Cool-down.

A cool-down, is just as important as a warm-up," says Shmuel Tatz, who practices Body Tuning in his private studio at Carnegie Hall. "After a hard class, rehearsal, or performance, the body should slowly relax and return to its peaceful state."

Tatz defies the usual description of a physical therapist. He has studied hydrotherapy, reflex therapy and chirotherapy in Germany, Postural integration, acupuncture, sphincter exercise, t'ai chi, yoga, and other modalities that make him unique. After earning a degree in physical education and medical exercise (a four-year course in Lithuania.), Tatz treated orthopedic, neurologic, and rehabilitation cases in Jerusalem and worked with Soviet Olympic teams. He is best known, however, for treating famous performing artists.

A soft-spoken man who chooses his words carefully and enunciates in a mixed-background accent, Tatz relies heavily on intuition. He "converses" with the body and senses with his hands which of his many therapies is suitable to a patient.

Here, in his own words, are a few of Tatz's cool-down exercises to be executed after class, rehearsal, or performance.

"Of course, we have seen a poorly aligned body that can technically dance anything. But for how long?"

1. Lying on a flat surface, breathe short, regular breaths for calming effect. Have a partner shake the legs, holding at the ankles to test for relaxation. Then, gently pull the legs from the hip sockets for thirty seconds and release. Repeat several times.

2. With knees up and feet on a flat surface, have your partner place hands behind the knees and gently pull for a few seconds. Release. Repeat several times. Be sure the lower back remains on the surface.

"The most important factor in staying free from injury is found in the body's biomechanics--lining up the skeleton to work efficiently."

3. After testing and sensing for relaxation by pressing the knees gently to the chest, keep knees and feet off the surface. The partner holds the ankles and gently bounces the knees together several times and then applies easy pressure on the knees for a few seconds, releases, and repeats several times. Be sure the abdomen, upper back, shoulders, and back of neck are flat against the surface.

4. Lying on your stomach, have your partner lift your legs and with the heel of the hand press the lumbar area. Be sure to give no assistance by raising the legs. Pressure and release are applied in the same pattern as in the previous exercise.

"I alwayss tell dancers to carefully add other exercise to their regimen. The body is not equal or harmonious, but must be made so for its best support and optimum use. Swim, Jacuzzi, sauna, bicycle--do anything but dance all the time. The body needs a different use after a hard, daily technique class. Do another form of dance; character, modern, jazz, or an other kind of physical modality."

5. Using a Styrofoam tube three inches in circumference and twelve inches long, roll on the upper back and shoulders with arms overhead. Hold the raised-back position with the abdominals, not with the lower back. In the same position, using a towel as a sling beneath the shoulders, the partner slowly raises and lowers the upper back. The tube may be used to massage the lower back and legs as well.

6. Finally, a yoga Pose of a Child, that can be assumed at any time for relaxation, is tested by the partner for total release from tension and submission to gravity. Back is rounded; forehead on surface; arms rest behind the body. Breathe easily, hold the pose for a few minutes.

7. Leslie Cardona is now ready to rise slowly as Tatz aligns her head. Cardona joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem after study at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Royal Ballet in Landon and with Wilhelm Burmann in New York City.

"The body remembers injury forever. It needs rehabilitation. Then the injured part must be measured against healthy areas to determine if there are compensations being made."