Pointe Work: Fundamentals to Pirouettes workshop

with Chilian Heredia

WORKSHOP DETAILS

Minimum age: 16

Biography

Chilian is a former professional ballet dancer from Havana, Cuba, trained at the Cuban National Ballet School and performing with the Cuban National Ballet, Le Jeune Ballet de France, London City Ballet, and English National Ballet. In 2007, she earned her Professional Dancers Teachers Diploma from The Royal Academy of Dance.

Chilian is also the founder and creator of INSPIRAL BALLET, a multidimensional platform that holds space for dancers to become the best versions of themselves. By blending science, anatomy, physiology, mathematics, physics, and geometry, she has developed a distinctive teaching method that emphasises the mind-body connection through the nervous system. Having taught in London, Scotland, Italy, and Canada, Chilian continues to refine and inspire the next generation of dancers, guiding them towards true mastery both on and off the stage.-

Class Description

Explore the foundations of clean, precise pirouettes in this dynamic session designed for dancers of all levels. Participants will learn essential spotting techniques, strengthen core and turnout alignment, and develop balance through a series of barre and center exercises.

This 90-minute workshop grounds dancers in the essentials of alignment, balance, and movement. Beginning at the barre, we focus on strengthening the core and aligning the spine as the center of balance. Through controlled relevés and ankle-articulation drills, you’ll learn to sense how pressing evenly through both feet (ground reaction force) lifts you onto demi-pointe and transitions smoothly onto one supporting leg. These simple exercises build the coordination and stability needed for pointe work before attempting any turns.

Next, we unravel the mechanics of turning by exploring torque and angular momentum. You’ll practice generating rotation with a mindful hip push and precisely timed arm placement, then break the pirouette into its key steps—plié, rise, push, pull-in, spotting, and landing—so you can master each component. By the end, you’ll understand how forces and sensory feedback combine to create a balanced, controlled pirouette on pointe, and you’ll leave with clear, scalable exercises to refine your technique and artistry. By the end of the workshop, attendees will feel more confident initiating and completing multiple turns with control.