The curriculum has its roots in the Royal Academy of Dance teaching method and is divided based on age groups. The Ballet Arts for Young Children series covers the first four levels, and then we move into the Classical Ballet program for the older students with the Ballet Arts series. Each level builds upon itself in an age-appropriate logical progression.
In 2014 we were searching online for a comprehensive ballet curriculum. Because we were unable to find anything, we decided it was time to make it ourselves. We obtained the rights to Ruth Brinkerhoff’s timeless curriculum, and had a box of all of her spiral-bound books shipped to us. We dusted them off, digitized them, upgraded them, and prepared them for you, the ballet teacher in the digital age.
Our curriculum aligns with certain principles which will always remain important to us.
Each teacher should determine the skill level based on more than just the ages of the students. Though these levels will not always suit the way your ballet school divides the groups, here is how curriculum from The Ballet Source is divided:
Once you place an order, you will receive an invoice in your email inbox within just a few minutes. That invoice will contain a download link to your purchases.
Some teachers prefer the freedom to choose their own music and create their own lesson plans from the material in the Curriculum Book. For others, it is such a helpful bonus to have the Curriculum Book, Lesson Plans and Music all in one easy download. The three items are zipped together into one folder when you purchase a Suite. Simply download, unzip the folder and save to your device.
All products currently available from The Ballet Source are digital downloads, so there is no wait for the items to arrive in your email inbox. No shipping or waiting required.
The fullest and richest source of content for the ballet teacher is found in the Curriculum Books for each level. You will find developmental information about the age level, teaching tips for the provided choreography, dances, and supplemental classroom manipulatives.
The Lesson Plans are a very basic outline of material taught in any given time period. They contain the names of the exercises to be taught, the track number for the music and the exercise number for the teacher to reference in the Curriculum Book. Each quarter is one page that the teacher will use several times, choosing exercises each week based on the time allotment for their specific class.
On their own, the Lesson Plans will provide little more than a list of exercises. The counts, movements and teaching tips are all in the Curriculum Book. We have discontinued the sale of Lesson Plans on their own to avoid confusion and to allow teachers to get the most out of the materials they purchase.
Our teachers have seen, firsthand, the benefits of simplifying music for young ballet students. On any given ballet music album from The Ballet Source, there will be around 95% simple piano music and 5% of music with the use of synthesizers and other music effects. This allows the students to grow in musicality, learn to count music for themselves, and focus on the movement itself without distraction.
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