Advice on pirouettes and fouetté

[vanessa_ou]

I have danced all my life but can never seem to balance properly for my pirouettes and fouetté I can get about two of them and the rest is just tragic. Are there any techniques or advice someone could suggest this would really benefit me as I am part of a university cheerleading team. Thanks!

 

[snapdancer]

This forum is mainly inhabited by partner dancers, but perhaps someone may have a ballet background.

I think that as a point of commonality, we don't always have perfect body awareness, that is we don't know where all our body parts are while we're moving. If you're falling off balance, probably one of them is in the wrong place. Try having a friend video your attempts, you might be able to see for yourself what you're doing wrong.

 

[Partner Dancer]

I have danced all my life but can never seem to balance properly for my pirouettes and fouetté I can get about two of them and the rest is just tragic. Are there any techniques or advice someone could suggest this would really benefit me as I am part of a university cheerleading team. Thanks!

Do these help?






Describe how you practice and what it is exactly you want to achieve (Ballet, Jazz, etc. spins?).

 

[dncergrl2]

Along with troubleshooting your technical issues, a great exercise to "build" your pirouette is to start with a prep and just snap up to balance and hold. Do on the left. Then a 1/4 turn on the right; then left, then 1/2 turn right and left, then 3/4 turn, and so on: 1, 1 & 1/2, 2, etc This way, you have to be specific where you spot and also manage your push off power. Do it with music and hold the balance and the "small" turns for the full count. Don't fall out of them. If your non-turning balance is pretty good for the count of the turn, all you pretty much have to do to get rotations is to spot.

 

[blackswan]

Along with troubleshooting your technical issues, a great exercise to "build" your pirouette is to start with a prep and just snap up to balance and hold. Do on the left. Then a 1/4 turn on the right; then left, then 1/2 turn right and left, then 3/4 turn, and so on: 1, 1 & 1/2, 2, etc This way, you have to be specific where you spot and also manage your push off power. Do it with music and hold the balance and the "small" turns for the full count. Don't fall out of them. If your non-turning balance is pretty good for the count of the turn, all you pretty much have to do to get rotations is to spot.

This exercise has been working really well for me. Also make sure your pelvis is truly over the ball of the standing leg - it is very easy to slip back a hair before pushing off.

 

[FancyFeet]

Agreed. This exercise is how I figured out that I was putting way too much power into initiating my turns, and that I was checking/coming out of the rotation a little late... which was making them super hard to control and multiples nearly impossible.

 

[Dancey]

Agree with the exercises posted above. My most common mistakes on the fouettés are not getting a deep enough plié between them, and not fully straightening my standing leg in relevé.

I also find my turns magically get better when I've done core exercises that day, I think it just gets everything activated and ready to go!