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A ballet dancer doing barre work. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Here is a great ballet move that also doubles as a great leg workout. Ever wonder how those ballerinas have such great legs?
Grand Plie
To do a grand plie, which is one of the most graceful ballet moves, you will begin at the barre. You want your back facing the bar, and one arm resting out on the barre.
You want your feet to be together at the heels, toes pointing away from each other. The further you can point your toes the better.
If you can't do it completely, where your feet are completely pointing away from each other, don't worry. With all ballet moves, practice makes perfect.
Next, you will perform the grand plie by allowing yourself to bend your knees slowly. While you bend your knees, your arm that is not on the barre will move slowly up until it is straight out and in line with your shoulder.
You can let your elbow on that arm drop some so that the movement is fluid and elegant. You want to sink all the way down, keeping your heels together, until your thighs and calves are touching each other.
You want to be in a complete squat. You will hold that position, and then allow yourself to come back up, arm going back down.
You should give the illusion that you are floating, and after practicing ballet moves such as this one, you will be able to perform it in one smooth movement. Here are some tips that you should pay attention to before you attempt to do ballet moves.
Make sure that you stretch completely before you start. You don't want to pull a muscle or injure yourself.
Warm up as well, with some type of exercise that gets you loosened up and ready for ballet. Jumping jacks, running in place and things like this are good warmings up exercises. You can do it if you practice and stay motivated.
Keep practicing these ballet moves and before you know it, you will have the Grand Plie down perfect. You will also have much stronger legs to boot.
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