3 replies to this topic

[Victoria Leigh]

RozeToze, the keyword in your post is "can". That is, what Gretchen Ward Warren is saying in her (most excellent) book is not that it IS dangerous, but that it CAN be if a dancer without much natural rotation works incorrectly or forces the rotation beyond her physical limit.  As the book says, one can increase their rotation when properly taught at a young enough age, but not much actual increase will take place later.  What happens later is that dancers learn to "know their limitations and to work within them". They learn to use what they have in such a way that they can "camouflage a less-than-perfect degree of natural turn-out".  

So, the danger comes from over-rotation, or turning out from the knees or feet instead of the hips, and improper placement which prevents the correct muscle usage for turn-out.

[Victoria Leigh]

RozeToze, the keyword in your post is "can". That is, what Gretchen Ward Warren is saying in her (most excellent) book is not that it IS dangerous, but that it CAN be if a dancer without much natural rotation works incorrectly or forces the rotation beyond her physical limit.  As the book says, one can increase their rotation when properly taught at a young enough age, but not much actual increase will take place later.  What happens later is that dancers learn to "know their limitations and to work within them". They learn to use what they have in such a way that they can "camouflage a less-than-perfect degree of natural turn-out".  

So, the danger comes from over-rotation, or turning out from the knees or feet instead of the hips, and improper placement which prevents the correct muscle usage for turn-out.