going to do the same exercise in a seated position, it becomes very difficult now to keep the lower back fully pulled up
So grasp hold of the right calf, lengthen the spine and flex the foot in
And point and in
Start to increase the height of the leg a little bit if you can, still hold the back up
And point and in
And in and hold this last one, rotate the leg outward, use the hands to help and lower the leg smoothly
And other leg, and flex, point, in, point, and three, and four
And start to pull it up a little bit if you can, still keep the back long
And in
And the last one you hold, lift up tall through the head
And relax down
And lower down, place your arms out to the sides and keep the palms flat on the floor to keep the shoulders flat
And we're going to raise the right leg out to the side, sweep it out
And bring it directly overhead, and feet together as you lower
And repeat, out to the side, and up, and lower feet together
And out to the side, this time sweeping it up and right across your body to the other side
Toe comes into the knee, rotate outward, and lower the feet together
Let's do all of that with the left leg, and swing it out to the side, and pull it up
And down, out, and up, and down, out, and this time all the way over to the other side
Same height of leg, toe comes into the knee, and rotate outward, and feet together
Okay, next exercise we're going to do, get over onto the stomachs
And as we did in level one, we're going to raise one leg all the way up, as high as you can, holding and lowering down
And this exercise is going to be very good for the lower back, right on through to the top of the spine
So ready with the right leg, and one, two, three, four, and lower, two, three, four
And sharply up, and two, and three, four, and five, and six, and seven, and eight
And left, two, three, four, and lower slowly, three, and four, raise, one, and two, and three, and four, five, six, seven, and eight
An additional stretch, let's press all the way up, palms flat, push yourselves all the way up as high as you can
Relax the shoulders down, lift up tall through the heads
And lower slowly down, really let the spine relax, now stay for a second before you sit up
Okay, and in a seated position with the legs open to the sides, sit up nice and tall on shoulder height
And reaching out over the right leg, and just walk the hands forward, chest out along the floor as you go
And over to the left, and up tall, and over left, walk forward with the hands
And up, and again right
And up, and over
The last exercise we'll do as in level one is the hurdler's stretch
And just rocking back, back hip to the floor as you go
And lengthen the front leg, shoulders out, over the leg, chest to the leg
And while you're down here, see if you can maybe extend the back leg a little bit to approach a split
And up, let's do that once again, and back
And out, try and relax, let the back leg lengthen
Let's try the other leg, and rock back
And forward, and lengthen
And up, and rock back
And forward
And come up
Now that we've finished the stretches and are loosened up, let's move on to the bar work
So let's begin with the left hand at the bar
We're going to do demi plies in positions first, second, and introducing a new position called third
That's with one foot placed across the other, the heel of the front foot is placed to the instep of the back foot
And we'll combine demi plies with releves
And we're going to do demi plies
And we're going to do demi plies
And we're going to do demi plies
By adding the third position, you will firm the thighs and seat even more by drawing the legs closer together
If at any time when you straighten your knees, you feel a twisting sensation or pain in the knee area, your feet may be too turned out
Turnout does increase, but forcing it is not a good idea
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Grand plies, which is the continuation of the demi, where we go all the way down to the base of the plie, pressing up through the demi
And straightening will be done in first, second, and the position we just learned, the third position, combining those with port de bras
Slow, smooth movement is the key here, and remember that grand plies will aid in firming and slimming the legs
Port de bras means any movement of the arm. Here we are using it in a stretch
Tighten your legs and seat as you bend here so the arch is in the upper, not the lower back
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Remember to press your heels to the floor as you come up
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
Pull your feet together as you try to balance
The develop a movement we're going to start from the knee
Extending to the attitude position fully extended position of the leg
And lowering down in third we're going to do that movement
To the front and to the side as well
To the back from the knee what's going to happen is you're going to take
The toe behind you directly behind the body
Knee stays lifted being careful not to let the knee drop in
Extending to the arabesque position fully straight position
Letting the torso go forward and closing down
During the first part of this exercise in all directions
Try and stop in each position
Retire passe, attitude and straight
Try to concentrate on passing through the three leg positions as smoothly as possible
When the legs are worked to the back the seat and back muscles become more firm
When the legs are worked to the back the seat and back muscles become more firm
The balance exercise will be done with a very low brush at first from front to back
Moving up to a high position of the leg front to back
Allowing the chest to go slightly forward as you do the brush to the back
Make sure your foot presses against the floor as you pass through first position
The next exercise will be done with a very low brush at first from front to back
Grand battement will now be executed from the third position
Which requires a good deal of pull on the inner thigh as you close into this third each time
And to the side we'll alternate the thirds to close behind and close in front
In order to get the best workout from the hip, thighs and seat
Pull up as much as you can even if it means a slightly lower kick
Letting the upper body sag while you kick will defeat the purpose of the exercise
Letting the upper body sag while you kick will defeat the purpose of the exercise
To execute a grand battement to the back, we'll place the right foot behind in third position
And a good arm's length from the bar to allow your torso to go forward as the leg brushes to the back
It would look like this
And closing in a nice tight third position with the legs turned out
This exercise will help tighten the seat muscles
The last exercise we'll do is called petit battement, it's with the foot in a fully flexed position
And it's a movement from the back of the leg to the front
These are done very vigorously, it's a beating movement from front to back
And this will exercise the inner thigh muscle
Keep the thigh very still, the only leg action takes place from the knee down
To scrape the calves well, make sure you get as high on the ball of the foot as you can and releve
Having warmed up fully at the bar, we're going to move on to the next exercise
Having warmed up fully at the bar, we should be prepared for some center work
Just coming off the bar where balance was easier to feel, we should try to find the balance by pulling up even more through the middle
The first exercise we're going to do in the center involves a shifting of the weight from one leg to the other through a position called the fourth position
Where one foot is in front of the other, the toes are pointed outward and the knees are pointed outward as well
Transferring the weight up to a point tendu to the back, back through the fourth position, up to the point tendu and closing
The fourth exercise we're going to do in the center involves a shifting of the weight from one leg to the other
As one leg is raised, the torso must work very hard to stay straight and not lean away from the working leg
Keep the weight centered over the ball of the foot so as you stand on one leg, your weight doesn't settle back to the heel and cause you to fall backwards
As your foot comes into the knee, check to see that you don't raise your hip
The next exercise we'll do will teach one of the most beautiful positions in ballet called the arabesque
Keeping your weight over the ball of the foot and allowing your chest to go naturally forward will help you balance as you raise the leg
I'd like you to, in this next exercise, use the plies and relevés to prepare the ankles and the muscles of the feet for jumping
And then on the small sautés in first, try to land really rolling through the feet
Keep your legs turned out during this exercise to firm the inner thighs
The next jump that we're going to do is called échappé. It starts from the third position
We're going to do a jump that's going to land in second position and another equal height jump to land back in the third
The thirds will alternate from back to second and back to the feet in front each time
Another jumping movement that we're going to try and learn starts with one foot behind and we're going to do a brush of that foot bringing that leg underneath
Bringing the other foot slightly behind the other, another brush, jump landing through the toes
It really requires a great deal of strength to control the landing so that you roll through the feet each time
Try to stay in the same spot rather than move from side to side on each jump
We'll repeat the grand battements from level one, starting at the back of your work area
Try to use the brush of the foot to send the leg up as you go
This is a jump that you can work on and eventually perfect as your strength and elevation increase
We'll break it down into parts so that we can learn it easier. It's called a grand jeté
So if you could go to the back of your work area because it travels slightly forward
Step, brush, jump forward, close first
Feel yourself going up and forward on each jump
With practice, the grand jetés can look like this
We'll finish the ballet workout with a short cool down
We'll break it down
This concludes the ballet workout. We hope you've enjoyed your introduction to ballet
and that you'll continue to make ballet part of your life
Thank you for watching!