Updated
October 07, 2016.
When you begin learning ballet, one of the first things you will learn is the five basic ballet positions, normally referred to as positions one through five. They are important because every basic move in ballet begins and ends in one of the five positions. Can you stand in all five positions correctly? It's extraordinarily difficult to execute these positions correctly; few beginning dancers can.
In all five basic positions, the leg is rotated (or "turned out") from the hip. As a result, the feet are displaced from their usual toe forward orientation and are positioned instead with the feet rotated 90 degrees. In practice, a full 90 degree rotation may take years of practice. When you're beginning, your teacher will probably ask you to rotate only as much as is comfortable.
In first position, the balls of the feet are turned out completely. The heels touch each other and the feet face outward. You may not be able to achieve a full rotation, but it's important that even in the beginning the soles of both feet are firmly and entirely in contact with the floor. When you see professional ballerinas in first position, you'll also notice that the legs are in contact with each other from the top of the leg down as far the calf and thereafter as close as possible, with the heels in full contact.
