^AB Vaganova emphasized dancing with the entire body, promoting harmonious movement among arms, legs, and torso. She believed that the torso was the foundation of all movements, so the dancer’s torso had to be strengthened. One exercise she prescribed for this area was that of doing plies with the feet in first position; this is a sort of bow, done while the feet are turned sideways. It is difficult for most people to balance and control their movement while doing this, but steady practice led dancers to develop extremely strong abdominal and back muscles, which helped them in all their other moves. http://ow.ly/i/bEyvm