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Step 1
Touch your toes to get the kinks out of your back and limber those muscles up. Once you've touched your toes, stretch high into the sky with your arms extended as though you could reach the ceiling.
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Step 2
Stretch your arms in front. Interlock the fingers of your hands and reverse your hands so that the palms face outward. Push straight out and straighten your elbows. Bring your hands, still locked, straight above your head and stretch high. Bend to one side and then to the other with your arms straight above the head.
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Step 3
Create a wide "V" stance with your feet and turn your upper body to the side. Put your hands on your right knee as you bend it and straighten the left to stretch the hamstrings. Do the same movement on the other side.
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Step 4
Remain in the wide spread stance and straighten your knee as you shift your hip to the opposite side of the straightened knee. You should feel the pull on your upper thigh. Do the same on the other side.
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Step 5
Place your arms to your side with your feet in a comfortable position. Bend your arms at the elbow and pull back, thrusting your chest forward as you attempt to touch your elbows together. You should feel this in your chest and shoulders.
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Step 6
Grasp your shoulder with your hand and extend the elbows, drawing circles with them. First have them go clockwise and then counter clockwise. This warms your upper body and prepares neck, arm and back muscles for dance.
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Step 7
Extend your arms straight out from your body at shoulder height. Twist your upper torso at the waist, first several times to the left, then to the right. This twist prepares your back and the abdominal muscles, particularly the obliques.
