Tips for Diagnosing Natural Turnout
by Jennifer Brewer
Lincoln Jones assists with a properly turned-out arabesque.
Knowing how much potential rotation a dancer has can be helpful in setting training goals and methods.
Test #1
Judith Kimball uses rotating discs to help dancers find their natural turnout. “With the discs, they cannot possibly use their knees and feet, only their hips. That is their natural turnout,” she says.
Test #2
Lois Ellyn suggests the following exercise to help students evaluate themselves. With the toes raised, students cannot use the floor to force rotation at the ankle. The exercise also helps remind them that with proper turnout all five toes are on the floor. Make sure students don’t cheat by digging in their heels and rocking their hips back.
1. Have students stand in parallel first position, holding onto the barre
2. Keeping the pelvis in a neutral position, let students rock back onto their heels, so that the toes are raised and relaxed.
3. Rotate the legs from the hip, leaving the toes in the air. Lower the toes, starting with the little toes and working to the big toes.
Test #3
The following exercise from Lincoln Jones is helpful for diagnosing both overall hip rotation and the difference between rotation on one leg and the other. He says that awareness of the differences between legs can be essential, particularly when coming down from a relevé or jump. “When you come down to a plié on one leg, you move your body toward that toe in order to achieve balance,” he says. “You need to know how much turnout you have to know where you’re headed. The nice thing is that we don’t have to dance in a new body every day—you can learn to dance with your body.”
Assist each dancer individually with this exercise. The teacher’s role is to make sure the hips don’t rise as the leg moves and to allow the students to relax the muscles fully.
1. Have a student lie face-down on the floor, with the legs parallel and relaxed.
2. Reach under the top of one ankle and bend the knee to form a right angle, with the legs still parallel.
3. Reminding the student to keep the leg relaxed, gently move the foot in the direction of the resting leg.
4. When the moving leg meets resistance, you have found the degree of turnout that is natural to the student.
5. Repeat with the opposite leg.
