Stretching and Tendu down

Marcus asked for more stretch. I was having a hard time finding it. But I think I know what I want to try next.

Mary had been talking about the tendu down, which is to say the supporting leg in a jump points in a "tendu", meaning stretched, but "down" in the sense that it's beneath you. But this image extends further, so that even relevés to demi-pointe can be seen in my mind as a tendu down.

This helped me figure out that my pelvic alignment was off (in an attempt to attain more turn out). once the pelvic alignment is off, all the wrong muscles start working. No wonder it's been hard!

Mary also mentioned that piqués are like walking down the stairs. Again, In my mind I'm thinking of this as a tendu down.

Pirouettes were better when Ilona said think of the "up", not the around. But I couldn't re-create it after class. She also said to get bigger in the turn. She also said that the power from the en dehor turn comes from the back leg.

Ilona was also asking for stronger support in the arms. The elbows should be pulling away from each other.