Does anyone have any ideas on warming up??like stretches and exercises??thanx

my usual warm-up routine, left to my own device, runs something like this:<P>slow walk-jog-run-jog-walk around to get everything warm and moving<P>down on the floor: leg circles around to get my hips awake, leg swings back and forth, deep lunge stretching (with one leg straight behind me, the stretching leg bent under -- it's hard to describe, but i feel it over the top of my quad) into Ye Olde Downward Dog/Cobra a couple of times and what can only be called tragic pseudo-push-ups.<P>then, lying on my back, shaking out my legs and ankles well. about a million ankle circles on each foot. other ankley things. back stretches. more quad/hip stuff. <P>standing: plies, tendus/degages, balances, just moving around. trying things from the last class, lots of slow foot articulation stuff, little jumps with lots of emphasis on the down. stretching, whatever feels good. <P>i basically work on two principles: <BR>1) don't do any hard core stretching until you've gotten the parts involved nice and warm<BR>2) you get them warm by using them, which usually means not stretching but actual motion.<P>i spend more time with my problem parts because they need it. my calves usually warm right up, so i let them be auxiliary; i give my ankles a lot of extra and specific love because they need it. i figure warming up is my time to get inside my body and figure out how everything is doing; this basic routine is superflexible based on what's sore and what needs love and even what i'm doing. (if i'm warming up for a rehearsal, i am more thorough than i would be for a class, on the assumption that there'll be a good warmup within the class. if i didn't know there would be, i'd go for it.)<P>stretching after class, i do for flexibility. stretching before class is for problem parts and starting to get into movement. there's something nice about being able to move around before dancing and see how you feel in your body and how your parts are doing. i try to get to every class at least 15 minutes early so i have some time with myself before jumping in. it's as much mental, as i figure, as it is physical.<P>--ari, two cents firmly on the table

This is how I construct my warm-ups<P>Some basic breathing exercises - to get air into the lungs and circulating round the body. I also find some breathing at the beginning of the class helps gets you in the mental state for a class and also gets you thinking about breathing throughout the class.<P>Some pulse raiser moves - to get the blood circulating i.e. some marches, jogs etc - you can add in various arm moves, directions to make this more interesting.<P>Some isolated movements to loosen joints and get synovial fluid lubricating the joints - so things like ankle rotations, knee lifts, shoulder shrugs etc - again these can be combined with various arm moves and with a base step i.e. marches or a step tap.<P>Some basic stretches - i.e. some standing stretches such as a stretches for calfs, hamstrings, quads and some work for the upper body.<P>I would then do more detailed and advanced limbering later and this would be tailored to the areas I feel the class need to work on or to the needs of the routines etc we were working on.<P>Before going into the main section of the class I would do a sort of mini cooldown - some swaying, breathing etc just to calm the body down slightly so that it is ready to work and so that you don't go from one extreme to the other in movement terms.<P>The above is what I use for my freestyle/jazz classes. For Ballet a few loosening exercises for ankles, knees, shoulders etc are good to begin with before doing your barre which will then warm-up, stretch and strengthen your body in a prescriptive way for the rest of your ballet class.

The trick in warming up is to tailor a warmup to your specific needs. if you have one super tight muscle don't jump right into stretching it, do a modified stretch or target the mucles around it first. then you can spend a long time on lengthening that muscle in your favorite stretch for it. <BR> Also, before any extreme stretching ( splits should be left for after barre or if you are loose like me at the very end of your stretching regime) you should warm up for the warm up with walking, jogging, or light stretches like a calf stretch ( or stand on calf boards if there are any at your studio), or pointing and flexing your feet. <BR> The hardest thing to decide is often what stretch to begin with... try one that targets your looser muscles, and works on a variety of muscles. my personal facorite is an almost all around leg stretch. the position is like a split, but with the front leg bent into a very tight attitude, so that the front leg is turned out and folded in half. from there you can port de bras forward or back, or just stay where you are.Good luck!

Paul Blakeley in his book "Stretching without Pain" gives a good order of stretching so that no muscle is stretched before muscles attached around has been stretched first. This is alluded to in an article in our Features section.<P><A HREF="http://www.criticaldance.com/features/stretching.html" TARGET=_blank> A Primer on Stretching </A><P>This si a good article on stretching and also explains the importance on warming-up before stretching.

You know, i have to admit that I can't push myself to do a full ballet-barre-floor-warm-up at home, and that's exactly the thing i should do (Don't tell Basheva!!! LOL ). But i don't have the stimulance of the group, the teacher and the place (studio) at home, so most of the time I just skip the 'hard' things like "grand battement jeté-degage(finally found out that it's called like this)-grand battement jeté", or developpés. And I just do a few very quick pliés, point my feet a few times trying to call that the tendu exersize for myself, cut in the rond de jambe exersize so that it doesn't take more time than I want to 'spend' on it, and when I'm ready with this 'warm up', i find out that i can start all over again because I'm not even a very little bit warmer than before I started <P>Well ok i'm just too laisy to warm up like I should do at home, but this is my ideal warm up:<P>shaking everything a bit, rotating arms, legs, torso, head, ankles, hands, toes, nose, ears...<P>deep pliés in 2nd, bends to side/front/back<P>'attitudes' en cloche<P>grand battements (front) lying on my back, lowering the leg very, *very*, VERY, *VERY* slowly (yikes i hate this one but I always do it)<P>lying on my back: a developpé to side (45'), and then rond de jambe to front, and lowering the leg again slowly<P>(standing) grand battements en croix<P>developpé en croix<P>port de bras and gentle stretches on a 'barre'==> table, chair, Aphyna's (11 months old umbrella cockatoo, VERY sweet, but hates ballet warm up ) cage...<P>and now i'm ready for pointe, larger stretches, etc.<P>If I'm planning to jump, I do more things with small jumps and quick leg-thingies.

I always get to class early so I can do my pre-class warmup - here it is:<P>Head rolls.<P>Shoulder rolls.<P>Clasp my hands over my head and stretch up, sides and back.<P>Lean over and very slowly rollup through my spine.<P>Achilles stretch.<P>Relevés.<P>Battement attitude en cloche.<P>sit on the floor and fold my legs in and stretch out my body across my legs to the floor.<P>sit on the floor and stretch my legs out in front and touch my toes.<P>lie on the floor and do developpé up and then to the side.<P>Sit on the floor, bottoms of feet touching and let knees touch the floor (this is my best stretch - my knees just naturally touch the floor - yes I am bragging here LOL).<P>stand in retiré and swing my knee in and out. <P>Do it all again - until the class starts.

Ari you spoke to me. I feel exactly like you - you don't mention your age. I'm 50 and the warmup has gotten to be a major part of my dance class these days - purely out of necessity.<P>My rule is never stretch cold muscles. And never stress cold joints.<P>I start by sitting and cupping the heel and arch of each foot to warm it up, then bending/pulling into the point position the entire foot. The stand and I point them in tendu gently. Then I start slow, low jogging which gets faster over about 1 minute. Then I do 1 or 2 deep frontbends and backbends (a weakness for me). Then I do a few demis in first working on turnout and relaxing into a deep position.<P>Then I do some pushups. When I get to the barre I so these "leg swishes" face front, and let the left leg swing up in a la second but relaxed and bent and swing in front of you up across your abdomin to the other side.<P>Then I'm ready to rock.

And Pan - those of us in our 50's really do rock don't we? <P>YES WE DO!!

Yes we do Basheva Our monetary contibutions, help on-stage and back-stage, our teaching, and our support of youngsters help keep the whole thing going in many ballet schools.<P>dancing forever...