Ballet dancers begin their careers and practice sessions at the barre, where they perform stretches and exercises. Even experienced dancers use the barre. Dancers work on turnout, rotating their thighs outward so their heels meet at a 180 degree angle. This allows them to achieve five standard foot positions. Other common ballet terms are plié, bending the knees with legs turned out, and pirouette, spinning the entire body while standing on one foot, which can involve multiple rotations.

1. Common Ballet Terms
Stefano Curti

2. Common
Ballet Terms
 Stefano Curti, a former executive leader with Johnson & Johnson,
currently serves as chief executive officer of a venture capital and
innovation incubator group in San Francisco, California. When he is
not working, Stefano Curti enjoys listening to various types of
music and attending opera and ballet performances.

3. Common
Ballet Terms
 The career of a ballet dancer typically begins at the barre, a long
wooden beam that helps amateur performers find their feet while
performing stretches and exercises. Use of the barre is not
exclusive to beginners, however, and even the most experienced
ballet performers in the world begin a practice session at the
barre. As dancers stray away from the barre, they often begin to
work on their turnout and other common feet positions. During a
turnout, performers turn their thighs outward so that their heels
meet. In a perfect turnout, the feet create a 180 degree angle.
Four additional positions must be developed based on the initial
turnout, with each position requiring a different maneuvering of
the feet and legs.

4. Common
Ballet Terms
 The plié and pirouette are two additional terms often heard in
relation to a ballet performance. A plié is performed when dancers
bend at both knees with their legs turned out from the hips. The
plié promotes flexibility and balance in dancers and is therefore
one of the earliest moves learned. The pirouette, meanwhile,
involves spinning one’s entire body while standing on one foot.
Technically, a single rotation can be termed a pirouette, though
dancers often turn several times.