The Ultimate Question

The title of this blog may be a tad misleading, but I do have an important question to ask.  After watching a video of the (divinely talented and gift to the ballet world from heaven) Svetlana Zakharova on YouTube, I wonder: What is the best and most correct way to do fouettes?  Is it by winding up  with a rond de jambe from front to side each time you complete the revolution, or, as Svetlana does it, to just open the leg to the side?

I was always taught to do the rond de jambe.  I feel that not only is it easier to get the momentum going to keep turning, it’s also prettier than just kicking your leg out to the side.  However, as Pointe senior editor Jenny Stahl pointed out when I asked her about her thoughts on the matter, it is probably just a product of different thoughts on technique.  The way Russian ballerinas do it, she says, might be because it is their teachers’ opinion that just opening the leg to the side looks cleaner, and may keep you from overturning.  In general, I believe American ballerinas do the rond de jambe.

What about you?  Fouettes are one of the hardest tricks to master, so what makes them easier for you?