Back in the Classroom

Teacher demonstrating ballet steps

I spoke to a Teaching Methods class this week. They’re all young college students preparing for a career teaching dance, and the professor invited me to talk and answer questions about my teaching career. She especially wanted them to hear about how my dance career detoured to 23 years of working at a bank before getting back on track. It was wonderful!

It’s been YEARS since I’ve posted on this website. I’ve felt like an imposter because I hadn’t been in the classroom or on the stage in such a long time. When I could leave the corporate world in 2024, I returned to teaching. Now I’m an instructor at the Charlotte Ballet Academy in North Carolina. I’m teaching 9-12-year-olds in the lower school. During The Nutcracker, I worked backstage getting kids in costumes and leading them to and from the stage for several shows.

The important thing to note is that even though I’d been away for a very long time, I remember everything. I told the directors of the school how out of shape I was, that I was worried I couldn’t demonstrate because when I pointed my foot, it immediately cramped. I felt overweight. They sent emails back, allaying my concerns, saying that my resume made me more than qualified.

I needed six months, but I returned to teaching within two weeks of the interview. It wasn’t easy. My feet cramped, my legs ached, and my HIPS! Oh, my hips would have cried if they could. It’s impossible to teach kids at that level without demonstrating, and it’s impossible to demonstrate without standing in 5th position. I’m teaching three 90-minute classes a week, plus an hour of pointe strengthening/beginning pointe, as well as substituting occasionally at this school and another school nearby. My hips still hurt when walking up steps after teaching, but six months later I’ve lost weight and gained strength and confidence.

When I started this website, it focused primarily on combinations for ballet class. I’ve compiled a lot of combinations into a book, Classical Ballet: Ten Complete Advanced Classes, which is available on Amazon in print or kindle and is selling well. As years went by without stepping foot in a classroom, I didn’t feel confident giving advice to teachers by writing posts. But I’m back!

There were a lot of points made, and questions asked/answered in the Teaching Methods class, and I think I’ll break them down into separate posts because there are stories that go along with each. The interesting thing is that while I always felt dance prepared me for so much of what I had to face in life, on the flip side, the living that I’ve done has contributed to what I bring to the classroom in new ways.

Having kids of my own is probably the biggest factor. I’m more aware of issues that students face, and it tempers my interactions with them. Some are coping with the death of a parent, others with eating disorders or dyslexia. I’m doing my best to offer them a supportive and positive environment to learn new skills and improve their technique. It doesn’t matter if they pursue a professional career in dance. I am focusing on today, and regardless of where dance takes them, I hope to teach them that discipline begets progress and that a stick-to-it attitude will enable them to achieve their hearts’ desires.

Ballet Class Etiquette

Ballet class etiquette is usually communicated clearly, and most dancers who begin as young children are taught the appropriate way to behave while in the classroom. Not only are rules—or etiquette—for class a sign of respect towards the teacher and the other students, they are necessary in order to progress through all the combinations that make up a full class. There is simply not time for a teacher to be reprimanding students or calling them back to attention every few minutes. However, you may begin taking lessons at a new studio or academy where the etiquette may differ from your former school, and it might be up to you to find out what the standard expectations are for students.

Dress Code

Many schools have a dress code. Quite a few require pink tights. This sounds easy enough, but there can be many variations: students are clever at turning a rule on its head by changing it enough to say they are following the rules, when actually they are not. You need to know if pink tights means footed, or if transitional tights, stirrup tights, or footless tights are acceptable. Sometimes a student will have on transitional tights—which, when worn over the toes are considered footed—and have them rolled up to mid-calf. When it comes to class, pink can probably encompass ballet pink, classical pink, light pink, or European pink. (Or, as it was in my case as a kid, white tights dyed into a pink that came from red food coloring!) For performances, most teachers will be painfully specific about what color pink they want and if they want the tights to be mesh, seamed, or seamless; supplex, cotton, nylon, or a combination of fabrics; Capezio, Bloch, or Danskin. To make it a lot easier, some teachers will tell you a style number to be sure you get exactly the right thing. The Danskin mesh seamed tight in style 32 is very popular, for example.

Along with tights, some schools will require that you wear a specific color leotard or a specific style: camisole, tank, short sleeve, or long sleeve. A lot of schools will not be too picky about style as long as you wear the correct color, or a solid color. Make sure you are wearing shoes that are acceptable as well. Usually this is left to the discretion of the dancer, but some teachers don’t particularly care for canvas over leather, for instance. Some want you to have a full sole rather than a split sole. Just be certain you know if there’s a preference, and make sure your shoes have the elastics sewn securely. Elastics that are tied behind the ankle or kept on with paper clips or safety pins are irritating to most teachers. You’ve been warned.

Hair and Jewelry

Hair and jewelry are biggies in ballet class. To be safe, I would say to put your hair in a bun with a hair net and plenty of hair pins and hairspray, and don’t wear any jewelry at all. Here again, there will be variations of what is acceptable at your particular school. You may be allowed to wear your hair clipped with a great big barrette so it doesn’t flop at all when turning, and it might be fine to wear earrings as long as they don’t dangle. Sometimes earrings that slip through without a catch at the back can fly out during grand allegro or turns across the floor, so use good judgment here. Click here to see a great video by dancers at the Anaheim Ballet on how to make hair buns. And a fun place to find ballet needs is at bunheads.com.

Behavior

Finally, we come to the behavior that is expected in class.

  1. No talking unless you have a question for the teacher (and questions are normally very welcome, especially in beginning to intermediate levels). This includes any kind of communication with others in class, so no miming or eye-rolling either!
  2. Do not chew gum, eat, or drink during class.Sometimes you may be permitted to get a drink between barre and center, but it’s typically best not to leave the room to do so.
  3. Do not arrive late. If you arrive during the plié combination you can usually catch up. Otherwise you need to check with the teacher to see if it’s okay for you to join or if they prefer that you just observe class.
  4. Do not yawn.
  5. Do not get impatient with yourself—this can be misinterpreted by the teacher who thinks you don’t care for their class or combination.
  6. If you have an injury prior to class, let the teacher know that you may not do everything full out.
  7. If you get injured during class or pull a muscle, let the teacher know. Get ice, if possible, and watch the rest of class from the sidelines.
  8. Do not always stand in front. Take turns.
  9. Do not always go first across the floor unless the teacher asks you to.
  10. Do your best and have a positive attitude.

Other things to note

I encourage readers to add to the list if you can think of others I omitted. Of course, cells phones and ipods are also not good to bring into class. A few pet peeves of mine when I was teaching included students who had to go to the bathroom (although there might be exceptions, just don’t do this every single class), students who wanted to teach the class or recommend steps, and students who wore sweats over their tights once class began. Again, if you have an injury and you need to wear extra clothing for warmth, get permission from the teacher prior to class.

The nicest thing about class is the end. I always thought it very appropriate when I was dancing that we would let the teacher know we appreciated class by applauding at the end. Some teachers will tell young dancers that they should “give themselves a hand” so they get into the habit of clapping after class, but I believe that this part of ballet etiquette is more a show of respect for the authority and guidance of the teacher.

Teaching Pre-Ballet and Beginning Ballet

Ballet dancers flexible legs and feet - walkin...
Dancers Flexible Legs and Feet

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!

A Special Ballet Teacher

We entered the hall with solemn steps and took our seats. The group mostly comprised the beloved late ballet teacher’s university students. At the front of the room was a table with a photograph of a beautiful young woman. Of course she’d been young once, but it was odd to see a photo of Mrs. Dorsey from her youth. She’d been a dazzling star at the age of fourteen with the Royal Ballet, and through the eulogy we learned she’d managed to pack her whole life into a mere sixty years. This, too, came as a shock.

She walked with a cane which she’d given the name Betsy. Her hair was quite grey and worn pulled back at the nape of her neck. She wore horn-rimmed glasses and unflattering dresses with knee high hose, and taught every class in a pair of terribly old-fashioned lady’s shoes. If it weren’t for her clever combinations of steps we never would have guessed she’d ever been a ballerina. Most of the time she sat in a red leather chair and gave vocal instructions, tapping out the tempo with Betsy and sipping from a cup of hot tea. It was a challenge for me, as I’d never had a teacher who didn’t stand at the barre and demonstrate the exercises with grace and firmly accentuated calf muscles. Having to learn to translate the names of steps and positions of the arms into movement was, I realized later, a great opportunity for me. I began religiously writing down class combinations in dance journals, which I later used when I became a teacher myself. My desperate attempt to grasp the vocabulary in Mrs. Dorsey’s class was a great aid.

I was shy, uncertain about myself and not at all convinced I had what it took to be a ballerina. All I knew was that I loved to dance, and I wanted to do nothing else with such a passion. My father’s dream of going to London to study theater had been dashed by his parents when he was the age I’d been then, and I think he went out of his way to find opportunities for me. Mrs. Dorsey had been the one to write a letter of recommendation for me to attend Butler University as a high school student. I later saw her recommendation and was astonished it had been accepted (the student has ‘adequate’ ability), but I did have to endure an audition and I worked very hard and never gave up, even when I encountered a step I’d never seen before. Perhaps they saw potential, for I was enrolled in the program.

I worked with Mrs. Dorsey for a year and one summer. She’d told my father that the girls’ dressing room could be brutal and she was worried about how I’d stand up to the pressure. No one was cruel to me, ever. I was quiet, arriving for the 2:00 ballet class after having spent the morning at high school, then thirty minutes driving on the interstate to Indianapolis. Many days I also stayed for pointe class, and I was cast in The Nutcracker so had to stay for rehearsals as well.

One day, late in the year, we were doing attitude devant en tournant. It was rare that Mrs. Dorsey taught pointe class, and I think she was surprised by my rapid improvement. I somehow had developed strength and confidence enough to do this particular turning step well. She stopped everyone, got up from her chair, walked over to me and kissed the top of my head. Then, she turned to the rest of the class and said over the top of her glasses in her English accent, “She’s young…you don’t get kisses.”

I will never forget that day. Never before or again did a teacher ever compliment me with a kiss. After having taught ballet for many years myself, it never occurred to me to do the same for any of my students either, so I consider myself quite fortunate to have been given such a gift. This gift was all the self-assurance I needed to get me through the next ten years of my dancing career.

There were several teachers who said I wasn’t built right for ballet; my torso was too long and legs not long enough, or I just didn’t have what it took emotionally to withstand the pressures of a professional life in the field. But never did their words affect me. I had Mrs. Dorsey most days the following summer for a two hour ballet class and an hour of pointe. When we did well, she praised us. When we did not do well, she would only look at us over the top of her glasses and raise her eyebrows. She had lost a tooth that summer and tried very hard not to smile too hugely, but a few times she would lose herself in a happy moment and we’d see the gaping hole at the side of her top gums. It was endearing. I loved her so.

She lived close to campus and on a couple of occasions she asked me to give her a ride home. It was a bit embarrassing for me because I was driving a big, baby blue Ford pickup truck. She had an awful time getting in and out, and I was not well-mannered enough to know to give her a hand. She would smile at me with great affection, regardless, and waved as I drove off. She had told us once that she didn’t have much to do at her home. She would just look at the blank walls and choreograph combinations for our classes in her head.

After a break of a few weeks that summer, we returned to classes in the fall to find Mrs. Dorsey absent. We learned that she was in the hospital and she had cancer. News was that she cheered up all the nurses with her English humor, rather than being the one who was cheered. Only a few weeks later, she passed away.

And here we were, at a memorial service for our dear, sweet, Mrs. Dorsey. Probably an actual funeral had taken place already, or perhaps she was cremated. There was no casket, no trip to a cemetery for us that day. Her son was there and someone who offered words that didn’t come near to catching her essence. We looked upon the framed photograph of a lovely young woman and we each remembered how she’d touched our individual lives. I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the hall. I, for one, didn’t have enough tissues on hand.

For many years after, I would call upon Mrs. Dorsey from the great beyond, asking for her assistance with this audition or that piece of choreography. She never failed me, and I truly do believe that her spirit lives on and she is at my side whenever summoned. Sometimes I wonder how she managed to continue carrying on the tradition of teaching ballet for so many years. I found an article online that said she’d choreographed a Dickens ballet at Butler in 1959. That was 25 years before I arrived there. How many lives she touched can only be imagined. I just know that she had a magical effect on mine.

Somehow my father managed to learn of an estate sale at Mrs. Dorsey’s home near the university. He accompanied me there one day after class. We entered the small, brick home where she’d visualized ballet combinations while staring at her walls, and we walked among her things. It was strange to enter her personal world. Stranger still to find things of little value up for sale. We may not have been the only ones who went there for a sentimental trinket or two. I took home a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, a cane, and a plaque with a gold rose attached that reads:

All hearts grow warmer

in the presence of one who

gave freely for the love of giving

a giving that deepens and grows

ever unfolding new sweetness

as the blossoming of a rose.

I still have the plaque on my dresser, though I’ve since lost the glasses and the cane. No doubt it was given to her from one of her many adoring students.

One time I remember being in her class when no accompanist was there to play the piano. There was a record player available and some well-worn records, but she quickly gave up trying to make that work and employed her cane, Betsy, to pound out the rhythm on the floor. I’m sure she was exhausted by the end of an hour and a half of doing that, but she never let on that she was tired and she always had a lovely, peaceful face.

Now that I’m older, with three children of my own, working in the completely unrelated field of computer technology, I look back at Mrs. Dorsey and think about what she had said about the dance world being a cruel place. I did manage to get my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in dance and I did dance professionally for a short period of time. Many years I taught ballet to young people and enjoyed it tremendously. When my back started giving me problems I was unable to teach the way I’d always taught: standing at the barre in my leotard and tights with a long, black skirt and pale pink teaching shoes, demonstrating the steps with the best technical ability I had left. I suppose I could have asked for a demonstrator, someone who would stand in front of the class and show the steps as I wanted them executed, following my verbal lead. But it was too hard for me. Once I could no longer show the steps, I felt my teaching began to suffer. Maybe I should have called on Mrs. Dorsey for assistance then, before it was too late. We moved to a new state where no one knew me as a dancer or a teacher, and my talent seemed to diminish into nothingness. I have my children who give me great happiness, and I’ve worked at the bank now for nine years.

I did try teaching again, about a year ago. My back and my foot both gave me a lot of pain. It’s hard for me to do anything physical now, and I wonder if I’d been born in Russia if they would have filtered me out of the dance system before I’d ever started because my torso was too long, my legs too short. Still, I can’t wish for anything different than the experiences I’ve had and the teachers I’ve studied with or the students I’ve had the opportunity of teaching.

I’ve outgrown my shyness. I asked my father at one point if he would mind too terribly if I quit dancing. I think he was surprised at such a question. He says I made it farther in my career dancing than he ever made it in theater, but I don’t believe he’s right. He made a career of teaching, even if he wasn’t given the opportunities to perform himself at a professional level, and he has touched thousands of lives. I’m sure he would have been a fabulous actor, had he been given the right teachers and experience. Not all wonderful actors or dancers make wonderful teachers, either. I think Mrs. Dorsey’s dancing career was short-lived, although I don’t know this for certain. But I know she had a passion for teaching, as did my father. He never appeared to be disappointed in me, and I hope that she’s not disappointed in me either, for not learning to find passion in teaching from a red leather chair.

Influencing Lives by Teaching Ballet

The task can’t be taken lightly

Ballet teachers have a unique opportunity to instill self confidence and to encourage creative expression in their ballet students. The task should never be taken lightly, and it’s important for parents of young children to fully investigate the qualifications of their child’s prospective teachers before beginning lessons. There are two sides of this coin: it can be looked at from the teacher’s point of view as well as from the parent’s point of view. This post will focus on the teacher, and how his or her classroom environment can affect the development of a child. In general, all teachers are aware of the influence they may have over impressionable children, but I believe that a ballet teacher’s influence is ever so slightly different than that of a school teacher’s. The ballet class is a place where the child is forced to look upon their bodies in a mirror and scrutinize that reflection. How much emphasis is placed on that image should be relative to the age of the student.

Creative movement and pre-ballet students

Ideally, children who begin pre-ballet or creative movement at around four years of age will not need to think too much about technique. At this stage, instilling a joy of movement is vital. Teaching musicality and approaches to moving creatively will be the main focus. Simple stretching exercises in the guise of games will be introduced. This is a very special age and quite fun to teach. Having colorful and flowing scarves, various types of musical instruments, and other props in your arsenal helps keep a child of this age engaged. Experimenting without using particular steps, but with movements that are heavy, soft, light, sharp, dull, long, short, or what have you will enable them to express themselves using their bodies in new ways. Later, when more formal technique is introduced, they will be more open to trying new things if they’ve been given a chance to experiment on their own a bit first.

Pre-teen and teenage students

Skipping ahead now to the pre-teen and teenage years, I think it’s especially important for a teacher to understand what is happening developmentally, emotionally, and intellectually to these students. This is a critical age (between 11 and 15) where they are coming into their own selves, learning how they are the same and different from their peers, and beginning to shape who they will be as adults. This is a fascinating article about the growth of the brain in these formative years, and how physical activity can have an effect on that growth.

Socially, we know that adolescents are going through a difficult time at this stage. They are morphing out of the childhood phase and moving into the adult phase, having to navigate their way sometimes alone and sometimes with the help of peers, and sometimes they are lucky enough to have the loving guidance of a teacher helping them along this new territory. I think ballet teachers could easily forget this is happening. I’m not saying that we should relax our standards by any means; I think the fact that there are clear expectations in a ballet class (see my post on ballet etiquette) can be comforting to a pre-teen. Here is a place they can come and know exactly how to behave. I’m just saying that it’s important for teachers to be aware of what these kids are going through developmentally at this stage in their lives.

One way we can effect a positive influence on pre-teens through ballet is by offering plenty of praise when they get things right. At this age students should already understand that getting a correction is not a criticism for them to take personally and feel badly about. They should know that getting a correction means they are worthy of the attention of the teacher and it’s a means to improve their technique. For a teacher, I think once a correction has been given to a student it is of vital importance to note when that student incorporates it and makes the adjustment. It’s a two-part thing here: give a correction, and watch to see (and praise) when the correction has been made in the future by that same student. This sort of confirmation encourages the student to seek corrections, even when not given to them directly, and implement the improvements in their technique because they know that the effort will be noticed.

I’m not really finished with my thoughts on the powerful influence a ballet teacher can have on his or her students, but this is enough for one post. Any other thoughts from other teachers out there? I plan to write more in detail about how we can work with kids at various stages of their training to get the most out of them, avoid burn out, and build their self esteem right along with their technique. Even for those who study ballet for a year and never come back, it can have a positive influence on their lives.

Classical Ballet: Combinations for Ten Complete Advanced Classes

by Tamara Stanwood, 2009

 

Applying Different Techniques

One of the advantages of taking ballet from many different teachers is learning that there is more than one way of doing things—and that it is good to be accommodating. If you’re in a class where the teacher likes you to brush the floor on a frappé, then you brush the floor with no questions asked. Some other variations on a frappé include wrapping the foot or flexing the foot at cou de pied prior to striking the floor.

Throughout a dance class you will see subtle (or not-so-subtle) differences between teachers. Some like you to extend the leg 90° à la seconde before executing a pirouette en dedans; others just want you to bring the foot directly to the knee. Some would like to see your leg as high as it can go in adagio at the expense of alignment; others would rather see your leg lower, using proper alignment. Some teachers are very particular about the port de bras they set for a combination while others are not so picky and would rather see you adding batterie or going for triple and quadruple pirouettes.

You really need to be sensitive to the expectations of the teacher in ballet. And as a teacher, it is important to make your expectations clear. I always found myself getting more attention from the teacher if I gave him or her exactly what they were looking for, rather than sticking strictly to my own goals. Of course, you can work on your goals within what the teacher is asking, but most teachers follow a plan of action and have a reason for asking you to do things a certain way. And even if they don’t, it isn’t your job to question their tactics!

I went to a class when I moved to a new area, and the teacher’s philosophy was one I’d never encountered before (and didn’t agree with at all). She wanted us to stand at the barre in first position, and when we moved into tendu we weren’t to shift our weight onto the supporting leg at all. We were to stay exactly as we’d been in first position. I was falling all over the place and was sore for several days, but I did my best to do as she asked. I wish I could say I got a job with her company, but that didn’t happen in this case. J

Learning to deliver what is asked of you will be a great asset when you go to an audition, too. The audition teacher may throw in something just to see how well you follow directions. They will tend to be more impressed with the people who do as they say, rather than those who show off with extra beats or pirouettes.