An en dedan pirouette meaning an ‘inwards’ pirouette involves performing a turn in a retiré relevé towards the supporting leg.
Below are a couple of things to think about;
Arms - The arms need to be held throughout the pirouette in first position, if they waver or the elbows drop this will cause the weight placement to be effected and you could end up falling out of the pirouette.
Spotting - Another important factor is spotting you need to find a spot in front of you and find the spot again when you complete a full turn. The head is usually the last thing to leave in a pirouette and the first to arrive.
Posture - Lengthen your lower back by using your abdominal muscles. The shoulders should be back and down and you should not move from this position. Try to avoid looking down and instead lift your chin ever so slightly this will help you to retain the correct posture throughout this position.
Core - A strong core is essential for executing the perfect pirouette. If you have a naturally slightly curved lower back use mat based exercises which flatten the lower back to the floor. During the Balletic floor barre classes we cover lots of exercises to help gain strength here.
Weight placement - The head, shoulders and hips need to be right over the supporting leg if they aren’t you will fall out of the position or even hop. Before you start to pirouette begin by just coming to a relevé retiré and check your weight placement using the mirrors.
Below I will describe how to perform an en dedan pirouette with a fouetté preparation;
1. Fifth position croisé right foot in front arms in bras bas*
2. Tendu devant taking the arms first to second.
3. Lunge onto the front foot keeping a straight back leg taking the arms to third position.
4. The right arm then opens to second as the leg moves to a la seconde en l’air facing en face.
5. The foot then comes to a retiré devant as the arms close to first position whilst performing the pirouette.
6. The head spots the front.
7. Close fifth position devant croisé taking the arms second down to bras bas.
*This exercise can also be taken with the left foot in front.
At Balletic we follow the bbodance ballet syllabus which in turn use the Gail Grant ‘Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet’ for all of it’s ballet terminology. Diagrams may be different to what you are used to based on the school of ballet that you follow.