Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Dégagé Coupé: The Ballet Balance Exercise That Strengthens Everything
Day 2 of my 12 Days of Ballet Inspired Fitness series! This exercise challenges your balance, coordination, and leg strength all at once.
How to do it:
- Brush (dégagé) one leg front
- Bring it in to coupé (at ankle)
- Extend back out front
- Repeat: front, side, back, side
- Switch legs
Key tips:
✓ Keep your standing leg STRONG—don't sink into the hip
✓ Fully extend on each dégagé (pointed foot, straight leg)
✓ Control the return to coupé—resist the movement
✓ Keep hips square throughout
✓ 30 seconds each leg
This is how professional dancers build the strength and control you see on stage. It looks graceful, but it BURNS! 🔥
Try this for 1 minute and let me know which direction was hardest—front, side, or back?
🩰 Follow for Day 3 tomorrow!
📺 Want the full 12-exercise workout? youtu.be/LJoP4yFTLOc
#BalletWorkout #BalletBalance #BalletExercise #DancerWorkout #BalletTraining #BalletStrength #HomeWorkout
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💫 I'm Kathryn Morgan, former New York City Ballet soloist. I bring ballet to you through practical exercises like this, and bring you into ballet through insider truths about the professional world.
Subscribe for more ballet training, honest industry insights, and timeless elegance!
Dégagé Coupé: The Ballet Balance Exercise That Strengthens Everything
Day 2 of my 12 Days of Ballet Inspired Fitness series! This exercise challenges your balance, coordination, and leg strength all at once.
How to do it:
- Brush (dégagé) one leg front
- Bring it in to coupé (at ankle)
- Extend back out front
- Repeat: front, side, back, side
- Switch legs
Key tips:
✓ Keep your standing leg STRONG—don't sink into the hip
✓ Fully extend on each dégagé (pointed foot, straight leg)
✓ Control the return to coupé—resist the movement
✓ Keep hips square throughout
✓ 30 seconds each leg
This is how professional dancers build the strength and control you see on stage. It looks graceful, but it BURNS! 🔥
Try this for 1 minute and let me know which direction was hardest—front, side, or back?
🩰 Follow for Day 3 tomorrow!
📺 Want the full 12-exercise workout? youtu.be/LJoP4yFTLOc
#BalletWorkout #BalletBalance #BalletExercise #DancerWorkout #BalletTraining #BalletStrength #HomeWorkout
---
💫 I'm Kathryn Morgan, former New York City Ballet soloist. I bring ballet to you through practical exercises like this, and bring you into ballet through insider truths about the professional world.
Subscribe for more ballet training, honest industry insights, and timeless elegance!
