Bunheads… you’ve arrived at the right place if you want to improve your pirouette technique with me using these 5 easy steps!
I grew up HATING turns… there we go, I said it! However, that changed completely when I started to analyse and understand the science behind turns, and how we can adjust our technique to help us achieve pirouette after pirouette…
Keep reading for my 5 pirouette technique tips that I teach to all of my students to help them turn harder, faster and stronger!!!
Technique tip #1 – Aerodynamics
When we pirouette, we need to make ourselves as aerodynamic as possible. This will allow our body to cut more easily through the air so that we turn faster and for longer!
To make ourselves aerodynamic, we need to reduce the amount of air resistance created when we turn. Air resistance is a force that will try to stop up from turning, however we can reduce it by making ourselves more streamlined… in other words, we need to minimise the amount of our body’s surface area in contact with air particles.
Okay, I know that may have sounded pretty complicated. To help you out, allow me to use a well-known example so that you can get to grips with this concept a little better…
Imagine I have two pieces of A4 paper…
One piece has been scrunched into a little ball,
The other piece is laid out flat.
I’m going to drop both pieces of paper from a height… Which piece do you think will reach the ground first???
If you guessed the scrunched-up piece of paper… congrats! You got this one right!
The paper that is scrunched into a ball will reach the ground first because it is more streamlined and thus aerodynamic. This is because it has a small surface area coming into contact with air particles which are going to reduce its speed.
To put it simply, the smaller the surface area coming into contact with air particles, the faster the object will travel because there is less air resistance.
So how does this translate to our pirouettes?
Well, to progress from a double to a quadruple, we need to reduce the surface area of our body coming into the contact with air particles as we turn. There are two ways we can do this…
METHOD #1 – PIROUETTE PREP
When you’re preparing to turn, make sure your arms are placed in 1st arabesque with your leading arm at a height just above your belly button. Do this instead of having your arms in a normal, rounded 3rd position as you prepare to pirouette. If you do need to have your arms in a rounded 3rd, make sure to quickly elongate your arms into this 1st arabesque as you’re about to turn.
Doing this will make you more streamlined because there is less surface area on your hand meeting air particles which are trying to slow you down as you start to turn.
METHOD #2 – SMALL 1st POSITION WHEN TURNING
Our 1st position during pirouettes should look different to our normal 1st position if we want to turn faster and for longer.
During pirouettes, we need to create a small, almost squashed 1st position where our arms don’t extend as far out in front of us (think deflated beach ball!).
Once again, this will make us more streamlined as there is a smaller surface area of our leading arm meeting air particles as we turn.
Check out my Pirouette Technique tutorials on Instagram to learn how you can do this!
Technique tip #2 – Rhythm and character
Maybe it’s a placebo effect, but in my opinion this one really works!
When you pirouette, always try to turn to the beat of the music. This means making sure that you’re facing the front on each beat. Doing this will help you to spot more effectively -and we all know that spotting is the KEY to turning.
Another top tip during variations is to make your pirouettes reflect the character you are embodying. For example, Odette is going to turn differently to Odile, and the speed and sharpness of your turn should portray this. The music for Odette and Odile’s variations are also different which will help you to achieve this -Odette’s music tending to be softer and more mournful, while Odile’s being sassy and quicker.
To practice this tip, I like to choose a song with a strong, relatively fast beat (the chorus of Naughty Boy’s ‘La La La’ works wonders for my triples!). Once you find a song that really works, you can always sing it in your head during the turns section of your ballet class!
Technique tip #3 – Weight over the front foot in pirouette prep (from 4th plié with two bent legs)
Our third pirouette technique tip is all about the placement of our centre of mass in our preparation to turn.
As you plié in 4th position in your pirouette prep, make sure to keep your weight (discreetly) over your front foot. Doing this is barely noticeable to onlookers, however it’s a great way of reducing the possibility of falling off balance as you relevé to start the turn.
This is because if you’re weight is already over the foot you’re turning on, there’s no need to shift your weight forwards as you relevé. The relevé to passé at the start of a pirouette happens VERY quickly, and if you’re trying to shift your weight forwards and rise up at the same time, there’s a high chance that you’re going to fall off (or at least compromise your) balance.
Technique tip #4 – Squeezing the glutes for balance and turn out
The role of the glutes is often pretty neglected when it comes to turns, however glute engagement is one of the best ways to improve our pirouette technique!
This is primarily because our gluteal muscles are used to keep us on balance as we turn. When we squeeze our bum, our gluteus minimus and medius muscles contract. This keeps our hips stable as we turn so that our centre of mass stays over the foot we’re spinning on. Glute engagement also reduces hip flexion (our ability to bend forwards from the waist into a table-top position) which is going to help keep us upright and balanced!
Secondly, our external rotators (such as the gluteus maximus and piriformis) are located in our glutes. Squeezing your bum in passé during pirouettes will really help you to maintain turn-out of the working leg, which is especially helpful in en dehors pirouettes where we need to visualise the knee of our working leg leading us round in the turn.
For some of the best cross-training exercises to help strengthen your glutes for maximum stability and turn out, go check out my article ‘How to improve your pirouettes; the science behind turning’!
Technique tip #5 – DO NOT GET COMFY IN YOUR PIROUETTE PREP!!!
Okay, so there’s no science behind this tip, but a clean preparation going into your turns is absolutely KEY to achieving the glorious pirouette technique of a seasoned pro!
So what do I mean by getting comfy??? Well… when you relevé or dégagé to 4th position in your preparation to turn, whatever 4th position your feet end up in is the position you NEED to turn from! This sounds simple, but I can guarantee that many of my fellow followers will be ‘getting comfy’ in their 4th by quickly shuffling their feet into a position that feels more natural that they’d prefer to turn from.
Although the 4th position you have ended up in may not feel like your preferred position to turn from, you MUST get used to not shuffling your feet around and simply getting on with the turn from wherever you are. This may be very difficult at first, but your body will get used to adjusting and adapting so that you’re able to turn from a range of 4th positions without causing a messy pirouette!
Shuffling around in your 4th position looks pretty untidy and unprofessional. When we’re on stage, moving your feet to a comfy position to turn from will draw attention for all the wrong reasons, and aside from that, it’s just poor technique!
If you are a 4th Position Shuffler, it’s best to try and knock this habit on the head RIGHT NOW! After all, the longer you leave it, the worse it’s going to get…
Final Thoughts on Improving your Pirouette Technique in 5 Easy Steps!
Wooooo! You’ve made it to the end and you’re 5 Pirouette Technique Tips closer to achieving Instagram-worthy turns!
All of the tips mentioned in this article can be practiced daily, and once you get into the habit of adjusting certain elements of your technique, you will be achieving solid quadruples (at least) in no time at all!
If you enjoyed this post, I have a little something up my sleeve that could be just the thing for you…
Go check out my article ‘How to improve your pirouettes; the science behind turning’ for some of the best in-depth, scientific explanations and cross-training exercises to get your turning harder, faster and stronger!
See you there, Bunheads!
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