Welcome to Mobility Class 6, guided by Stephanie Petersen.
This class works through a series of targeted exercises designed to strengthen hip rotation, improve spinal mobility, and build stability in the supporting leg. Throughout the session, dancers will also develop greater control and endurance when working through extended ranges of movement, helping them move with more efficiency and coordination in complex sequences.
Exercises such as Rotation Presses and Passé with Bands focus on strengthening the deep rotators of the hip, helping dancers develop more stable turnout and improved lower-body alignment. The use of resistance bands and balls adds progressive challenge while encouraging precise muscular engagement.
Later in the class, sequences such as Dynamic Iliopsoas Conditioning and Strengthening Adage Control develop endurance and coordination in the supporting leg, supporting sustained extensions and controlled adage work. Additional exercises explore spinal mobility, upper-body strength, and arabesque recovery, linking core stability and alignment with movement quality. Additional sequences challenge spinal mobility and upper-body coordination while supporting the control needed to recover from arabesque positions and maintain alignment through the torso.
Tips
• Encourage dancers to prioritise control over range of motion when working through turnout and hip rotation exercises.
• Remind dancers that the supporting leg plays an active role throughout the class, particularly during adage and extension-based work.
• Encourage awareness of spinal length and mobility so that movement through the torso supports, rather than compensates for, hip mobility.
Frequently asked questions
Why is strengthening the deep rotators important for dancers?
What can teachers suggest if a dancer struggles to maintain stability during Strengthening Adage Control?