This exercise is designed to enhance core stability, turnout, leg control, assist with injury prevention, and power in dance movements. It focuses on activating the transverse abdominis, obliques, and adductors, which are crucial for dancers to maintain correct alignment, balance, and control. This exercise aids in developing the outward rotation of the legs from the hips, fundamental in ballet, and in building the necessary strength for dynamic dance performances.

Preparation: Have students lie supine on a mat with a fusion ball placed between their knees. Ensure they place their hands under the nape of their neck, with elbows wide.

Steps:

1. Guide them to lift their legs to a tabletop position.

2. Instruct them to engage their abdominal muscles, exhale deeply, and scoop their abdominals inward while straightening their legs at a 45-degree angle with a feel of scooping the abdominals and legs and return the legs vertically.

3. Have them inhale and return to the tabletop position. Repeat.

4. Introduce a twist by rotating the legs, placing one leg over the other while twisting the torso and pointing the opposite elbow towards the ceiling.

5. Repeat the sequence, alternating the twist to each side.

6. Repeat in full the combinations from the beginning.

Focus: Emphasise controlled movements, engaging the core, and maintaining alignment in the twist.