Fouettes

[Shannonian101]

Fouette turns!

I cannot get the hang of them. I keep on falling to the side whenever I practice them.

Any advice for getting the hang of fouettes?

Thank you.

[vrsfanatic]

Shannonian101 we will be delighted to help you however it might be more beneficial if you could say to which side you are falling! Coordination, placement and instruction are key in this movement.

[Perfect on Pointe!]

Fouette turns!

I cannot get the hang of them. I keep on falling to the side whenever I practice them.

Any advice for getting the hang of fouettes?

Thank you.

Hey!

I had trouble with them when i first started, and it sounds similar to what you have, not being able to get my balance right, but then i started thinking (im really sad- when i have a problem it bothers me for hours unless i sort it!) about them and what my problem was with them and came up with some solutions, and talked to my dance teacher about them, and whether she thought my solutions were any good (i didnt want to kill my muscles or technique!!), and she said they were okay.

What i did was at the barre practised battement fouettes for about 10 minutes a day, because you balance more if you move sharper when turning because its an instant reaction because your body sort of has to position itself better to make the action sharp, so that causes your weight positioning to be better, i can't really explain it, and i worked on the crispness when i moved my lower leg in, and squeezing it out. Also at the barre i practised the actual leg motion of a fouette turn (a fouette rond de jambe), so i could make it a natural thing to do it correctly, because the more you practise it without the turn, just getting your positioning right, it becomes automatic to do that when you turn, so if your having trouble balancing, the best thing to focus on would be to practise the moment when your leg comes from being devant to second. Try to make this action really quick and sharp, because that will make your turn be quick and sharp, because thats the motion thats encouraging you to turn. Try also to think about when you whip it to second and whilst you passe it to devant a bit as well, keeping it at 90degrees (thats just whilst in second, obviously!), but perfectly turned out, even if that means putting it a bit lower, like at 80 degrees, and making sure your hips havent displaced. If whilst your practising the leg motion at the barre you realise you are displacing your hip, thats probably why youre falling to the side- because all ballet works from the core muscles, so if your hips are displaced so will youre weight. Its like not being over the toe of your supporting leg whilst doing a developpe to second in the centre- if your placement and weight isnt there it wont work! Id think about trying this first because thats most likely the problem and if it is, its really easy to sort, just keep practising thatleg motion and holding it well placed in second, at the barre.

Once youve got your placement sorted out, youre pretty much sorted, but try practising releves on two feet and then one foot (keeping the other sur le coup de pied), because that will encourage you to be more pulled up (again helping the balance!)(and remember to do it on both legs!), and will also develop stronger muscles in your calf, so that your releve into the pirouette will be strong and well pulled up, so that along with good placing will mean your balance is perfect, and your turns strong and crisp, so you shouldnt have ANY problem at all! I didnt after about two weeks of practising. Oh, and a last piece of advice, though its really obvious, just check your arms are working in time with your legs. That sometimes you dont notice, but it can really throw you off balance, so just check as well as all the other stuff...

Sorry this was waaaaaaaay long, but i was really fussy about my fouette turns because i love turns so when i couldnt do them i was very sad ( so i wanted to help, and told you everything i know, but now im looking it seems a lot.... I hope you didnt get bored halfway through....

I really hope it helps- good luck with your turns!!!

)

[Mel Johnson]

Let's give vrsfanatic a try at this first, shall we? After all, SHE is the teacher-moderator. And Shannonian hasn't even had a chance to answer!

[Perfect on Pointe!]

Let's give vrsfanatic a try at this first, shall we? After all, SHE is the teacher-moderator. And Shannonian hasn't even had a chance to answer!

Umm... i was the person who replied to the fouette post with loads of advice, and i just wanted to say i a)didnt read that members werent supposed to add advice to help technique, b)wasnt trying to show off, i just wanted to help someone with a problem that had annoyed me a while ago so i sorta know how they felt and c) I wasn't trying to get a word in before the starter could reply to the teachers post, when i first looked at the topic, there were no responses, and i really wanted to help this person because i hate it when im frustrated with a step, and my post was kinda long, so the teacher must have put in their post just as i posted mine or something.

Anyway Im reeeaaallllyyyyy sorry, i hope i dint offend anyone...

[Mel Johnson]

It's really OK; you're practically brand new to the board, so the etiquette may not have been immediately evident to you. On the Young Dancers threads, we generally hold off until a teacher-moderator (Victoria Leigh, vrsfanatic, or I) responds, then other students may sound off with accounts of experience that has helped them! It's worked for years, so we keep the tradition. We pretend that it's like a classroom. Here's a link to Rules and Policies, to give you some background on this moderated board.

 

http://dancers.invisionzone.com/index.php?showforum=85

[Shannonian101]

After about two fouettes, I fall to the side or back.

 

Do you think I take too much force? Is it the position that my arms are in?(I do the out-in-out-in movement)...but I just can't get the hang of them.

 

Thank you, Perfect on Pointe! Your reply is helping me understand a bit more!

 

Wait! I fall to the right side when I do fouettes to the right- en de ohrs. Same with when I do fouettes to the left, except I fall to the left.

[vrsfanatic]

From your vague post, I am assuming you are discussing fouette with a demi rond de jambe front/side, demi plie/demi plie/releve after which you pull into the passe closing back, whipping front and repeating. By falling side, I am assuming you mean falling in the direction of the working side? There are three ways to do fouette successfully, that I have seen however only two I am mechanically knowledgeable. Which way have you studied?

[Shannonian101]

Vaganova Method.

[vrsfanatic]

Thank you, that is most helpful.

 

If you are falling to the working side upon the opening of the working leg directly to the side, most likely you are not keeping your weight on the supporting leg in demi plie as well as opening strongly the supporting arm to the side, pulling away from the working side, as it opens. The turn out of the supporting leg silmultaniously with the oppostion force of opening the working leg is not an easy find, but if you keep trying, you will learn so much about your body and what is too much or too little for many complicated turning movements. Also a very clear spot is quite important.

 

Keep plugging away. It is a wonderful experience.