In this animation we see a grand jeté en tournant. Ideally, the dancer would go up into the air facing in the same direction in which he took off, and then suddenly start turning in the air, while changing legs and landing on the other foot. In order to turn, the dancer must start the turn with his jumping foot as he leaves the ground. However, with the other foot extended he does not turn very fast at all. When the two feet come together they speed up the rotation of the body, much like when skaters are spinning and they bring their arms in to cross them in front of their chest, making it look as though the dancer started his turn in the air.
This brings us to the end of regular class. Ladies will also have a pointe class in which they will do most of the exercises described here but on pointe. When dancing on pointe the ladies wear pointe shoes. In pointe shoes the front of the shoe is made of layers of burlap and resin. They also have a very hard sole. This helps the ballerinas stand on the very tips of their toes without causing serious injuries. They do, however, get countless blisters, calluses, and cuts, sometimes even losing their toenails!
