Dancing Turnout: Myths, Facts, and Tips

a teenage girl breakdance form with dancer turnout

Estimated read time:

4

minutes

Turnout is used across a variety of dance styles, from ballet to contemporary, and is often considered a “must-have” for dancers. However, there are a lot of misconceptions and myths about how turnout can be achieved. Understanding turnout, breaking down myths, and learning about injury prevention strategies, specifically through physical therapy, can keep dancers healthy and dancing longer. Let’s break down some turnout myths and facts that every dancer should know.

The Myth: Turnout comes from your feet

A common myth about turnout is that it is all about where your feet are. When building turnout from the feet, dancers often use the “ground-up” method for achieving the desired position of 180 degrees turnout. This is seen when dancers bend their knees to move their toes backward and heels forward and then straighten their knees to hold the position. Anatomically, this puts significant increased stress on the joints of the ankle, knee, and often the lower back. The joints are put in a disadvantaged position, so they are not able to be supported, even if the dancer is strong. This can lead to decreased control of movement and increased risk of injury.

The Fact: Every body has different turnout

Rather than the feet, the anatomy of your hips greatly influences turnout, and every individual has slight variations to their skeletal structure. The hips are made of a ball-and-socket joint which allows for rotation, and some dancers have greater natural range of motion while others may have structural limitations.

Without understanding your own body’s range, it is possible to have overcompensations in the lower back, knees, or ankles which leads to risk of injury. Using the top-down method (starting at your hips) is ideal for using maximum turnout safely without these compensations. Dancers can achieve aesthetic lines through the legs when the turnout starts here – similar to having an arm position start from the shoulder blade on the back.

There are safe ways to improve your turnout within the natural range that you have, and working with a physical therapist can help you to prevent compensations in other areas. A physical therapist can help train your body’s awareness, improve motor control to utilize the greatest range possible, and make safe adjustments to achieve desired lines or postures without putting other structures at risk based on your unique body.

in a dance studio, a woman holds plie position

The Myth: Stretching is the key to more turnout

One common misconception about turnout is that if you simply stretch, your turnout will improve. While it is true that muscle flexibility through the hips is a contributing factor to turnout, it is important to understand the structure of the hip joints and muscular control around them are the primary determinants of the total turnout available. Over-stretching can lead to motor control imbalances and may lead to strain or injury.

The Fact: A balance of strengthening and stretching is key

While it is true that stretching can help dancers reach the extreme positions required in their field, without appropriate strengthening to support the flexibility dancers will have a difficult time preventing common overuse injuries. 

There is a collection of deep hip muscles that act to externally rotate the hip required for turnout, which often are overlooked in traditional cross-training exercise. Physical therapists are educated and trained on how these muscles work as a group, and how to effectively improve the strength as well as the control of these muscles to improve your turnout both statically and dynamically.

Injury prevention through physical therapy

Dancers often receive medical care and treatment after an injury, which leads to thinking about how to prevent those injuries from happening in the first place. With overuse and postural compensations being a major cause for injury in dancers, learning how to protect and achieve proper turnout is key for injury prevention. Physical therapy can provide invaluable support for dancers by being part of the care team after an injury – and even before.

Some things a physical therapist may work with you on are strengthening muscles around the hips, balancing strength and stretching without overstretching, increasing body awareness in alignment and posture, and foot and ankle stability. They can also help you learn more about warm-ups and cool-downs, rest and recovery, and how to keep your body running efficiently and effectively through training.

Remember, while many dancers may have the goal of “perfect turnout,” it’s important to approach turnout with a focus on longevity and continued growth as a dancer. Increased understanding of your anatomy, debunking myths, and using injury prevention strategies such as physical therapy can all improve your turnout safely and effectively. Don’t wait to reach out – we can help you today!

Ready to take your dance performance to the next level?
Need guidance on building strength and flexibility?
Schedule a session with our physical therapy team today!

Featured Patient Success Stories

Blog Posts You May Be Interested In

Athletic Performance
Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned golfer, these cable machine exercises will help improve your swing, increase your distance, and reduce your risk of injury.
Athletic Performance, Exercise, Golf, injury prevention, mobility
Athletic Performance
Baseball demands strength, precision, and resilience. PTs are crucial in helping players optimize performance, recover from injuries, and prevent future issues.
injury prevention, physical therapy, Youth Athletics
Athletic Performance
Shoulder stability is a key factor in preventing injuries and enhancing performance for wrestlers. Unfortunately it is often overlooked in training programs.
Exercise, injury prevention, physical therapy, Shoulder, Youth Athletics

How can we help you today?

Quick Links:

How can we help you today?