Articles

Introduction to Pointe

February 19, 2018

Once a dancer has completed pre-pointe training, there is a transitional class needed before full pointe training can begin. This is an introduction (or orientation) to pointe work. I find a good many teachers skip this. Either they are… Read More

Introduction to Pointe

The Pre-Pointe Year

February 12, 2018

Pre-pointe is one of my favorite classes to teach. In part because I enjoy the age of most of the students (11-13 year olds), but also because the excitement of what is about to come is bubbling everywhere. The… Read More

The Pre-Pointe Year

Three Fundamentals of Safe Pointe Work

January 29, 2018

Above all, we prioritize safety. While we want our dancers whipping out strings of fouetté turns and series of hops en pointe, what we want more than that is for our dancers to have longevity and undamaged bodies.Pointe training is… Read More

Three Fundamentals of Safe Pointe Work

Ready for Pointe?

January 15, 2018

When will I be ready for pointe? It’s a question ballet teachers hear often. Especially if you teach in a school that doesn’t have clear policies in place regarding this topic. But even with clear policies we still encounter this… Read More

Ready for Pointe?

Five Tips for Transitioning Back to Work

January 8, 2018

Teaching is hard.It is a selfless act requiring enormous amounts of patience and passion. It is no wonder that, after months of work, teachers feel as though they have transformed into zombies—crawling towards whatever break is on the horizon, grabbing… Read More

Five Tips for Transitioning Back to Work

Four Tips For Building Reversing Skills

December 11, 2017

I willingly admit to being a reverse junkie. If there was time enough, I would have my students reverse everything. I find the puzzle of reversing enthralling and always come away from it feeling a little more the wiser for… Read More

Four Tips For Building Reversing Skills

Starting Promenades

December 5, 2017

You know those ballet nightmare experiences? The ones where, in the moment, your entire ballet soul is being crushed by the weight of your hideous dancing? The ones where even years later you look back and still groan in pain… Read More

Starting Promenades

Mixing Up Port de Bras

November 27, 2017

NOTE: This is geared specifically for teachers of more advanced students. Lower leveled students do require consistency with port de bras so they can remain focused primarily on technique. Once technique is established with any given step, then the world… Read More

Mixing Up Port de Bras

5 Ways to Ensure Safe Stretching

November 20, 2017

First, a little story . . .I was teaching a group of students who were new to me. I had them on their backs doing a stretch that would help them feel where their external rotators exist. While the stretch… Read More

5 Ways to Ensure Safe Stretching

A Choreography Project

November 13, 2017

Looking for a productive way to switch up the pace of class? Perhaps your students are interested in choreography and you want a simple way to introduce them to basic composition concepts? Maybe your students need some assistance being a… Read More

A Choreography Project

The Introverted Ballet Teacher

October 30, 2017

Truth be told, I am not one for placing labels on people. When someone attempts to apply one to me, I instinctively pull back in horror. However, there is one label that applies to me without a doubt. I take… Read More

The Introverted Ballet Teacher

Demi Pointe and the Adult Beginner

October 23, 2017

I have written about the importance of teaching the proper use of demi pointe before. In that article, I mention how often I find myself “screaming” about it over and over and over again because it is crucial for… Read More

Demi Pointe and the Adult Beginner

Water Bottle Escapades

October 16, 2017

With all the issues and challenges we ballet teachers face, it might seem rather tedious to devote an entire article to water bottles. However, teaching our students to be—and remain—hydrated throughout class is part of our job. Because, like all… Read More

Water Bottle Escapades

A Fun Vocabulary Test

October 9, 2017

Ballet vocabulary. We want our students to have it. To understand how to speak the language. To be informed dancers. So we do any of the following things:Randomly ask them what any given ballet word means.Consistently reinforce the definitions before… Read More

A Fun Vocabulary Test

The One Thing I Prioritize in Pirouettes

September 26, 2017

There are turners and then there are . . . well, people like me.Who are people like me?We are the ones who are brilliant at showing just how hard pirouetting is. We fall. We flail. We flounder. But eventually it… Read More

The One Thing I Prioritize in Pirouettes

What About the Bathroom?

September 11, 2017

It’s a thing, isn’t it? The bathroom.Everyone always having to go to the bathroom. Well, maybe not with kids older than eight or nine. But the younger ones? Seems every time I turn around someone is saying they need to… Read More

What About the Bathroom?

Addressing Parents

September 11, 2017

Go to any ballet teacher forum and you will find a slew of threads discussing the topic of parents. Teachers willingly pour hours of work into their students and still have energy left over to go home and choreograph until… Read More

Addressing Parents

Create Effective Yearly Goals

September 4, 2017

Goals have the potential to be . . .MotivatingCounterproductiveSmartOverwhelmingAccessibleUnattainableUnwaveringFluidRestrictiveFreeingManipulativeOrganicAnd a host of other things . . .Basically, goals are complex. This makes them rather intimidating. Or rather, it makes setting goals intimidating.As teachers, we often find ourselves encouraging our… Read More

Create Effective Yearly Goals

Separation Anxiety

August 28, 2017

I am a mom of three kids. But when I began my ballet teaching career I was not a mom of three kids. I was not a mom at all. I was basically a kid who knew nothing and did… Read More

Separation Anxiety

Three Floor Exercises to Improve Technique

August 21, 2017

A while back, I wrote about how beneficial floor work can be for students. From correcting alignment and repairing pirouettes, to cleaning battu and refining port de bras—taking your students’ training down to the floor holds so much potential… Read More

Three Floor Exercises to Improve Technique

The Rut War

August 7, 2017

It is no news flash that ballet class is at high risk of falling into a rut. We speak about creating a structure that develops discipline and focus, but we all know that very structure can be the demise of… Read More

The Rut War

Helping Teacher Assistants Be Successful

August 1, 2017

Like most teachers, I began my career in teaching as an assistant to the lead instructor. It was an aggravating time for me. More than anything, I knew I wanted to teach ballet, but I felt held back in a… Read More

Helping Teacher Assistants Be Successful

Lessons in Ballet History

July 20, 2017

I am thoroughly convinced there is never enough time in ballet class to teach everything we wish to teach. One year, I taught a three hour ballet class once a week to advanced dancers who were already taking many other… Read More

Lessons in Ballet History

The Beginnings of Frappé

July 14, 2017

Frappé is, and always has been, one of my favorite steps to do. The sharp attack and speed of the step drew me in from the start.Teaching frappé has not, however, been my favorite. It felt a bit on the… Read More

The Beginnings of Frappé

Teaching Waltz Turn

July 3, 2017

When I was 11 years old, I had my first encounter with waltz turns. I can look back at the situation and laugh now, but in the moment it was terrifying and slightly traumatizing. I won’t go into the story… Read More

Teaching Waltz Turn