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January 2008
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Tips for Checking Good, Bad, and Dangerous Turnout
by Jennifer Brewer
The Good
When a dancer is standing in proper turnout:
• You can trace a line from the upper thigh to the toes. The femur (thigh bone) will be pointing toward the knee, and the toes will be in a straight line from the knee. (This is true even when hyperextension creates a slight angle at the knee.)
• The pelvis will be in a neutral position.
The Bad
When a dancer is forcing his or her turnout:
• The knees and toes point in a different direction from the femur.
• The feet roll forward.
• The pelvis is tilted forward or back.
The Dangerous
Forcing turnout can result in the following injuries:
• Shin splints and strained arches, from rolling at the foot
• Lumbar verterbral and sacral injury and psoas shortening and pain, from tilting the pelvis forward or back
• Premature osteoarthritis, from chronic misalignment of the body and subsequent inflammation
• Stretched ligaments, particularly in the knee
• Misaligned patellae (knee caps), from rotating at the knee
• Other injuries may become more likely, due to overall misalignmentÂ
