Fouette Turns

I’ve recently had a ton of students ask me to teach them how to do a fouette turn. 7 out of 10 times the dancer usually isn’t ready to begin even thinking about it! It’s driving me nuts!  So what is it about a fouette turn that turns heads of young dancers?

Elementary school age dancers always look up to dancers who are older than them, especially if they happen to be a particularly talented dancer. Those younger ones see them do fouettes and fall in love with the idea of being able to do just one. Then you find them hopping up and down on one leg and flailing around like a headless chicken. I asked one of my high school age dancers about her interested in fouettes and her answer was “because if you can do them then your good. I mean, it’s like if you can do them you’re a better dancer.” 

I won’t teach students how to do a fouette turn unless they have a clean and controlled double pirouette. I will let them know that they need more time to work on single and double pirouettes but in the mean time here are some extra things they can do.