pirouettes...ugh

[Guest waytoshop]

i just started ballet once a week about a month ago. im also in color guard and i was in ballet from when i was 3 to 11, but i guess guard shoved all my ballet out of me lol. and for my recital in a month, we have to do a double pirouette and i cannot for the life of me do one. any suggestions?

~macy~

[Mel Johnson]

First, welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers, wts, glad to have you here.

 

It won't do any good for the remainder of this term, if your performance is only a month away, but the best short advice I can give is to do a single, and DON'T STOP. Spot one more time and make sure that your body is straight up and down. Next year, you will probably want to take more classes, as once-a-week is nearly nothing when it comes to building actual accomplishment in ballet.

[Skye90]

Hi there wts, I have had big problems with double's too! Thankfully they're sussed now....my teacher told me that a double pirrouette is just the same as a single, only you need more power and your head has to go a bit quicker. Like Mr. Johnson said, it's all practice. If you can do a single, then a double isn't much more. Just spot!

 

you'll get them soon

[Giraffedancer]

I've had issues with doubles. My best advice other than practice would be to spot, keep your center in, and keep your position steady. That is what helped me.

[Guest winterfresh844]

another thing that helped me (in addition to giraffedancer's comments) was practicing my passe position, especially keeping my knee back.

[Mel Johnson]

You don't even need that much force to do a double. A lot of students actually knock themselves offbalance by trying to kill the step.

 

But gang, while you haven't quite gone over the line, remember that technical advice in this forum comes from Ms. Leigh and me. Anecdotes about the topic are all right, but the advice comes from the teachers.

[Guest dancer522]

Make sure you're on balance in your single, too. You can get away with doing off-balance singles, and then when it comes time to do doubles, you can't find your balance long enough to go around twice.

 

Also, I figured I'd ask here, instead of starting a new post, because it has to do with pirouettes:

Do you know why the guys seem to be able to do so many more pirouettes than girls? And also, I know the amount of pirouettes someone can do isn't a deciding factor, but how many do you think a girl would need to be a professional in a good company? (My friend does quadruples, and I can usually only do doubles (getting close to good triples, though!), and my mom said that when she danced, she didn't think she was ever asked for more than a double, but that was a long time ago! haha

[Mel Johnson]

A girl will seldom be asked to do any more than a triple. I'm with Balanchine about the boys, whom he also held to triples, "otherwise audience starts counting". Men generally do more pirouettes than women because of sheer strength, and the fact that they never have to do any on pointe! Also, an unwholesome tendency has been growing for years in men's work which allows them to "wind up" before taking off. Not in my class, you don't! Also, a lot of men are allowed to get away with dropping turnout on the supporting leg as the turns begin. That sends me right through the ceiling!

[Guest dancer522]

I actually never thought of the fact that boys don't have to do them on pointe! I started wondering about how many girls would need, because on the Pointe Message Board, there was a thread asking, "How many Pirouettes Can You Do?". This one girl said usually 6-9 on the right, but that she's done 10 a couple times, and 12 once, and another girl said consistantly 8 on the right, and 6-7 on the left. Then I realized, that I don't think I've ever seen a girl do that many pirouettes!

[Guest afroballet01]

Also remember to pull up!

[Victoria Leigh]

Dancer522, keep in mind that a question like that on a message board is an invitation for exaggeration! There are very few, if any, top professional dancers in the world who do 10-12 pirouettes, or 8 consistently, on of off pointe! In fact, the most I have ever seen by one amazing student dancer who was a "natural turner" was 9 on pointe, and that was certainly not a consistent thing. Me thinks these dancers are quite delusional

[danseur]

I have a question about pirouettes. I have a hard time doing a single pirouette. I use way to much force and I'm having trouble using less force. Does anyone have any advice?

[Mel Johnson]

Relax and don't use so much force!

[TomarkenFan89]

I feel that the less force I use, the more turns I can do. I also try hard NOT to think about the turn itself.

[Victoria Leigh]

For the single pirouette, try thinking of it as a relevé around the corner. It takes almost no force for a single turn.