The five positions of the feet are the shapes ballet steps start from and finish in, and every one is built on turnout: the legs rotating outward from the hips. The textbook ideal has the feet in one straight line, but even full-time ballet students fall short of that on average, so you set each position with your own natural turnout, never by twisting the feet further. From the front the app checks your foot spacing, hip level and left/right symmetry, and gives a rough read of turnout; foot angle and rolling in are best checked in a mirror.
First and second
Stand tall with your feet parallel and heels together. Rotate both legs outward from the hips by the same amount and let the feet open only as far as that rotation takes them. This is first position: heels touching, toes turned out.
The turn starts at the top of the thighs, not at the feet.
Don't plant your feet in a flat line and then twist your knees and body to match. A V-shape that your hips can hold is a correct first position; a straight line is the ideal that takes years and the right hips.
Feet flat and arches up, not rolling onto the inner edge.
For second position, slide one foot straight out to the side along the same line, keeping the same turnout. Leave about one to one and a half of your foot lengths between the heels, no wider than shoulder width, with weight shared evenly between both feet.
Same turnout as first, just opened to the side.
Third, fourth and fifth
For third position, place one foot in front of the other with the front heel against the middle of the back foot. Beginners often use third as the base for exercises before moving on to fifth.
Heel tucked against the middle of the back foot.
For fourth position, move the front foot forward so there is about one foot length between the feet, both feet still turned out and parallel to each other. In open fourth the heels line up as in first; in crossed fourth the feet line up as in fifth. Keep your weight between both feet.
Hips square to the front, weight centred between the feet.
For fifth position, cross the feet closer. In the Cecchetti method the big-toe joint of each foot just shows past the other heel; in the French and Russian schools the cross is complete, front heel to back toes. Start with the gentler version and only cross as far as you can keep both legs rotated.
Legs cross like an X, the back of both legs working to hold the turn.
Lifted and aligned in every position
Check any position with a small demi-plié: keeping the turnout from the hips, the knees should bend over the second and third toes. If the knees drop inside the feet, your feet are turned out further than your hips, so close the angle a little.
Knees track over the middle of the feet.
In every position keep both legs rotated evenly, knees straight, pelvis level and not tilted, and stand tall through the spine. Bent knees, a tilted pelvis or arches rolling in are signs you are forcing the position.
Tall, level, and even on both sides.
Feel it
A good position feels held, not jammed: the hip and back-of-leg muscles work to keep the legs turned out, the feet rest flat with the arches lifted, and the knees line up over the toes. Your feet may sit at a narrower angle than a picture of a professional; that is fine if the alignment is honest. If you feel strain in your knees or ankles to get the shape, you are forcing it. Back off and stop if anything hurts.
Fix-its
- You force the feet flatter than your hips turn out Set up from parallel, rotate from the hips, and let the feet stop where the hips stop. If the arches roll in or the knees drop inside the toes in plié, reduce the foot angle.
- You cross fifth further than you can hold Use a gentler fifth (Cecchetti-style, or nearer third) and build the cross gradually. If you can't keep the rotation, it isn't your best fifth yet.
- One foot turns out more than the other Rotate both legs evenly from the hips so the feet mirror each other. Check in a mirror from the front.
- Your pelvis tilts or knees bend to hold the shape These are signs of forcing. Stand tall with a level pelvis and straight knees, and accept a smaller turnout.
- Second position is too wide Keep the heels about one to one and a half foot lengths apart, no wider than your shoulders, with weight even on both feet.
Drill
- Parallel to first: stand in parallel, rotate both legs from the hips into first, then return. Repeat slowly a few times to find your own turnout.
- Demi-plié in first, second, third, fourth, then fifth, checking each time that the knees bend over the second and third toes.
- Build your base position in stages: work from first until it is solid, then from third, and move to fifth when you can keep the rotation (your teacher can judge this).
- Film from the front at hip height: check heel spacing in second, level hips and that both feet open the same amount.
Sources
- American Ballet Theatre — Ballet Dictionary: pieds, cinq positions des (Five positions of the feet)
- Gayle Kassing — Beginning Ballet, excerpt "Learning barre exercises in beginning ballet class" (Human Kinetics)
- Julie Diana — When and How to Introduce 5th Position to Your Students (Dance Teacher, 2018)
- Brandt (with podiatric surgeon J. Brummer) — Ask Amy: The Truth About Forcing Your Turnout, Pointe (2017)
- Almasi et al. — Musculoskeletal characteristics of the lower limbs of students at a vocational ballet institution, BMC Musculoskelet Disord (2025)
Last checked 2026-10-26.