Well, in several of the DVD's I own, many of the instructors encourage the student to perform a full warm-up before practicing the dance.
But you know what, I don't believe that one needs a full cardio exercise prior to stretch. Your muscles are already warm, unless you've stepped out of a freezer! The natural body temp is anywhere between 98-99. Cardio, will raise the temperature(and heart rate and oxygen demand) even more. So just how warm do you need to be? I know this is the newest trend out there, but so far i've gotten by without it and I'm injury free.
For me dance is the cardio portion! What I will do, is a few rounds of Sun Salutations. These stretches, gently increase my flexibility, breath control so I feel energized to dance...not tired. Oh well....
Yasmine
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