4 Strengthening Exercises for Flawless Pirouettes
If there’s one thing every dancer is always working on, it’s her pirouette. It’s no secret that this skill takes years of honing and practice. But in addition to solid technique, perfect pirouettes require a lot of strength. We turned to Roman Zhurbin, soloist with American Ballet Theatre and owner of Roman Empire Fitness, for a breakdown of the best ways to strengthen the muscles used in a pirouette.
All photography by Erin Baiano. Hair and makeup by Angela Huff for Mark Edward Inc. Modeled by Ava Desiderio.
TheraBand Relevés
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TheraBand Anti-Rotation Press
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{“product_info”: {“caption”: “Buy Now”, “product_price”: 0, “product_vendor”: false, “linkout_url”: false, “product_compare_at_price”: 0}, “headline”: “TheraBand Anti-Rotation Press”, “credit”: “”, “description”: “u003cpu003e u003cstrongu003eRoman’s Note: u003c/strongu003e”This exercise helps strengthen your lats, which keep you stabilized as you’re turning.” u003c/pu003eu003cpu003e1. Tie your TheraBand to the barre, or have a friend or teacher hold it. Hold the two loose ends of the TheraBand and lowly take a few steps to the side, so that tension builds in the band until it’s entirely straight. Place your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart.u003c/pu003e”, “caption”: “”}
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Single-Leg Bridges
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Exercise-Ball Transfer
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A version of this story appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of
Dance Spirit with the title “Pirouette Perfectors.”
