Strengthen your core, which you use any time you lift your leg. Focus on the deep abdominal muscle, the transverse abdominus. To find it, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Place your hands just below your waist and cough. You’ll feel the muscle tighten. Then, keep your back in the neutral position and tighten the transverse abdominus (imagine pulling your navel to the floor). While maintaining this position, lift one leg up so your shin is parallel to the floor. Next, lift your second leg to the same position. Slowly touch the floor with the foot of your first leg and return it to the parallel position. Repeat with your second leg. (It’s like you are marching while lying down.) When you are finished with a set, return one foot at a time to the beginning position. Do two or three sets of 10.
Isolate and strengthen your hip flexors, which are used in many dance steps. Sit on the floor with your legs in front of you. Lean back on your hands and turn out your working leg. Lift it in a front attitude, hold and return it to the floor. Repeat the exercise with your other leg. Your quadriceps should not be involved in this exercise.
Increase your flexibility with reciprocal inhibition stretching, in which you alternate between stretching and contracting a muscle, and static stretching. Target your quadriceps, hamstrings and inner and outer thighs. For reciprocal inhibition stretching of your hamstrings, lie on the floor and raise your working leg to the ceiling. Place your hands behind your thigh and pull your leg toward you until you feel a gentle pull in your hamstring. Hold the position for 15 to 30 seconds. Then, while still holding your leg in place with your hands, push it away from your body. Release your leg after five seconds. Repeat the process three or four times.
For static stretching, gently stretch the muscle until you feel a slight release, which usually takes about 15 seconds. Then, stretch the muscle a little more and wait until it releases. This is a very slow process and it should not hurt.
Build muscle endurance, which will enable you to hold your extension and maintain control when moving to another position. First, practice barre lifts. Place one leg on the barre devante. Then, lift your leg off the barre, hold for eight counts and lower it. Repeat the lifts four times on each leg in devante and a la seconde. Also, practice 32-count developés to strengthen your standing and working leg.