Learn the retiré: toe at the standing knee, hips quiet, back long. Build, step by step, the position that carries pirouettes and balances in ballet.
The honest answer to “How do I do a clean retiré?”: toe at the side of the standing leg, knee opened outward, pelvis quiet, and the standing leg carries you, not the working foot. That sounds like a pose, but it is the basic shape for pirouettes, balances and many transitions. It is also called “passé”: depending on the school, the position differs slightly (toe at the knee, at the calf, behind the knee). Your teacher will tell you which one applies.
Why be exact here? In a survey of 108 dancers on pirouettes, both amateurs and professionals named a stable axis and the passé position as central ingredients of a beautiful pirouette; professionals also stressed standards such as turnout [4]. The study is an opinion survey, not an experiment, but it shows what dancers themselves look at.
How hard is it really? A wobbly retiré you get in the first class, a stable one usually after weeks of regular practice, a clean one with relevé and without the barre rather after months (rules of thumb, no study evidence). Precisely because the position looks so simple, patience pays: it is the basis for everything that turns.
Stand in first position at the barre, weight on the standing leg, pelvis level. The standing leg is long and active, the knee not locked. Milestone: you stand stably for ten seconds before the other leg even starts.
From a tendu to the side or from cou-de-pied, draw the foot up along the standing leg until the toes reach the knee. The working knee opens to the side. The hip stays level. Milestone: you manage five retirés per side without the pelvis tipping.
Hold the retiré for two to three counts. The working leg does not “hang” but presses lightly against the standing leg. Keep breathing.
Once steps 1–3 are stable, rise to the half-point of the standing leg. Weight over the ball of the foot, heels not pulled back. A study on learning a passé relevé (15 practice trials, test after 48 hours) found that frequent viewing of a model improved the mental representation of the movement but not necessarily balance and execution [3], so don’t only watch videos, practise yourself.
Release one hand from the barre, then both. If you can stand in retiré for two seconds in the centre, you have the basis for pirouettes.
Don’t force turnout from anywhere but the hip: if you “twist the foot into place”, you shift the load onto knee and foot. In 17 ballet dancers, mobility of the first tarsometatarsal joint in demi-plié was greatest with forced turnout, a factor linked to the development of hallux valgus [6]. A systematic review, however, found no definite evidence that forced or compensated turnout causes injuries, because the studies were too weak [5]. Bottom line: the only safe conclusion is that you don’t need to force anything. Pointe shoes are not part of this guide; retiré on pointe only after your teacher has cleared you. This guide explains and motivates but does not replace supervised training.
Practise the retiré in poor light, not for show, but for feel: in a study with dance students, control in parallel relevé retiré was worse in low light (the centre of pressure moved faster) than in good light, and a mirror brought no advantage [2]. It shows how much your balance depends on vision, and why it helps to feel the position from the inside.
There is no universal “this high”. Cleanliness beats height: a slightly lower, stable retiré with a level hip beats a high one where the pelvis tips. The survey [4] names a stable axis alongside passé height.
Mostly it is the same position: in retiré the foot is at the knee of the standing leg; “passé” often names the passage of the foot past the standing leg. Depending on the school the terms are used differently. Ask your teacher.
Usually it comes down to the standing leg, pelvis or gaze. Check: is your weight over the ball of the foot? Does the pelvis stay level? Do you have a fixed point in front of you? The light study [2] suggests that vision matters too.
Yes, at a firm piece of furniture or a door frame. Pay special attention to a level pelvis and give yourself regular feedback (video, mirror). It cannot replace class.
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