Turnout is obviously a massive topic in ballet. One of my most commonly asked questions is “How can I improve my turnout?” Many ballet dancers force their hips and knees in an effort to achieve that coveted 180 degree turnout. Other dancers spend hours sitting in the frog stretch to try to increased their hip flexibility. Some lucky dancers build strength and range of motion naturally through traditional ballet training. However, many many MANY dancers struggle to achieve the turnout they desire.
If you read any of my post before, you will hopefully know that truly great turnout does not come from static flexibility. Rather, to improve your turnout, you need to build the strength and control in the muscles so that you can actually use the range of motion you have while you are dancing. You will have also come across some of my favorite exercises to improve this active strength and control. If you are new to ballet or really struggling with your turnout, make sure you start HERE to get the basics right!
Anatomically, true turnout comes from what we call external rotation of the hips. To achieve turnout, you need a combination of range of motion, or mobility in the joint (different from static flexibility!) and active control and strength. When activating your turnout, you mainly use a combination of your big gluteus maximus muscle and your deep external rotators, which are a group of 6 muscles that sit deep underneath glute max.
In this video and post, I’m going to discuss an area of turnout that’s rarely addressed, which is the ability to control your turnout in a wide variety of positions. Have you ever noticed that maybe you have great turnout standing in first position, but struggle to hold your turnout en fondu? Or may you have great turnout with your leg devant but always end up turned in when your leg is derrière? This is because the muscle firing pattern on all of our 7+ turnout muscles varies depending on the position of your hip and leg. Thus, to achieve great turnout throughout all of your dancing, you need to strengthen your turnout muscles in a variety of positions.
So, in this video, I go through five of my favorite turnout exercises that strengthen your muscle in all of the important movement patterns.
Any questions, let me know! Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more great training tips.
If you are ready to take your training to the next level, book a free introductory session with me to discuss how I can help.
