The plié is one of the most foundational and fundamental movements in dance and ballet. Higher level skills are built from the plié and almost every turn, leap, and jump performed starts and ends in a plié. Despite this, technique flaws can be common.
Mary Beth Maas, PT, DPT is a doctor of physical therapy who specializes in working with performing artists and is a former dancer herself. In her practice, she sees plié deficits in about 70% of the dancers she works with. While these deficits occur in dancers of all ages, she notes that growth spurts can definitely contribute to changes in technique due to changes in flexibility, strength, and body awareness.
Common Plié Mistakes
One of the most common technique faults seen in a plié is the knees falling inside of the 2nd toe. Mary Beth mentions other common mistakes she sees in the dancers she works with include “excessive anterior pelvic tilt or a sway back posture during the plié or excessive foot pronation or the arches dropping."
Why do these occur?
Some of the most common reasons mentioned by Mary Beth include:
Decreased hip range of motion or mobility
Decreased hip strength (especially in the hip extensors and hip external rotators)
Decreased foot and ankle strength
Decreased ankle range of motion or mobility
Decreased deep core strength and/or control
Additionally, when a dancer attempts to force their turnout, the knees may fall inside of the 2nd toe, the back may extend during the plié, and/or the arches may drop. Ideally, most of the motion in a dancer’s turnout should come from the hips. However, when dancers try to achieve a greater turnout they may compensate through other parts of their body leading to some of the technique mistakes we see in pliés.
How to Improve Your Plié
Sometimes plié technique can be improved with a few cues. Some of Mary Beth’s favorite cues to improve plié form are:
“Track your knees over your 2nd and 3rd toes” - this often helps improve the alignment of the knees during a plié and prevents them from tracking inside of the knees
“Pretend like your head is being pulled towards the ceiling” - this may often improve the position of the spine during a plié and decrease the “sway back” posture
Other times in many dancers, correcting plié technique requires a little more work. If altered form during a plié is due to muscle weakness, altered deep core engagement, or decreased flexibility/range of motion/mobility it is important to address those factors and improve them. Not addressing these factors may put a dancer at increased risk of future injury or pain.
Working with a physical therapist who is experienced in working with dancers and understands the demands of dance and/or ballet can help. Interventions performed in physical therapy should address any decreases in strength (especially the hips, core, and feet), alterations in how a dancer is recruiting or using their muscles to perform a plié , and any decreases in hip or ankle mobility. Mary Beth feels it is especially “important that dancers learn to ‘find’ their deep core muscles and deep hip rotators” and that “a dancer’s plié is assessed and looked at in each position, especially 5th position.”
Changes in technique or form can occur for many reasons including growth spurts, pain, or a previous injury. During growth spurts, a dancer’s body is constantly changing and basically re-learning where it is in space, so changes in skills can change quickly. Pain or a previous injury can also cause changes in technique by forcing a dancer’s body to find different ways to complete a skill due to the pain itself or changes in muscle strength or joint mobility. It is important that a dancer moves efficiently using proper muscles in order to prevent some of the common mistakes seen in skills such as a plié .
Mary Beth explains why performing a plié correctly is important beautifully. She says, “if your plié is strong, you’re setting yourself up for powerful, healthy dancing. However, because we plié so much in dance, if your plie needs some love, it may lead to pain, injury, or suboptimal dance performance.”
Hoping all you dancers stay strong and healthy this upcoming year with beautiful pliés!
Mary Beth Maas, PT, DPT is a doctor of physical therapy and board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist. She owns her own practice focusing on working with performing artists called MBody You. She provides physical therapy for performing artists in Louisiana and Ohio, and also provides health and wellness coaching for performing artists all over the country.
Website: https://www.mbodyyou.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbodyyou/?hl=en
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