pirouettes

[Guest 321dance]

hi-

we're practicing single pirouettes and trying doubles but i can't seem to do a nice, clean single. whenever i try to turn it seems as if i'm hopping up and trying to get around as fast as possible just so i can crash down again. i've tried just doing passe instead of turning and i have mastered that. any sugestions on how i can feel more confident about pirouettes. also, could you describe what actually is going on when you do a pirouette on pointe.

 

thanks so much!!

[Mel Johnson]

whenever i try to turn it seems as if i'm hopping up and trying to get around as fast as possible just so i can crash down again. 

thanks so much!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You've described the problem right there! You're trying to kill the turn instead of just letting it turn! Just do what you've been doing by practicing the preparation into retiré. Then just do a quarter-turn. Do it all around, until you've made a complete turn. Then do it with half-turns. Then do one full turn. You don't need much force. (Don't try three-quarter turns. They're more difficult than proceeding right onto the single.)

[Victoria Leigh]

A pirouette on pointe is just like a pirouette on demi pointe, except easier because you don't have the friction of the floor when you are turning on the top of the pointe shoe instead of the entire ball of the foot! It's just a passé that turns! If you can do a good relevé passé on pointe, then just take it around the corner and lift yourself off of it the same way you do when not turning. When you have that, go a bit further around the corner, and voila, you have a pirouette!

[PinkShoes24]

join the club- i had the same problem!

 

How do you prep for your pirouette?

When i started out, my teacher had us go from fourth and fifth positions, however, i never could be able to fully go on my pointe!

so out of class, i began practicing on my own and went back to some serious beg. positions. I finally got to pirouette correctly from second plie: first doing quarter, half, then full turns. after mastering pirouettes from second, i practiced them from fourth then fifth and now i can do them quite easily.

 

Another problem i had was siking myself out. Just remember- it's a just a simple pirouette!

 

you'll be fine and good luck!

[janninepointe]

I don't know if I can write this but I find a good plie helps alot.

[Pointeyourfeet]

It helps to work up to a good pirouette- It's hard to see what's going wrong when you are just prepping and then pushing off......... hoping a good turn will come out of it Once you know exactly what's going wrong technically, then you have lots of hope! Happy turning!

[balletbum74]

When I have bad pirouette days, it's usually because I'm using too much force. Since you're en pointe you don't need to use the force of your arms as much. I think about doing a quick, clean spot and that's usually all the force I need.

[Pointeyourfeet]

Lindsey's right-

One of my old instructors actually taught us to use a sort of one armed prep!

[windsongs]

My teacher always tells us that the force needed for a pirouette should always come from the legs and feet (like when you plie). Usually, she has us practice a few pirouettes with our hands on our hips or shoulders to make sure that it's not coming from the upper body. Then we add the arms. That makes it easier for me when I add the arms because by that time, I am used to the force coming from the plie. I'm not such a good turner so I practice that a lot.

[princessa]

I thought I would use this post instead of strting a new one as my question is about pirouettes too. I can go up fine to begin with in my pirouette, but after about 3/4 of a turn, I start to fall back. I have practiced balancing from fifth and fourth into releve, and I can do that fine, but I still fall back. Do you have any ideas for me to try so I can correct it?

[Victoria Leigh]

You are probably letting go with your abs on the way around, and then the back drops and you fall backwards. Try imagining a small circle around your body, like a little hoop. It is against your back, with the circle space in front of you. When you relevé into the turn, move INSIDE of that circle and hold your abs and stay there! Spiral upwards, not backwards.

[Skye90]

A girl in my class had that problem once too, and my teacher discovered for her that she was spotting too high. She chose an object lower down to spot and didn't fall back. My teacher always says, " I would rather you fell on your nose then your back." Of course I understand that there are lots of possible reasons for the problem and that was just one I wanted to add to Ms. Leighs, though most likely she hit it on the nail.

[princessa]

Thanks Ms Leigh, that has really helped!

[janninepointe]

lol, I always need a good proper bun when doing my pirouettes otherwise I can't do a thing... really strange...

[dancergirl39]

For an "on track" pre-pro student at 14, whats a good goal for pirouettes en pointe, in terms of numbers while maintaining technique.