Stretches for Ballet?

Question:I'm 13 and I'm going to start ballet in the fall (hopefully!) What are some really good and effective stretches for me to do that will help me out in ballet? I would LOVE to do pointe some day, so how can I stretch/strenghten for that? Thanks so much!!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I'm 13 and I'm going to start ballet in the fall (hopefully!) What are some really good and effective stretches for me to do that will help me out in ballet? I would LOVE to do pointe some day, so how can I stretch/strenghten for that? Thanks so much!!

Well practice your strattles and your splits. stretch a couple of times a day. one really good stretch especially for your strattle: go into your straddle near a wall. every 5 minutes or so, push yourself closer to the wall until you're nearly touching the wall. do this at least once or twice a day. for splits, go into the frog-squat position for 10 minutes, then keeping your right leg in the squat position, extend your left leg back as if you were in a split. After doing that for 5-10 minutes, go into a right split. Hold that for a few minutes after you stop feeling pain. Then, repeat and do the left leg. Do this after you do the strattle every day.
Practice pointing and flexing your feet (even though this seems extremely simple) to make your toes and ankles strong, especially if you want to go into pointe. As you improve, try wrapping an exercise band around your feet, to make it harder.
Last but not least, remember to strengthen your legs! Practice your high kicks to the front, side, and back to create all sorts of strong muscles in your thighs.
If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know! I'm always happy to help!

I'm 13 too, and I've been dancing for 10 years. Do forced arches (pressing the visible side of your foot to the ground), to create an arch. Maybe split your legs open and split to each side. And do pilates or yoga, they help with strengthning and flexibility! Good luck! By the way, just understand that it may take you a few years up to several years to go on pointe. This is my first month of pointe, and it may hurt at first. But it's fun! :)

Do ballet and you increase your likelihood of suffering back pain and foot pain in later life.

Firstly, you can start by laying down on the ground with your arms at your sides. Bend your knees but keep your feet on the ground. Then, suck in your tummy so that it looks like a nice bowl. Make sure that there is no space underneath your back. No one should be able to stick a finger through. Then, slowly slide your feet forward to straighten out your legs. Go as far as you can go before a space appears. Doing this twice daily will improve your posture; a key part of ballet.

Another thing that you could do would be doing some of the stretches that you do in gym class, you know, like those things where you sit down, stick out one leg, and try to touch your toes?

Finally, try laying on your tummy and putting your feet together so that your legs make a diamond shape in the air. Each day, pratice getting your legs down to the ground. It won't come easily, but it's a great stretch.

One more thing, you don't need to know the splits, and yoga and pilates are both great exercises.

Best wishes,
Andrea.

take a theraband, this wide rubber band that you can get in almost any dance store, and stretch your arches like that. you can also put it around your leg, (while standing), and push it up to improve your extension. some muscle strengthening exercises are needed to strong legs and feet too. you can stand on one leg, bend the other one (so that you can put your arm around it, like hugging it) and push your leg up and down. this strengthens your thighs. also holding your leg in extensions strengthens it. oh, and you can do that up/down with the leg exercise while lying down too. just lie down on your stomach and put your leg in the back, up down. up down. that helps a lot.