Hi there.
Does anyone know of any original exercises that they may use to help with the understanding of tendu's? (in respect of teaching the technique of) Including the use of metatarsals and also tendu as a foot strengthening exercise. Cheers.

Master teacher and former PNB Principal Dancer (and star, as far as I'm concerned!), Deborah Hadley, likes to say, "Shoot marbles with your toes!" In other words, the toes have to draw across with energy and that the tendu is completed by this action of the toes, so it's not just stretching the ankle and calling that a tendu, but really completing it with the toes. So, how about trying to have your students "Shoot marbles with their toes!"

I really like the marbles image- For me it is the bowling ball and the weight behind that - give the students something heavy so they can recognise the heavy versus the light extension - the weight versus the control.

There are some great ideas in Eric Franklin's book - Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance. One of the best is that you "imagine the floor having a layer of fur as you brush our foot over it. Pamper your feet as you tendu. See the brushing foot untangle the the fur..." This is great for encouraging the students to articulate their feet.

thankyou once again for all your wonderful input. truly appreciated. AND what wonderful imagery everyone has. So very important. and a wonderful teaching tool. That is what I love best about this forum. Everyone is happy to put forth their views, suggestions etc. and it is so refreshing as a teacher to utilise suggestions that one may not have thought of in a classroom environ.