Summary
A safe, sensible guide to stretching toward the splits. Sarah shows how to warm and lengthen the hamstring muscles carefully, talks about how often to practice, and stresses working gradually to lower the risk of injury -- useful flexibility work for any young dancer.
Viewer safety
All ages
Stretching guidance -- remind dancers to warm up first, ease into each stretch, and never force it.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
- Why is it important to warm up before you stretch?
- What does it mean to stretch "gradually" instead of forcing it?
- How often does Sarah suggest practicing to see progress?
Quick work-a-long
Words to know: hamstring, flexibility, warm up, gradual.
Try it: After a quick warm-up, follow one hamstring stretch from the video and hold it gently while you count slowly to ten -- no bouncing.