Did king Louis order the dancers to turnout because of jewels on the inside of their shoes?

Answer 1

From what I understand from both costume history, and dance history - King Louis was very fond of his own legs, and liked to show off their musculature. He loved to dance and his legs were quite shapely. In his red heeled shoes, he often would pose with his feet turned out to better show this off. King Louis was a huge patron of the arts, and spent outrageous amounts of money on producing large productions with himself as the center focus - most famously as "The Sun". He hired dance instructors and choreographers to teach the cast. Turning out the legs was a way to imitate the King's own style, and what he regarded as beautiful, to please him. These instructors developed specific positions of the body and training methods that became the foundation for Ballet, and for "turnout". As dancers and their training have improved and become more rigorous, allowing for greater hip rotation - the "turnout"continued to open.