Tag: 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 […]

Even for natural turners, pirouettes from fifth can be a challenge. You need to take off from a small crossed position and stay straight over your supporting leg, from start to finish. “It’s the hardest place to turn from, because you can’t access your plié as much as you can from fourth,” says Jennie Somogyi, […]

Ah, fouetté turns: They can make even a veteran ballerina shake in her pointe shoes. Performing a seamless series of perfectly placed fouettés requires both strength and finesse. Struggling to get to 32? Dance instructor Stephanie Kaiser Green from Eleanor’s School of Dance and other studios in Albany, NY, told us her 10 best tips […]

Thanks to everyone who 🌀🌀🌀-ed like crazy for our #TurnWithDanceSpirit contest! We were SUPER impressed with your submissions—you guys do not mess around when you’re turning ’round. (And you really, really like to pirouette to Taylor Swift, which made us extra happy.) So, who gave us serious #turnspiration? The WINNER of #TurnWithDanceSpirit (and the proud […]

This contest has ended. It’s time to get your pirouette on! From September 5th to September 30th, we’re hosting a contest to find out who’s the best turner of them all. Put together your most impressive turning combo. Post a video online. Share your turns with us and thousands of other dancers around the world. […]

There are dancers and then there are DANCERS! Whitney Jensen, soloist at Norwegian National Ballet, is the latter. The former Boston Ballet principal can do it all. From contemporary to the classics this prima has the technical talent most bunheads dream about. Need proof? Look no further. Jensen’s Instagram is filled with super human feats, […]

Consistent turns are a must for aspiring professional dancers, but pretty much everyone struggles with pirouettes at some point. Luckily, since we’re all beholden to the same rules of physics, there are concrete steps every dancer can take to reach his or her top turning potential. “Three is the new two when it comes to […]