By Jonathon Levy, Ballet Master & former Principal Soloist of Ballet Dallas.
Choosing a school for dance training can be a daunting task. In the United States, there are no guidelines or accrediting agencies for dance training, and that means anyone can open a ballet studio regardless of their background. If you desire training for yourself or your child, the primary concern should be for a long-term goal. Whether it involves professional career potential, a college degree program, or just a means of health and discipline, the training being offered will allow or inhibit every subsequent success in learning dance technique. The difference between adequate and inferior training is monumental, and will affect every opportunity that might present itself. A clear understanding of the fundamental components of professional training will illuminate the process of choosing the best training facility.
These are the essential components of learning and performing classical ballet: the tendue— the plié—the port de bras—aplomb (or stance; which includes extending, contracting, arching, and twisting); from these four the positional ideas can be formed and taught. These four ideas form the foundation of classical movement training, and incorporate rotation, elevation, and length (including lateral, and linear momentum; and the various qualities of movement, namely, gliding/sliding, darting, extending/stretching, turning, jumping, bending, rising[1]). Cecchetti[2] referred to these “qualities” as the seven fundamental movements of dancing. Current training methods have progressed far beyond the original concept of simply teaching students how to maintain and move between a set number of positions for the feet, legs, arms, head, and torso. Continue reading “Pedagogy: A professional’s insights on the art of training and the technique of classical ballet”
Many children who start beginning ballet will be coming with a background in creative movement. I think it’s important to retain some of the aspects of creative movement in pre or beginning ballet, because the fact that they are continuing their ballet education means they’ve enjoyed dance up to this point. So for the first few lessons I’d say it would be good to begin in the center instead of at the barre, doing some stretching exercises for their legs and feet. You can also work on posture in the center before bringing them over to face the barre.
Use of the Feet
There are so many things for beginning students to learn about using the feet. Try not to overwhelm them in the beginning or they won’t be able to retain any of what you say. It’s all right if they don’t do everything right, as long as they are working on the aspects of what you’re trying to teach them that day. You can also work on some of the foot exercises while seated on the floor. You can begin with flex and point, stopping midway between so they can see what it looks like when their toes are flexed and their foot is pointed (you can show them that this is demi-pointe when standing). Holding their feet in a pointed position while they are seated on the floor, you can have them practice just lifting their toes and then pointing them repeatedly, and instill an understanding of the phrase “working through the metatarsal”. I don’t think they are too young to begin hearing such references to the anatomy of the foot, as long as you clearly explain to them what you mean when you say it.
Standing at the Barre
Once they are at the barre, it’s important to teach them the proper way to use it. This might take a good portion of the first few classes, just having them standing facing the barre with a light touch and elbows bent. Teaching them how to recognize if they are too close (elbows scrunched into the body) or too far away (hips pushing back) is an important lesson that they’ll use throughout all their years to come in ballet.
Using Good Posture
It’s hard for children to stand with their tummies in and their spines lengthened for any amount of time. Making a combination of this alone would be good a good exercise to include in each class, so that when you remind them to “pull up” and “lengthen your spine” during tendus or plies they will know exactly what you are wanting them to do. I think including breathing techniques would be an excellent thing to do when children are first learning ballet, so they do not equate pulling up with holding their breath.
Use of Turnout
If ever there’s a topic for disagreement among ballet teachers this is it! My point of view may not mesh with that of the directors at the school where you are teaching, so please understand that this is only my recommendation. I don’t believe in forcing turnout. Now that I’m over 40 and suffering the effects of forcing my own body into positions it wasn’t naturally inclined to make, I’m even more against it. I think it’s possible for someone to achieve a beautiful line and to dance with great technique and grace without having perfect turnout. To me, working with what you were given should be a top priority. If anyone tells you that you should consider buying fancy contraptions that stretch your limbs to an unnatural limit, or that you should even consider surgery, cover your ears and run in the other direction! This is not necessary, and it is definitely not healthy.
Again, sitting or lying on the floor is a great way to work on demonstrating turnout before involving the traction of the floor. Having the students lie on their backs and flex their feet, then slowly open their toes as far as their hips allow will show them where their natural turnout is. Of course, dancers work on increasing and improving their range of turnout, but I’m firmly against standing in a perfect 180 degree first position or working your leg directly to the side when à la seconde. At the barre, it’s good to teach the basics of plié and tendu and degagé from a parallel position before introducing the steps using turnout. This means mostly working to the front, but there are a lot of mechanics involved in using the feet properly, lifting the metatarsal and lowering it back down when closing. And for plié, keeping the body lifted as the legs bend and not letting the torso drop forward. After they have mastered tendu and degagé to the front from a parallel position, you can introduce the steps working to the side with their feet in a V (I wouldn’t necessarily call this first position right away, or they may begin trying to force their toes out too far).
Epaulement
In addition to working on plié, tendu, and degagé, you can begin working with epaulement in pre or beginning ballet. Teaching children all the ways to use the head is important, and will greatly aid them later when they are asked to use their head and arms along with their legs and feet. Just doing exercises that involve keeping the neck long when looking up, down, side to side, and inclining the head so the ear bends toward the shoulder is good for them. Slowly adding these head movements to plié or tendu facing the barre will help them to incorporate such techniques more quickly when they become more advanced. It’s a little like teaching someone to play the piano with two hands instead of just one. You don’t want to put this off for too long, or they’ll never feel comfortable with it.
Other Positions to Practice
Second position of the feet, Sur le cou de pied, sous sus, retire. Gradually add ¼ rond de jambe á terre en dehors after introducing tendu from 1st position.
In the Center
Easy steps for beginning students to practice in the center include temps lié through second position, which is also a good preparation for glissade, which you can break down for them to learn slowly. Using port de bras with head is a good exercise to do in the center. Kids love to jump! Teaching sauté in 1st and 2nd positions usually goes over well, emphasizing the importance of keeping the arms still and the torso upright. In preparation for turns you can have them practice spotting the front of the room while shuffling their feet in a circle.
Across the floor
It’s pretty easy to transform gallops into chassé across the floor, and prancing into embôité in low attitude devant. I also enjoyed teaching this age how to do chainé turns. I usually did this with their hands either on their hips or on their shoulders so they don’t have to worry too much about what their arms are doing and so they don’t get twisted up. We would practice just stepping on the flat foot to the side with head looking over their shoulder, then flipping (like a playing card) so their body is facing the back of the room and they’re looking over the other shoulder. Getting them to continue turning in the same direction is the biggest trick! 🙂
In all, this is a very fun age to teach. I think being sure to make the transition from creative movement to the more structured ballet class slowly is what will keep them wanting to come back. If you make too drastic a change they might just lose interest in ballet. Good luck! And if you have other ideas that work well for pre-ballet or beginning ballet classes, please share them in the comments!
Talking about validation in my DBT support group for parents of kids struggling with various types of issues has coincided with recognition survey results at the bank where I work. It’s interesting how people like to be recognized, as no two people are alike. Some people want praise weekly, others don’t feel that’s necessary. Some want rewards and others just want verbal praise. But everyone wants praise and recognition to be sincere. Working at a big corporation certainly differs from working as a ballet instructor, but giving sincere praise is an important component for both.
One thing I really miss about dancing is the immediate praise you get while performing a combination. Either you’re doing it all right and don’t get any attention, you’re doing something wrong and get a correction (which is not a bad thing at all), or you’re doing it really well and get praise like, “Good girl, Tammy!” That was my favorite one from my favorite teacher, Melissa Lowe. It was always my goal while doing turns across the floor or grand allegro to have her take notice and give me a “Good girl!” shout. And when I was teaching I made it a point to take notice when someone was pushing extra hard, or putting into practice a correction I’d given them, by saying something positive to them.
Praise can be the best motivator
When I was dancing, I know for a fact that praise did way more for my technical improvement than negative feedback. Some teachers I could just tell didn’t like me for some reason or another, and nothing I could do would get a nod of approval. Once I took an entire class where the teacher hated how I put my weight over the ball of my supporting foot when working on one leg. This was major. It was how I’d been taught to stand when doing tendus with the working leg, for instance. She wanted the weight to stay exactly where it had been when standing on two feet in 1st position. So I’d move into a tendu and fall over without hanging onto the barre for dear life. It was very odd and I never went back to her class again. I was also in severe pain for at least week afterward.
Now I’m working on bringing this validation and praise home. I realize that I pick at my own kids for the things I wish they didn’t do (“Your room is a mess! Pick up all these clothes—either put them away or put them in the dirty clothes basket!”) rather than praising them for the things they are doing right. “Thanks for emptying the dishwasher when I asked you to. It makes life a lot easier for everyone when we help each other out.”
Praise. Give it sincerely and give it often when deserved. It will improve this world. You never know what hassles people are going through in their personal lives, so showing praise for a job well done at work or in ballet class can sometimes be what is getting someone through the day.
Richard Maddock, professional pianist and composer from the Toronto, Canada area, graciously sent me three of his CDs for ballet class and one called The Garden Within which is full of lovely, reflective musical selections. Most are longer and would be great for adagio or stretching, or even choreography. Music for Movement and Imaginations—Ballet Class & Creative Movement (for children ages 3 and up) is full of short segments that is sure to live up to its name by sparking the imaginations of young children who are exposed to it. Some of the segments include “Run Like The Wind”, “Bounce & Freeze”, and several thematic ones like “Dance-a-Story – Schoolyard”, “Dance-a-Story – Jungle Journey”, and more. This CD will not only grab the interest of children, it will inspire the teacher to come up with more content for creative movement class.
My two favorites are Ballet Studio Inspirations: Volume Two and Ballet Studio Inspirations: Volume Three. I was pleased to find several 6/8 time signatures (not sure why but this is my favorite!). I found the plie combinations to be quite slow, but most studios have variable speed players to up the tempo a bit, and I was also able to find a few other suitable segments for plies at a tempo that I liked. Other than that, everything was to my liking! I think teachers of dance would find these CDs to be a wonderful accompaniment to their classes. The Volume Three has 43 completely separate musical selections, including a warm up and at least two segments for each barre combination as well as two for turns en diagonale, three for petit allegro, three for medium allegro, and three for allegro.
When I was teaching at a private dance school, there was a performance every year in May that included all the genres of dance. At that school (Town and Village School of Dance in Paris, KY) the ballet program was a bit separate from the other classes. For example, students in the ballet program were required to attend classes either twice, three times, or four times a week, whereas most other classes only met once weekly. One of my favorite things about teaching there was that I was given full control over my part of the final performance of the year, which usually included about twenty minutes of stage time.
The most memorable ballets we created mini ballets from were Coppelia, The Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. We pulled wonderful moments from each ballet and made a story the audience could easily follow. The classes blended together without necessarily stopping for applause between each class, and some characters came onstage for parts even outside of their participation in a class dance. This way it flowed better, and at the end of the ballet segment we did a quick set of bows where each group or soloist came out for a bow in a finale with music, which normally only took about two minutes to insert.
Dubbing the music was really fun, as was making sure each student got ample amount of time on stage. Looking for or making appropriate costumes, making earrings to match for all the ballroom dancers, figuring out how to velcro diamond studs on a piece of fabric to a pointe shoe so the dancer wouldn’t have to change her shoes between appearances, and dressing up two fathers to play the parts of the step-sisters were all big highlights. But of course, doing the choreography was the most challenging and rewarding part of all. I tried to keep some of the original, traditional movements where possible, and we had a movie night at my house for all the oldest dancers so they could watch a professional version of the full-length ballet and recognize their roles in it.
This can be a tough age for ballet, especially depending on how long the student has been taking ballet prior to this age.
Ballet Dress Code
When I was the director of the ballet program at Town and Village School of Dance in Paris, Kentucky, I had a dress code that seemed to get the kids excited about moving into the next level. I can’t remember the basic colors anymore, but everyone wore pink tights and shoes (the girls anyway–boys wore black leggings and white shirts with white socks and shoes), and each level had a different color and style of leotard. Some had short sleeved maroon leotards, others had camisole green, and the oldest group could wear any style of black. You wouldn’t think a simple thing such as dress code could motivate students, but it really did. And at the age of 10-12 was about the time they were allowed to start wearing camisole leotards instead of short sleeved or cap sleeves. They couldn’t wait to get into that level so they could look more grown up and wear a completely new color (it was like a forest green).
Ballet Exercises
As far as exercises go, this age group is looking forward to pointe as the next big step. It may not happen for the next 2-3 years for them, but explaining how releves can be done by snatching the foot underneath or by going over to the toes (and telling them that this is important information for them to know when they go on pointe), also piques their interest, because they know right around the corner they will be looking forward to pointe shoes. Sometimes at this age, if the students have been taking ballet previously, I would allow them to get the pre-pointe shoes that have a hard box and no shank, just so they can get the feeling of working in a pointe shoe without actually going up on the toes.
Some steps I remember this age group enjoying were waltz turns that sweep across the floor, varying the arm movements and allowing them to really travel and feel like they are dancing. Also teaching them emboite turns is great at this age, and pirouettes. I always started out with pirouettes from 5th position, working on 1/4 turns first, then 1/2 turns and single full turns. They also enjoy learning jumps that have beats in them, such as royale, jete battu, as well as entrechat quatre and assemble battu.
At the Barre
At the barre, adding doubles to frappes is always a fun exercise, especially once they understand it and can do it. Also adding some simple turns at the barre is good at this age. It can be frustrating at first, but I think flic-flacs are great to teach to this age level, both en dehors and en dedans. Rond de jambe en l’air is great, starting out at 45 degrees so they can keep their alignment squared off, and having them do stretching exercises with a partner can also be helpful. The person holding the working dancer’s leg when it is 90 degrees side can learn how to tell if the person is using their turnout and letting go of the big muscles or not. “Let me have the weight” is a good thing to have them communicate, so the working person can relax the muscles and settle into a very square, turned out position that is right for them, before the other person lets go and allows them to imprint the feeling in their muscles.
Perk up the Ballet Class
Using fun music is always a good way to perk up class if you feel they are losing interest. Keeping them challenged is the most important thing you can do to make them feel that they are learning new things all the time and that they are getting ready for pointe work. Doing lots of releves on one or two legs to strengthen their calves and ankles is important. Working through the feet so they can articulate very clearly between a fully pointed foot and a foot pointed just at the metartarsal is good for strengthening their feet and toes.
Appropriate Level
Give them things that are too hard for them to do in the center, without the aid of the barre, such as entrechat quatre or even entrechat six, jete battu or assemble battu, sissone, etc. Maybe even allow them to observe your most advanced students in a class where they can see them doing these steps with ease will also serve to keep them interested in continuing their ballet education so they can make it to that point too.
Good luck and let me know if any of these are helpful tips. If you have more to add, please share them in the comments!
