Modern Dance Warm-Ups: Parallel Plié

Video Transcript

"Hi! My name is Chell Garcia-Trias. I am a dance instructor in Austin, Texas and I am going to show you how to do plies in a modern dance parallel position. So, first of all, I want to find my feet on the ground in parallel. They should be about an inch or two apart, and they should be parallel to each other. It will probably be a little more turned in than you would think. So, you do not want your feet turned out at all. You want them turned in a little bit so the toes are a little closer than the heels. Then, I am just going to bend my knees and straighten. That is a plie. When I am bending my knees I want them to track right over my toes. Tracking right over my toes. Tracking right over my toes. I want to drop my hips and I do not want to feel my lower body moving at all. I want it nice and stable. Just bending and straightening. There should be no beginning or end to the plie. I am not going down and up. And, down and up. It is a constant motion. Down and up. And, down and up. And, I am only going to go down as far as feels comfortable, so that my toes do not come, my heels do not come up off the ground. I do not go up on my toes. I want to keep my feet flat on the ground. Down and up. It is a nice way to warm up. Just do a few plies. Plie and straighten. And, plie and straighten. So, you can do those for a few minutes and that is a nice, gentle warm-up for the legs in modern dance doing plies in parallel position."