Classical ballet is built on five basic positions of the feet, numbered first through fifth, and most leg movements start and finish in one of them. The arms have positions too, but their numbers change depending on which school trained your teacher. The one thing that holds it all together is turnout, and it should come from your hips, not your knees or feet.
I’m an adult hobby dancer, and these positions are where ballet technique begins. They look simple on a chart. Doing them well is another story, so here’s what each one is, where they came from, and the mistakes that are easy to make.
The quick answer: what are the five positions?
According to Wikipedia’s article on positions of the feet in ballet, there are five basic positions in modern classical ballet. Here’s the short version:
- First position: heels together, toes turned out to the sides.
- Second position: feet turned out and apart, side by side.
- Third position: one foot in front of the other, front heel near the arch of the back foot.
- Fourth position: one foot in front of the other with a gap between them.
- Fifth position: feet pressed together, front heel touching the big toe of the back foot.
Wikipedia’s dance positions article adds that most leg movements begin and end in these positions. That’s why teachers fuss over them so much. If your fifth is sloppy, every step that closes into fifth will be sloppy too.
The five positions of the feet, one by one
First position. Heels touch and the feet point in opposite directions. The Straz Center in Tampa describes it as the balls of the feet turned out with the heels touching. The rotation comes from the legs, which brings us to turnout (more on that below).
Second position. From first, the feet slide apart sideways and stay turned out. Sources measure the gap differently. Wikipedia puts the heels about 12 inches (30 cm) apart. The Straz Center describes it as one and a half times the dancer’s own foot length. In class, your teacher’s measure is the one that counts.
Third position. One foot sits in front of the other, with the front heel near the arch of the back foot. Philip Neal, dance department chair at the Straz Center, says it is hardly used anymore, except perhaps in character movement.
Fourth position. One foot is about 12 inches in front of the other. Wikipedia lists two versions: an open fourth (ouverte), where the heels line up one in front of the other, and a closed fourth (croisé), where the front heel lines up with the toe of the back foot. Neal calls fourth crucial as a preparation for turning.
Fifth position. The feet are pressed together. The front heel touches the big toe of the back foot, and the back heel touches the little toe of the front foot.
Turnout: the part that makes or breaks every position
Turnout means rotating the legs outward from the hip joints so the feet point away from each other. It isn’t something you do with your feet.
A summary of a resource paper from the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS), published by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, explains a few things I wish every beginner heard on day one:
- Ballet training often treats 180 degrees of rotation between both legs as the ideal.
- Research suggests that about 60% of turnout comes from rotation at the hip. The rest comes from the knee, lower leg, ankle and foot.
- The shape of your hip socket and thigh bone is structural. Training can’t change bone structure.
So the 180-degree line you see in professional photos isn’t a reasonable starting goal. The same summary says the common ways dancers cheat their way toward it are rolling the feet inward, twisting from the knees, forcing past their hip rotation, and tilting the pelvis. Those habits can add stress to joints and soft tissue.
Wikipedia’s dance positions article gives a simple alignment rule to check against: your weight centered between your feet and your knees in line with the center of your feet.
My practical takeaway: a smaller first position with your knees in line with your feet is better than a flat 180 degrees with your feet rolling in. Nobody in the audience can see your exact angle. Everyone can see a wobbly balance.
Arms: why your teacher’s numbers might not match a video
This can be confusing for new students. You learn “first position arms” in one class, watch an online video, and the dancer does something different. Neither of you is wrong.
Wikipedia’s article on positions of the arms in ballet says the names differ according to the school or method followed. Here’s how the three it describes compare:
- Vaganova (Russian school): a preparatory position, bras bas, with the arms rounded low in front of the hips, plus three numbered positions. First is rounded in front of the body at about navel height. Second opens the arms to the sides. Third lifts the rounded arms just above and slightly in front of the head.
- French school and Royal Academy of Dance (RAD): the same low bras bas, then five numbered positions. Here, third is one arm in second and one in first, and fifth (en couronne) is both arms rounded above the head.
- Cecchetti method: five positions too, but fifth covers any rounded oval shape: low (en bas), forward (en avant) or high (en haut).
So “arms in third” can mean both arms overhead in a Vaganova class or one arm out and one in front in an RAD class. If you switch studios, ask which method they use. It saves a lot of confusion.
Where the five positions came from
The Straz Center says Pierre Beauchamp, a Parisian choreographer employed by King Louis XIV, codified turnout and the five basic foot positions in the 17th century. According to Wikipedia, the dancing master Pierre Rameau credited Beauchamp with codifying the five positions in 1725.
Rameau’s 1725 book, Le Maître à danser, was a manual for formal ballroom dancing in the French style. According to Wikipedia’s article on Rameau, its second part is devoted to the use of the arms. The engravings show court dancers, not ballerinas in tutus.
Even earlier, in 1700, Raoul-Auger Feuillet published Chorégraphie, ou l’art de décrire la danse in Paris. Wikipedia notes that it described what’s now called Beauchamp–Feuillet notation, a way of writing dances down on paper.
Is there a sixth or seventh position?
Yes, but you probably won’t learn them in a beginner class. Wikipedia says Serge Lifar codified a sixth and seventh position in the 1930s, while he was ballet master at the Paris Opéra Ballet. Their use is limited to his choreography.
- Sixth: legs turned in, with the feet side by side and parallel.
- Seventh: like fourth, but on pointe with the heels together in the center.
Wikipedia also notes that these were revivals. In the eighteenth century, there were ten positions of the feet.
Which position matters most?
Philip Neal has a clear answer. He told the Straz Center blog that fifth is “the most valuable position of all, and the hardest to perfect.”
It’s easy to see why. Fifth asks for a lot of rotation while your feet stay flat and your weight stays centered over both legs.
How to practice the positions without hurting yourself
You don’t need much space, just a sturdy chair back or kitchen counter to hold. A few things that follow from the sources above:
- Turn out from the top. Rotate from the hips and let your feet follow. Neal warns against forcing turnout from the knee down.
- Check your knees. Keep them in line with the center of your feet, including when you bend in a plié.
- Watch your arches. If they roll in, reduce the angle.
- Keep your pelvis level. Don’t tilt it to squeeze out more rotation.
- Work within your own range. A less crossed fifth with good alignment beats a forced one.
If something hurts in your knees or hips, stop and ask a teacher or a physical therapist. I’m a hobby dancer, not a medical professional.
Keep going
If you’re just starting, these might help next:
- Ballet shoes for adult beginners: sizing, ribbons, and 5 pairs I actually wore
- Ballet for beginners: 10 works to start with
- Ballet etiquette: what to wear and when to clap
Want to see professionals go through their positions in a real company class? Many companies stream class on World Ballet Day on October 29. And once fifth position starts feeling solid, you might enjoy reading how many pointe shoes a ballerina goes through.
Quick answers
What are the 5 basic ballet positions? First (heels together, toes out), second (feet apart, turned out), third (front heel at the back foot’s arch), fourth (one foot in front with a gap) and fifth (feet pressed together, heel to toe).
Who invented the five ballet positions? Pierre Beauchamp is credited with codifying them in 17th-century France. Pierre Rameau credited him in 1725.
How much turnout should a beginner have? Only what your hips allow. Research summarized by IADMS suggests about 60% of turnout comes from the hip, and bone structure can’t be trained away.
Why are arm positions different in different classes? Each method (Vaganova, French/RAD, Cecchetti) numbers the arms in its own way.
Spotted an error? Let me know.
Leave a Reply