Sometimes a dancer’s neck, in an effort to turn more, sticks out forward, out of alignment with the spine. Having your neck forward makes it harder for the essential mechanism of a turn to work… your spot! Take a look in the mirror and make sure your neck is straight and inline with your spine. Try to focus on how this alignment feels. If it feels very uncomfortable, it may be because your neck is always too far forward and your posture is always out of alignment; you shouldn’t have to force your neck back.
The pirouette tip here is to always be aware of the line of your neck. If you properly place your neck in line with your spine at barre, it will translate into good posture, which helps your pirouettes because your body is properly aligned. Another image that may help is to feel a connection, like a rod, between the back of your head, into your neck, down your back and into your standing leg and on to the floor.
With your neck properly aligned, it will be easier to spot because its on the axis you’ve created, not sticking out in front of it.
