Christopher Ellis
By Christopher Ellis on January 07th, 2016

Its a common mistake to try to whip your arms around, or to focus so intently on them that they seem to make up 90% of your pirouette. It should be the exact opposite. Try instead to think of your whole body, equally, making the pirouette position. If anything, you want to focus more strength on your standing leg, making sure it is straight and your retiré leg is properly attached in a nice and high position.

The tip here is that arms in pirouettes are just for decoration. If you always rely on whipping your arms into first position, how would that work if the pirouette is instructed to go straight to a high fifth instead? It wouldn’t. Also, if you tend to whip and focus too much on your arms, there’s a good chance you’ll be throwing them around which will cause your torso to become misaligned with your legs.

About the Author: Christopher Ellis

Christopher Ellis
Chris was a professional ballet dancer for 12 years, dancing at Orlando Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and BalletMet, where he enjoyed performing a variety of soloist and featured roles in classical and contemporary ballets. He trained at Metropolitan Ballet Theatre in Atlanta, GA. Currently, Chris is the Editor of BalletHub.com.