2 Truths and A Lie about Turnout

Turnout comes from the hips…. The muscles of the hips! Having flexibility at your hips and having good turnout is NOT the same thing. Sometimes you will notice that you can sit in your middle split or frog but your standing turn out is not flat. Why is that? You need the flexibility in the hips to achieve the desired flat turnout, but it is your muscles that allow you to improve your turnout. If you force your turnout by planting your feet and twisting, you will notice tour buttock sticking out and bad posture. But even worse, a forced turnout will ‘turn off’ the muscles that help you find your center, lift your leg, and maintain your turnout. Instead of forcing your turnout, work on the strength of your turnout muscles! Exercises like clam shells, penguins, standing fire-hydrant hips, are helpful exercises to engage and strengthen your turnout muscles. 

A 180 degree Turnout is possible… FALSE!  It is an illusion to have completely flat turnout. Even the best of the best dancers do not have a complete 180 degree turnout. In reality, a flat turnout is closer to 130-50 degrees. If you tried to make your turnout 180 degrees, your toes would be pointing back behind you. 

Conditioning and Cross Training in parallel will help improve your turnout! If you are only work in your turnout- during class, when you walk, when you exercise- your turnout muscles will be tight and not as effective.  Changing from turnout to parallel is a great way to easily increase your bodies strength, endurance, and balance. 

Turnout Checklist 

€      Knees track over ALL your toes, not just big toe! 

€      Tailbone down – not tucked under

€      Pelvis neutral 

€      Torso and upper body lifted