Anyone can enjoy practicing and dancing ballet, regardless of age or ability level. Ballet moves and exercises are more difficult to perform than they look, but if you can stick with it, you'll find that the graceful moves offer many benefits. Steady Health reports that along with being fun, ballet promotes poise and proper posture, creates a mind-body connection, sculpts and tones your muscles, and helps you to relieve stress.
Plie
Plie means a bending of the knees, according to American Ballet Theatre. The Plie is a core ballet move and often one of the first that you learn when taking lessons. The American Ballet Theatre says that the Plie will help you to develop balance, increase flexibility and elasticity, and help your joints and muscles to be soft and pliable. The first of two types of Plie is the demi-plie, or half bending of the knees. In this exercise you start in first position---turned out, starting at the hip, with the back of your heels together and your toes turned out. Your hip, knee and ankle should be in one straight line. Now half bend your legs. Your butt stays tucked under you throughout the exercise. In a grand-plie, or full bending of the knees, you start the same as you would in the demi but continue bending your legs until your thighs are horizontal to the floor. Push through your heels to return to starting position.
Jete
Jete means throwing step. The American Ballet Theatre explains that in this exercise you jump from one leg to the other. When you land the working leg quickly rises in the air, as if it has been thrown. A grand Jete involves a high jump and the throwing of your leg to a 90 degree angle.
Battement Tendu
The Tendu works your inner and outer thighs. The American Ballet Theatre instructs to start with your feet in first position, which again is where your legs are turned out, starting at the hip, and the back of your heels are together with your toes turned out. Your hip, knee and ankle should be in one straight line. Staying turned out, the working foot leads with the toe and slides from first to second position. In second position, your feet are positioned in the same direction as first, but your legs are separated about a foot wider than hip-width apart. Your legs should remain straight in Tendu. Once you've reached full extension with your working foot and leg, slide it back in to first position.
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