Do your own Footloose workout with Kelley Abbey
[thanks to The Sunday Telegraph's Body & Soul]

Kick off your shoes (and dig out your leg-warmers) for the ultimate workout - dance moves from new musical Footloose.

To bring you the benefits of the dancing in Footloose, Kelley Abbey has provided some moves from the show for you to do at home (or on the dancefloor). So for a good workout and a whole lot of fun, get out your leotard, pop on an '80s album and cut loose!

Kane Alexander, Kelley Abbey and Natalie Bassingthwaighte

Choreographer Kelley Abbey takes the dancers through a 20-minute warm-up before they go through their moves. It consists of stretching, cardio to get the heart started and vocal warm-ups. Here are three of her stretches from her warm-up routine.

LUNGE STRETCH
Take your right foot forward,
bend down into a lunge,
keeping the right knee bent and left straight until you feel the stretch through the left thigh and hip.
Repeat for other side.

INNER-THIGH STRETCH
Take your right foot out to the side.
Your right foot is facing forward and your left foot to the side.
Bend down to your right side so your right knee is bend and left leg straight.
Bend until you feel the stretch down the left inner thigh.
Repeat for other side.

NECK STRETCH
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
Take your left hand out and by your side with wrist flexed.
Gently pull your head to the right side with the right hand.
Repeat for other side.

FOOTLOOSE CHORUS STEP #1
1. Stand with feet together
2. Put left heel forward and left toe back
3. Put right heel forward and right toe back
4. Repeat this again on left and right
5. Step on left foot and clap hands twice

6. Step on right foot and clap hands once
7. Put left foot down - feet apart - and slap hands down on top of thighs
8. Cross right leg behind hitting boot with left hand
9. Cross right leg to the side hitting boot with right hand and pointing left hand in the air

10. Cross right leg to the front hitting boot with left hand and clap hands in centre

FOOTLOOSE CHORUS STEP #2
1. Stand with feet together
2. Step to side on right foot and take left arm back behind head

3. Repeat this on the other side
4. Crouch down into a squat position with your feet together and hands on the floor
5. Jump out with legs at shoulder distance

In our stress-packed lives most people can probably relate to the line, "Everybody's gotta cut loose!" You might recognise it from the song and smash hit movie of 1984, Footloose. This cult classic has now hit the stage as a musical, and we've brought you your own Footloose moves directly from the show, currently playing at Sydney's Capitol Theatre and then touring nationally.
There's nothing like dancing to loosen you up, and the cast members of the musical can vouch for the benefits of cutting loose. Choreographer, Kelley Abbey, believes dancing is the ultimate form of expression. "That's why people go out on Friday and Saturday nights to have a few drinks and a boogie," she says. "It's a way to release tension and express yourself."
Abbey has worked hard to bring the Footloose-era moves on to stage. "The big thing everyone remembers from the 1980s is the body roll," says Abbey. "I've tried to pay homage to such classic 1980s' moves but with a fresh contemporary look."
Footloose, which starred Kevin Bacon and featured Sarah Jessica Parker, spawned such hits as Let's Hear It For The Boy and Holding Out For A Hero. With Abbey's choreographed moves, the dancers groove away to all these favourites in the musical.
Footloose cast members Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Kane Alexander say the musical is the most physical show they've ever done. Both had to train extensively for months to raise their fitness levels.
Actors often have to work at a demanding physical level, while still being able to talk. To boost his fitness and singing strength, Kane Alexander used to run through Melbourne, singing as he went. "I got quite a few weird looks," he remembers.
After rehearsing for the musical both Alexander and Bassingthwaighte see the tremendous benefits of dancing. "The moves in Footloose work every part of your body," says Bassingthwaighte.
The Sunday Telegraph-Body & Soul - 3 November 2002