Pirouette Techniques & Exercises

Pirouettes are a staple in the ballet world. While often effortless to watch, executing a pirouette is not easy to perfect! There are lots of concepts to think about with pirouettes such as spotting, balance, and momentum, just to name a few! Are you having difficulty with your pirouettes? Let’s dive into some of the main technical components of these turns, as well as some exercises that focus on these concepts to help improve your pirouette!

Pirouette Techniques

Pirouettes can come from a preparation in 4th or 5th position. It is more likely that a pirouette will come from 4th position in a combination, whereas a 5th position preparation is often used as a learning tool. Regardless of your start position, pirouette technique requires the following:

• Equal rotation

  • You want to ensure that both legs are staying equally rotated from your preparation to the end of your pirouette. Keep both knees pressing back while keeping the heels forward. This will make for better control in your take-off as well as better momentum.

• Strong arms

  • If your arms are doing too much or too little, your balance and momentum can be affected. Your arms should be in a strong first position with the elbows lifted and shoulders down. Avoid swinging the arms in your take-off or letting the elbows sink in your pirouette.

• Keep your weight forward

  • It is common to fall backward out of a pirouette because your weight is not centered up and forward over the standing leg. In your preparation, visualize where your hips need to end up and guide them forward over the big toe of your turning leg as you relevé. This will help you find a better balance in your pirouette.

• Spotting

  • Your head should be the only part moving separately from the rest of your body in a pirouette. For spotting, you want to fix your eyes on a level focal point for as long as possible before whipping your head around to reconnect to your spot. Spotting is essential for turning and helps improve both your balance and momentum.

Want a visual? In this video, Julie will help you master these key technique concepts, as well as provide some mental pirouette tips!

Pirouette Exercises

Pirouettes can definitely be challenging. Even if you feel like you understand the technique behind them, getting the movement in your body and how it’s supposed to feel is a different thing. Here are some exercises to help with the physical challenges of pirouettes:

Exercises for staying rotated:

• 4 quarter turns on each side (from 5th)

  • Breaking down your pirouette into quarters will help you find control in your turn by keeping the legs equally rotated. 

• ½ turns on each side (from 5th)

  • Try this exercise while applying the same concepts if your quarter turns are feeling better. 

• Passé relevé (from 4th)

  • Starting in 4th position, press up to passé relevé like you would for a pirouette without turning. Keep your heels connected to the floor until the very last second. As you relevé, presh heels forward to maintain your rotation.

Exercises for controlling force/momentum:

• Spotting exercise

  • ½ turns on each side from fifth position while trying to keep the head facing the front of the room. This may throw off your balance at first, but it is important to instill spotting in your pirouette.

• Pirouettes from 5th with hands on the hips

  • You can try quarters, halves, or singles. Keeping the hands on the hips will encourage the upper body to stay with the legs, as well as initiating the pirouette from the legs as opposed to the arms. 

To see a visual example of some of these exercises, along with some more tips, check out this video with Julie and one of our Broche Ballet students, Liz!

Let’s dance!

Pirouettes only get better with practice! Keep working hard, and they will ultimately get easier! Happy dancing!