Ballet requires that the dancer spend many years building and shaping the instrument of their art, which is their own physical body. The “Dancer’s Body” comes as a result of long hours of careful training of the muscles. That very beautiful artistic line comes as a result of learning to hold the body in artistically […]
Ballet skills are built upon the base of natural skills that has been developed within the person. This is why extensive experience with fundamental movement skills is important for a ballet class of young children. It is surprising how many small pieces of growth and development affect the child’s ability to perform classical movements correctly! […]
This is such a big and important question. It is one of hardest questions ballet teachers face. We don’t want to put them on pointe too early because they can really injure themselves. So, when is the right time to start with them on pointe work? In Ruth Brinkerhoff’s “Pointe 1: An Introduction to Pointe Work“, she […]
Even at the earliest age, ballet students are absorbing the classical principles we instill in them. From as early as age 3, there are fundamental movement and artistic elements that can be cultivated in order to shape how that student learns and develops in their classical education. To provide that foundation for our ballet students, there are seven […]
I attended ballet class on a regular basis from the age of 6 through 18 and no one ever really explained it to me. If someone had, I’m pretty sure my dance career would have been very different. I struggled at the barre with basic moves because something just wasn’t right. How could it be […]
