Update : I'm in my second year of ballet. I started it to help my modern technique and ended up falling in love. Anyway, I need tips for petit allegro. I love the energy of grand allegro, and because of my modern training I normally don't struggle with fast movements. However, when I'm doing petit allegro I feel so slow and heavy! I can't get any lift or ballon to my movements. It feels like I have weights in my shoes. I know how it's supposed to look but I just can't seem to execute it with my body.

Update 2: I'm in my second year of ballet. I started it to help my modern technique and ended up falling in love. Anyway, I need tips for petit allegro. I love the energy of grand allegro, and because of my modern training I normally don't struggle with fast movements. However, when I'm doing petit allegro I feel so slow and heavy! I can't get any lift or ballon to my movements. It feels like I have weights in my shoes. I know how it's supposed to look but I just can't seem to execute it with my body.

Update 3: I was wondering if this has something to do with my height. I'm about 5'8" / 5'9". Due to chronic pain I'm already in a conditioning program that includes Pilates to strengthen my muscles. My teacher has told me to put my torso more forward, and to push through my feet, but as much as I try I can't seem to improve. Any tips?

Why do black people do this?

Whenever there happens to be a Mulatto woman that is prettier than a full black woman (such as Meagan Good or Alicia Keys...

Why do black people do this?

Whenever there happens to be a Mulatto woman that is prettier than a full black woman (such as Meagan Good or Alicia Keys...

try doing it faster, the extra momentum might be what you need to get up from the back bend...also practice going into one and coming back up from it and that will help too.

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Jumping is about leg strength, so build that up, and not just your quads, you want to work the hamstrings.

Here are some stretches to help you work on your splits/flexibility. (The pics are me and were taken 4-24-12)

I do not suggest trying to do an over-split until you can do the splits. That would be like doing an aerial before you learned to do a cartwheel. Try not to bounce when stretching, try to keep your back straight and lean into the stretch nice and slow. You don't want to rush a stretch, you may injury yourself and it's not as beneficial in the long run. Do not have someone push you down into them, you may get injured. And make sure you are warmed up--jumping jacks are a good way to warm up your whole body at once.
For the straddle--lay on your back with your butt against the wall. Extend your legs up the wall and then let them fall into the straddle stretch gravity will help pull your legs down (you can also pull down on them to get them farther. Hold as long as you can. Repeat a few times. Also when you are doing your normal stretching in the straddle position, right before you are done stretching, lean forward into the middle and then try to pull through the stretch.

(watch around the 15 sec mark for what I'm referring to)
Another one for the straddle is to sit on your butt facing the wall and try to get as close as you can to the wall and still be in the straddle position.
For the other splits--lay on your back, bring a leg into your chest, hold a few seconds, then extend it. Grab your leg and try to pull it as close to you as you can and hold it, repeat a couple of times bending the knee and extending it. https://kittyscott.shutterfly.com/21479 (pic taken 4/22/14) On the last extend, while holding your leg, roll over into the splits. Repeat on your other leg.
These are partner and/or solo---stand against a wall, lift your leg, have your friend lift it as high as they can. And hold it as long as you can. Both knees should be straight. The goal is to touch the wall with your foot. Repeat with your other leg. Also remember to pull it to the side for a heel stretch.
Next lay on your back on the ground and have your friend push your extended leg towards the ground. Same idea as the stretch above, but it works the muscles in a slightly different way since you are in a different position.
Another stretch which will help your splits (and your arabesque penchee). You will need to find a blank spot on a wall and grab a chair. Now facing away from the wall and holding onto the chair for support, take a leg and slide it up the wall like you are going into splits. Hold it for as long as possible then switch legs. Try to keep your legs straight. As you work the stretch move the chair closer to the wall until you are touching the wall in a vertical split.
Next move into a doorway and work one leg up or down the frame depending on what you are trying to stretch. I just tried a few doorway stretches for the first time and I was able to put my foot against the door frame and got a completely vertical split in the needle (6 o' clock) position. This link is so you can see what position I'm talking about. http://kittyscott.shutterfly.com/17055#1...
Another that helped me was to stand up and bend over like you were doing a standing pike stretch, then choose a leg and swing it up vertically as far as you can 7 times and on the eighth time hold the leg as high as you can (you will be in the needle or 6 o'clock position at this point) and then when you let the leg down try to get into the splits. Then repeat with the other leg.
Hip--butterfly, frog http://thehudsonvalleyrandonneur.blogspo... http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/showth...

As long as you don't rush and push yourself too fast, you can really make progress fast. Make sure that you really work both sides as evenly as you can. Don't lose faith, I'm 36 and only got my left splits recently and they could still be cleaner, it just takes time and you can do it. http://kittyscott.shutterfly.com/17055#1...
For a heel stretch or to do a pretty leg hold turn you need to be able to put your chest to your legs in the pike position. The closer you can get your body the better it will look.

That is not a modern dance move of any codified modern dance training. That being said, choreographers have their own dance vocabulary for contemporary dance and that could be something of your teacher's or of one of your teacher's teachers invention. Your description is not all that clear to imagine without knowing knees, arms and leg positions during execution of this. If you have trouble doing this, ask your teacher for help as this doesn't sound like anything that I know that has a name in modern dance. The closest thing I know of is a baseball slide (Paul Taylor) and that does not really sound anything like what you described.

Btw, you cannot give anyone 200 points unless you ask 20 questions and give BA to the same person.