Turn Out work for young children

Getting kids to keep their turnout while dancing is one of the hardest challenges I run into when teaching ballet. Here are exercises and tricks I use:

1. The Open Book Stretch: sit on the floor with legs straight out in front of you. keeping your legs together, with straight knees and a straight back, open your legs and feet so that your pinky toe reaches the floor, as if you are opening a book. You can turn the pages by just turning out one leg at a time, or both, opening and closing your ballet book.

2. The Belly Heel Stretch: lay on the floor on your belly, keeping your legs straight, bring your heels together and your toes apart. Try to push your heels into the floor until they reach the ground, without straining your hips or back. Keep your bottom flat, don't let it lift off of the floor. (This is a great stretch to do in bed before falling asleep at night).

3. For simple ballet walks, stick a sticker on the inside of your students heels, and have them focus on keeping their stickers visible during ballet walks.