Learn rond de jambe à terre: en dehors and en dedans step by step, with a still pelvis, turnout from the hip and the most common barre mistakes explained.
The honest answer to “What is a rond de jambe?”: it is a half circle that the straight working leg draws on the floor – “rond de jambe” literally means “circle of the leg”. You move the toe tip from the front via the side to the back (en dehors, “outward”) or from the back via the side to the front (en dedans, “inward”), passing through first position.
What is it good for? It trains exactly what you will meet later in pirouettes, arabesque and développé: hip rotation without the pelvis swinging along. When you guide the leg in a half circle and the hip stays stable, your hip joint works as a joint – not your back, not your ankle.
That this is not a given is shown by a study of 14 young dancers: those with less passive hip external rotation used ankle and back muscles more in the five positions, and abdominal and hip muscles less [1]. That points to forced turnout – the rotation comes from the feet rather than the hip.
How hard is it really? You can draw the circle in one evening. Drawing it with a still pelvis and always the same tempo takes weeks (rule of thumb, no study evidence).
Stand in first position. Slide the foot out to the side in a tendu. The supporting leg presses into the floor, the pelvis stays level. Milestone: ten tendus to the side without the working-leg hip hiking up.
From the tendu to the front the foot draws a half circle on the floor to the back. It goes first to the side and then to the back. The foot stays on the floor (à terre). You do not need to be fast – even is enough. Count slowly “and one – two” for the half circle.
The same path in reverse: from the back via the side to the front. This feels odd at first because your brain has to re-sort the direction. Practise en dehors and en dedans alternately, not only the one that comes easily.
On the way the foot closes in first position and travels on. This is where many “stick”. Keep breathing and let the circle become round.
Put both hands on the hip bones (or one hand if the other holds the barre). The hips should stay level. A counter-example from research: in dancers with less hip external rotation, back and ankle were more active [1]. If your back or your foot is “working”, the rotation is not coming from the hip.
An important caveat: a review of 7 studies and 1,293 dancers could not show whether forced turnout causes injuries – the studies were too weak [2]. That is no free pass: hip and groin complaints are common in ballet [3].
Rond de jambe demands a lot of hip rotation and mobility. Rotate outward only as far as your hip allows without evasion in the pelvis. Pain in the groin, a “snapping” at the hip or stabbing in the knee are stop signals – talk to your teacher or a doctor before continuing. Circles in the air (en l’air) come only when the ones on the floor run smoothly, and with a teacher. This description explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Draw the half circle in your head as a clock face: front is 12 o’clock, the side 3 o’clock, the back 6 o’clock. You move the foot like a hand at an even pace from 12 via 3 to 6. This gives you a rhythm without music and makes irregularities visible. (Practical experience, no study evidence.)
Extra: targeted strength work helps to stabilise the hip. A meta-analysis of 36 studies found that strength and conditioning training in dancers over 16 years old led to large improvements in leg strength (g = 1.59) and flexibility (g = 0.86) [4]. Talk to your teacher first.
En dehors means “outward”: the leg draws the half circle from the front via the side to the back. En dedans means “inward”: from the back via the side to the front. Practise both directions equally often, even if one comes easier.
À terre means “on the ground”: the toe tip stays in contact with the floor. En l’air means “in the air”: the leg lifts, the thigh stays quiet, the lower leg draws small circles. Always begin à terre.
Usually the circle is too big or the hip is not mobile enough, so the pelvis rotates along. Make the circle smaller and slower, keep your hands on the hip bones and strengthen the hip muscles. If something hurts, stop and ask your teacher.
Five minutes at the barre, three to four times a week is enough to start (rule of thumb, no study evidence). Better short and clean than long and sloppy. Count quality, not repetitions.
Yes, at a chair back or kitchen counter if the height fits and it stands firmly. What matters is a firm support for one hand. Without it the pelvis tilts more easily and you practise the wrong posture.
Soutenu Turn: The Half Turn on Two Feet