I started ballet a year ago, and am frustrated at my lack of flexability. I am about 4 inches off on the right splits, maybe around 7 or 8 for the left, and too many to measure for the center.

My friend, a cheerleader, told me that her and a friend both got really flexible by sitting as low as they could in the splits, and having the other push slowly on their shoulders until they couldn't go further, and holding it for around 15 seconds. She said they didn't ever get hurt because they stopped when they reached their very limit. She also said it helped get her splits fairly quickly. She offered to help me using her method.

Does this sound ok, or is it a bad idea?

Sounds like a bad idea to me. Gravity should give you enough of a stretch. 15 seconds isn't very long for holding a stretch. If they are only going as far as their "limit" you should be able to do that yourself. Everyone is different in how long it takes to get their splits. Just because your friend got them quickly using this method does not mean it is a good idea or that you will. If you stretch every day, you will progress. Check out the splits training sticky on the stretching board.

Not a good idea. I don't like partner stretching even in the best of cases, but partner stretching with students leading students is an absolute no-go for me. They have been lucky that no one has been hurt yet. You can achieve your stretch by yourself and without outside aid...if you need more help, ask your teacher, not your friend.

I totally agree, buddy stretching is banned in all of my classes except private lessons. It's just too dangerous if people don't know what they're really doing.

Just echoing what has been said above. My (certified) dance teacher pushed me into a split once when I wasn't really ready -- she misjudged my flexibility. Result? Torn hamstring. Even now, more than a decade later, I still have more problems on that side. Having someone push you in a stretch *can* be helpful...but the risks are greater than the payoffs, in my opinion.

That's what I thought. Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely avoid partner stretching.