Question: What Is Turnout?
Answer: Turnout is fundamental to ballet. Every ballet dancer must work to achieve a good turnout, or outward rotation of the hips and the feet. With perfect turnout, a dancer's feet point in opposite ways of each other to form a straight line, with the heels touching. The legs are rotated outwards from the hip as far to the side as possible. Ballet dancers work to achieve their maximum turnout, which varies between dancers.
All ballet techniques are based on turnout, so a ballet dancer benefits greatly from developing maximum turnout. A good turnout gives a dancer more flexibility and greater range of movement. A dancer's turnout will improve over time with hard work and regular stretching.
