Recently on the podcast I also discussed Plier, so if you missed that episode you may wish to go back and listen to it and come back soon for more of the basic building blocks of movement and dance. Today we turn to Étendre, the battements tendu movement and what it means to stretch.

"To stretch" means to feel a connection between two points in the body, and then extend through or reach more deeply into it. It is creating space and expansion from connection (you can’t stretch without resistance and connection!). We have to be grounded and centered or connected first. To stretch safely,  we also need to be listening to the body’s needs, investigating its current limits and patiently working with them.

With battements tendu, we are developing a relationship of poise between the parts of the body and gravity, and between the sides of the body, specifically the “supporting” or “standing” side and the “working” or gesturing side in movements being performed on one leg, and also between the body and the floor as ground of support and tool of resistance.

The stickiness, friction, and resistance of the sliding of the foot against the floor builds muscle tone, control, strength of the entire legs, pliability and articulation of the feet and ankles, and awareness of how to stand with stability and balance and how to slide across the floor to take the leg through space (axial movements). Later in class we perform similar motions, but take the whole body with the leg through space (locomotor movement), and tendu provides essential practice for theselarger traveling and jumping movements.

In tendu, contact between the toes and the floor is constant, and in battement degage/glisse/jete the toes push off the floor a bit and rebound. In grand battements, the strong resistance between foot and floor, plus the dancer’s stable alignment of the body and flexibility in the hips and legs allow the leg to fly higher in the air to the limit of the range of motion, and then float back down to the floor. Grand battement is an exciting, explosive play between the boundness and control at the bottom of the battement and utter freedom at the top.

As we sequentially build dance movements in class, we discover and expand our limits with great care. Similarly in yoga, we are mindful of what state the body and mind are in today, and follow a logical progression to avoid over-stepping; such a haphazard or sloppy approach could lead to injury and ultimately slow our progress.

Tendu is a critical component of a full ballet barre training, so I invite you to try out my “Tempting Tendus” video on the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel once it is released and combine it with warmups such as “Planking Pleasures,” “Kicky Kicks,” “Powerful Plies,”“Plush Paralleleves,” and “Saucy Prances & Sautes” for a short, effective, and fun exercise program for dance. Also try my yoga poses and practices to stretch and grow what your body is capable of!