When we think about improving ballet pirouettes, the old adage “practice makes perfect” often comes to mind. I vividly recall multiple instances where I was in front of my ballet teacher, hearing rapid-fire pirouette corrections, and wanting to walk out crying because it seemed my pirouettes just kept getting worse no matter how much I tried.
Trust me, my teacher didn't have it out for me. In fact, they were trying their best with what they knew. Sadly, many dancers and teachers believe that drilling turns repeatedly in one training will lead to more consistency and eventually, multiple pirouettes.
However, what often gets overlooked is how the body—particularly the nervous system—reacts to excessive repetition in one training session.
In fact, overstimulation of the nervous system can significantly impair progress and increase the risk of injury.
What is Pirouette Nervous System Overstimulation?
The neuromuscular system, which involves the interaction between the brain, nerves, and muscles, plays a critical role in coordinating movements like pirouettes. When we perform a movement, the brain sends signals through the nervous system to activate specific muscle groups in a precise order. This coordinated effort helps us balance, control, and execute the pirouette. However, when we continuously drill pirouettes without adequate rest, the nervous system becomes overstimulated.
Overstimulation occurs when the brain and nerves are bombarded with too much information without a break. In ballet, this might happen during an intense pirouette practice where a dancer repeats the same turn over and over. "Spot faster!" "Close your ribcage." "Do it again, this time with turnout." All great attempts at helping a ballet student but, not so effective for the nervous system when the dancer is on rep 10 of pirouette training.
The nervous system, already responsible for processing the balance and coordination needed for turning, becomes overwhelmed. When this happens, the brain's ability to send accurate signals to the muscles diminishes, leading to the pirouette that seems progressively worse.
Do you feel like your pirouettes get worse when you drill them on repeat?
Yes
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The Impact on Pirouettes
As the nervous system becomes overstimulated, it can no longer send the precise signals required for proper muscle activation during a pirouette.
The result? A dancer may start to fall out of their turns, lose their balance more easily, or fail to spot correctly. Instead of improving, the dancer’s pirouette gets worse with each repetition and trust me, everyone is frustrated.
This is where many dancers and teachers fall into a common trap: believing that pushing through these errors will ultimately lead to success. In reality, forcing the body to keep turning despite the nervous system's overstimulation is counterproductive. Worse, it ingrains faulty movement patterns that can become hard to correct later on. The nervous system begins to "memorize" these poor patterns, making it even more difficult to perform a clean, controlled pirouette in the future.
The Risk of Injury
Beyond poor ballet class performance, overstimulation of the nervous system poses a significant risk for ballet injuries.
When the body is tired and the nervous system is overstimulated, the muscles lose their ability to stabilize and protect the joints. This can lead to improper alignment during a pirouette, increasing stress on vulnerable areas like the knees, ankles, and hips.
For example, if the dancer’s body cannot maintain proper balance and core engagement due to neuromuscular fatigue, they may compensate by twisting the knee or pronating the ankle during the pirouette.
Over time, this misalignment can cause overuse injuries such as patellar tendonitis, ankle sprains, or even more severe issues like stress fractures.
The Role of Ballet Educators in Preventing Nervous System Overstimulation
As ballet educators, it's crucial to understand how the nervous system operates under the pressures of repetition. Standing in front of your students and demanding they "keep turning" despite visible signs of fatigue or declining performance not only limits their progress but can also place them at risk for injury.
Encouraging endless drilling in one session, does not account for the neuromuscular system's need for recovery.
Effective ballet educators should instead focus on learning new methods of teaching pirouettes. This means incorporating structured rest periods into pirouette training sessions and, when problematic technique issues arise, stepping away from the turn to first address the underlying problem. Whether it's turnout, alignment, or another functional issue—before returning to the pirouette for another attempt.
In addition, focus should be placed on quality over quantity—helping dancers refine the foundational aspects of the turn, such as alignment, balance, and muscle engagement.
It is essential for teachers to recognize that pirouettes are not just about turning. They involve a complex integration of balance, proprioception, muscle activation, and vestibular input. Drilling without addressing these components only amplifies the likelihood of overstimulating the nervous system and leading to poor technique or injury.
What Dancers Can Do
Dancers also need to take responsibility for how they approach pirouette practice. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that more repetition will lead to improvement, but as we've seen, this can be a dangerous mindset.
If you notice that your turns are getting worse, not better, it’s time to take a break. Pushing through is more likely to lead to injury and frustration than progress.
Instead, break your pirouette practice into smaller, focused sessions. Work on balance exercises, core strengthening, and ankle stability to give your neuromuscular system a variety of challenges before attempting the pirouette. This primes the muscles and prepares the nervous system for what is to come.
By training in different ways and giving your nervous system a break, you'll see more improvement in your pirouettes without the risk of burnout or injury.
Pirouette Long-Term Success and Ballet Injury Prevention
Ballet pirouettes require much more than repetitive practice. They demand a keen awareness of the neuromuscular system’s limits and the body’s need for balance and stability. Ballet educators and dancers alike must understand that overstimulation of the nervous system can lead to poor technique, ingrained bad habits, and most importantly, injury.
By promoting smarter training techniques—like incorporating rest, focusing on alignment and muscle engagement, and avoiding excessive repetition—teachers can guide their students toward long-term success. Injury prevention should always be the priority, and that starts with recognizing the body's natural limits and working within them.
To learn more about Veronica K Platform turn training programs for dancers click here. Dance educators can learn more about neuromuscular training technqiues and improve students ballet injury prevention and technique by joining the instructor certification program here.
References
Koutedakis, Y., & Sharp, N. C. C. (2004). The Fit and Healthy Dancer. Wiley.
Khan, K. M., Brown, J., Way, S., Vass, N., Crichton, K., Alexander, R., & Baxter, A. J. (1995). Overuse injuries in classical ballet. Sports Medicine, 19(5), 341-357.
Bronner, S., Ojofeitimi, S., & Rose, D. (2008). Injuries in a modern dance company: Effect of comprehensive management on injury incidence and time loss. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 36(4), 743-753.
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