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EntertainmentHow to Dance Ballet

How to Do a Pirouette in Ballet

Transcript

My name is Maegan Woodin, and I’m a professional dancer, choreographer, teacher and student. I have danced for MTV, Diana Ross, Marc Jacobs and have appeared in many music videos. You can find more information about me and my career, as well as photos and videos, at www.dgtnyc.com. I’m going to be talking to you about ballet. A pirouette in Ballet is a turn that is very commonly found on the basic to intermediate level. The amount of turns depends on the skill of the dancer. So you can start off by just doing a passe in Releve to doing a half turn, to doing a full turn, to doing two, three, four. And for male dancers they can do up to ten pirouettes at a time. So it is important to think about the alignment and the position of your fourth position, which most pirouette’s start in. So if you stand in fourth position, again your fourth position shouldn’t be too wide, it should be pretty small and your weight should be evenly between both legs. Your arms are going to open up, one arm is to the side one arm is in front. You are going to start in a plie position. When you plie you are going to open up both arms, that is going to be the start of your plie and the start of your pirouette. You are going to open up your arms then bring them together and your foot is going to come passe. So again you are going to plie, open up your arm and everything is going to zip up into passe. And that is the very basic level. And you turn it when you become more advanced. I am now going to demonstrate how to do a pirouette turn, I am going to do a single turn and then I am going to do a double turn.Now I am going to demonstrate a double pirouette.


Lessons in this Guide

How to Become a Professional Ballet Dancer

How to Get a Ballet Dancer’s Body

3 Ballet Pointe Tips

How to Find a Good Ballet School

How to Prepare for a Ballet Recital

How to Do Warm-Up Exercises for Ballet

What Is Correct Alignment & Placement in Ballet?

How to Get into a National Ballet Company

How to Do Chaines Turns in Ballet

How to Do a Temps Leve in Ballet

How to Do the 5 Basic Ballet Positions

How to Do a Plie in Ballet

How to Do a Tendu in Ballet

How to Do an Arabesque in Ballet

How to Stretch Properly for Ballet

How to Do an Assemble in Ballet

How to Do a Fondu in Ballet

How to Do a Pirouette in Ballet

How to Break in Ballet Pointe Shoes

How to Prepare for Ballet Pointe

How to Improve Turnout in Ballet

How to Do a Sous-Sus in Ballet

How to Prepare for a Ballet Audition

How to Do a Rond de Jambe in Ballet

How to Do Pique Turns in Ballet

What Should You Eat before a Ballet Class?

How to Get into a Summer Intensive for Ballet

What Do Parents Need to Know About Kids’ Ballet?

How to Do a Pas de Bourree in Ballet

How to Do a Passe Position in Ballet

How to Do a Releve in Ballet

How to Do a Grand Jete in Ballet

Top 3 Ballet Dancing Tips

Contemporary or Modern Ballet vs. Classic Ballet

How to Do a Sissonne in Ballet

How to Pick the Right Ballet Shoes

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