The 5 Basic Ballet Positions: Ultimate Guide
Ballet is built on strong technique and foundations, and the very first step in any dancer’s journey starts with the five basic ballet positions.
These positions are more than just foot and arm placement!
The basic positions provide dancers with a structured framework that allows for precise alignment, balance, and control.
Each position acts as a starting point, allowing all ballet steps and movements to develop.
In this blog, I’ll take you through each of the 5 basic ballet positions based on my experience as a professional dancer.
5 BASIC BALLET POSITIONS
The 5 basic ballet positions are:
FIRST POSITION
First position is the most basic and probably the most well-known position in ballet.
In this stance, dancers stand with their heels touching and their toes turned out to the sides, forming a straight line.
First position is ideal for developing a sense of posture, alignment, and the correct use of turnout.
However, beginner dancers often struggle to maintain balance, particularly if they’re forcing their feet out without engaging the deep rotator muscles.
It’s crucial to keep your weight over the balls of your feet.
If you can’t lift your heels while in first position, it indicates that your weight isn’t properly aligned over your toes.
In the beginning, it’s completely normal for dancers not to achieve a flat first position.
Therefore, it’s important to prioritise turning out from the hips rather than just the feet.
SECOND POSITION
Second position mimics first position but differs slightly, as the feet are positioned about shoulder-width apart.
In this stance, dancers maintain strong alignment, distributing their weight evenly between both feet to create a stable and grounded base for movement.
While second position is one of the easier ballet positions, it still presents challenges.
Dancers must focus on achieving and maintaining proper turnout, ensuring that their knees are aligned with their toes, and balancing their weight evenly.
Additionally, it is crucial to keep your weight on the balls of your feet rather than on the heels, which is necessary for balance and control.
THIRD POSITION
In third position, one foot is placed in front of the other, with the heel of the front foot touching the arch of the back foot.
Logically, third position is often the first stance young dancers learn after first and second position, serving as a training step for fifth position.
As you progress in your training, third position isn’t frequently used in advanced ballet practice.
This overlap creates a halfway point between first and fifth positions.
In doing so, it allows dancers to practise plies and tendus with the correct alignment and placement of their feet.
While it is not as challenging as fifth position, third position introduces the concept of crossed feet.
This is essential for young dancers to learn, so that you can successfully transition to fifth position with the proper technique, placement and control.
FOURTH POSITION
Fourth position is where one foot is placed in front of the other, turned out to the side, with the heel of the front foot approximately a foot’s length away from the toe of the back foot.
It’s a challenging position, as it requires:
It is often used as a preparation and transitional step in ballet, for example, before pirouettes as well as in allegro combinations.
To master fourth position, dancers should focus on improving their turnout and flexibility while maintaining a neutral pelvis and spine.
It’s essential to distribute weight evenly between both feet, along with establishing a strong connection to the floor.
FIFTH POSITION
Fifth position is where your feet are crossed so that the heel of one foot touches the toes of the other.
It’s one of the most widely used positions in ballet, serving as a fundamental stance for many movements and transitions.
It serves as both a starting and ending point for many ballet steps, including:
When I first started learning fifth position, it seemed nearly impossible to keep my heels and toes in the right spot without wobbling!
But with consistent practice, you’ll get there.
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Mastering the five basic ballet positions is just the beginning, but it’s a powerful start.
Each position is like a piece of a puzzle, and when you put them together, they form the foundation for all the intricate and stunning moves in ballet.
As a former professional ballerina, I discovered that the key to beautiful dancing lies in truly understanding the basics and how your arms and legs can work together and in opposition to create:
Take an arabesque, for example.
It can be transformed when performed in fourth position, where the arms and back twist and extend to create a long, flowing line.
This positioning not only enhances the aesthetic appeal but also showcases beautiful epaulement and highlights the dancer’s back.
BASIC BALLET POSITION FAQs
HOW MANY BALLET POSITIONS ARE THERE?
There are five basic ballet positions: first, second, third, fourth, and fifth.
Each position involves specific placements of both the arms and feet, creating the fundamental building blocks for ballet movement and lines.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST BALLET POSITION?
Many dancers find fourth and fifth positions particularly challenging because they demand a high degree of flexibility and turnout to achieve a clean, aligned shape.
These positions require strong engagement of the rotator muscles in the hips to maintain turnout while keeping the knees and feet properly aligned and not rotating inwards.
WHAT IS THE EASIEST BALLET POSITION?
The easiest ballet position is first position, where your feet are turned out with your heels touching.
HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY TURNOUT IN THESE POSITIONS?
Developing and improving your turnout involves:
With the right conditioning exercises, dancers can make significant progress in their turnout.
WRAP UP
The five basic ballet positions are the core of every ballet dancer’s training, and they continue to be a crucial part of the technique, even for professional dancers.
These foundational positions teach dancers how to:
These are all skills needed to master more complex choreograph!
By practising these positions, you’ll learn to:
Keep dancing, stay motivated, and enjoy every step along the way, starting with the basics!
