What muscles are used during a pirouette?

Answer 1

The most important muscles engaged in a pirouette are not those in the legs, as many might think, but actually, the abdominal muscles. If a dancer's "core" is not engaged, it's easy to fall forward or backward out of a pirouette. Other important muscles are the soleus and gastrocnemius, as well as the hamstrings and quadriceps, moreso in the standing leg than the working leg - it's very important that the dancer's standing leg be as straight as possible. The arm muscles are also involved in a pirouette; while spinning, a dancer brings the arms closer to her body in order to narrow the axis of rotation, which helps to gain speed in the rotations of the turn. A pirouette requires the use of almost all the muscle groups in the body.