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Victoria Brileva

By Марк Олич (Mark Olich)

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Laurel Keen, Alonzo King Lines Ballet - Photo by Marty Sohl

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San Francisco Ballet’s Sofiane Sylve and Vito Mazzeo - photo by Erik Tomasson

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Helen Crawford -  Myrtha - Royal Opera House

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Do you have pirouette advice? I am struggling with them so much and it's so frustrating. I can't even make a double pirouette!!!

Of course! Okay I’m just going to throw everything I know at you so sorry if it’s long!

The biggest thing I think about when pirouetting is pulling up everything as high as I can. However, you still have to feel your supporting foot pushing into the ground, like you’re a creature on a Merry-Go-Round and you have a pole going through you. I also think a lot about my turnout, and not just whacking the knee back. Think about your glutes and rotating that thigh around and under. (Does that make sense? It’s hard to describe in only words…). Another thing I’ve found helpful is feeling like you’re trying to put your foot in your crotch. The foot in retiré should be above your knee. If you think about lifting it as high as you can that helps a lot. Also make sure you’re bringing your back around with you and not letting it twist, stay as square as possible. Related to that, keep your arms in a strong first position, make sure they aren’t down by your belly button, but they shouldn’t be parallel to the floor either.

Sometimes it’s a psychological factor that’s holding you back. If so, sometimes it helps me to count my pirouettes differently. So instead of counting 1, 2, as you go around, try counting 1, 1; or 1, 1, 2 if you’re going for three.

If you’re having trouble getting momentum, think of throwing a melon with your arm (if you’re pirouetting to the right, with your left arm; and to the left, with your right arm).

Also just checking in with your balance at the barre is really good to. Make sure you really know where your balance is in pirouette position.

I hope that helped!

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Suite Synergy by Graeme Murphy 

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Sofiane Sylve

Rubies

Photography: Erik Tomasson

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Frances Chung and Taras Domitro in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations.

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