Enjoy!
xxcam.
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Since there are so many people wanting to improve their turnout, I thought this might be pretty helpful. It's a series of exercises my teacher does at the beginning of class to improve turnout. She got the exercises from some famous dancer/teacher (sorry, I don't remember who), who had developed an entire class with exercises designed to improve turnout, and she called it the turnout dance. Too bad it's not on a dvd or something because I think they are great, and they really do help. Hopefully my instructions make sense. I've included video clips for some to help you biggrin
1. Lay on your side, with your hips stacked on top of each other. Try to keep your natural positioning as if you were standing (space between your waist and floor, don't sink down). Bend your knees up towards you, so that your feet are in line with your hips. This is actually a common exercise, my teacher calls in the clam stretch. You just turn your top leg out so that it opens up like a clam. Lift/turn as far as you can, really pushing with your turnout muscles, and hold it for a couple counts. Repeat this 4, 8, or 16 times depending on how much you want to do.
2. Stretch your legs out so that your bods is now in a straight line (remain on your side). Bend your legs back at the knees so they make a 90 degree angle, thighs are still flat in line with your body. Lift your top leg to a passe type position behind your knee. Draw a figure 8 with your knee, turning in and out again, back to the starting position. Repeat this 4, 8, or 16 times.
3. Developpe up, turning out, and stretch. Lower your leg down right in front of your knee. Developpe up again, and lower your foot back down to behind your knee this time. Slowly drop your knee down so that you feel a slight stretch in your thigh.
4. Roll over onto your stomach, pull your legs into a sous sous position. Keep working with the leg you did in the previous exercises, so your working leg goes on top. If you were standing this would be the back leg. Turn out, and circle the leg in 4, 8, or 16 small circles. Repeat same number of small circles in the opposite direction.
5. Stretch same leg out to it's second position. Repeat same number of circles in both directions again (this one is hard).
6. Sit up so that the leg you haven't been working with is crossed in front of you, and the one you've been working is pointing behind you. Stretch your hip out up and down.
7. Stretch your back leg out behind you, turning out (arabesque stretch on the floor).
8. Turn towards back leg, stretch out other leg and stretch to your center splits.
9. Turn your leg back in (the one you haven't been working with), and your other leg straight out in front of you. Keep the leg turned out, repeat 4, 8, or 16 small circles in both directions, keeping the leg lifted off the ground.
10. Repeat with the other leg.
This is actually really great, I've noticed big improvements doing this short exercise every day biggrin I hope it helps some of you because it took a loooong time to make this biggrin
I've just realized that the camera angle makes me look very bottom-heavy O_o
