Articles

Screaming About Demi Pointe

June 5, 2017

Pull your heels up, dancers!” “More! Give me more with your feet!” “Where is your demi pointe? I can’t see it!” If there was ever a thing that makes me sound like a broken record it would… Read More

Screaming About Demi Pointe

Teaching the 8 Body Positions

May 25, 2017

No build up necessary. We all know how vital it is that our students grasp the concepts of croisé, écarté, effacé, and en face. The aesthetic of ballet is based in large part on these positions. Regardless of the labels… Read More

Teaching the 8 Body Positions

Knobby Knees and Hyperextension

May 19, 2017

(Note: This article is written with the young dancer, beginning around age 5, in mind.) “Let’s all stand in First Position.” All students begin to move into position. “Wonderful!  Be sure your heels are touching.” All students move their… Read More

Knobby Knees and Hyperextension

Just a Job

May 16, 2017

When I write about ballet, I tend to become impassioned. My fingers move across the keyboard with fierce speed and adrenaline surges through my body. This is because I am in love with ballet. Talking about ballet, doing ballet, writing… Read More

Just a Job

Golden Rules for Barre Work

May 12, 2017

It is common knowledge that barre work is the foundation for ballet.  Inevitably, where a dancer shows weakness at the barre, it will be magnified tenfold when they move to the centre. The essentials put in place through barre work… Read More

Golden Rules for Barre Work

Take It To The Floor

May 9, 2017

I had a teacher who would say to my class, “Dears, you look simply awful. Take it to the floor.” She would deliver this line to us after we had finished an exercise or a combination that was not… Read More

Take It To The Floor

Exposing Students to Excellent Ballet

April 24, 2017

My dance training began when I was nine years old. A year later I saw a professional ballet dancer for the first time. It changed everything for me. In my eyes, this ballerina was perfection. I had no idea such… Read More

Exposing Students to Excellent Ballet

My Approach to Tricks

April 18, 2017

The thirty-two fouettés. The manège of turns. The continuous entrechat six. These are but a few of the spectacular feats dancers are always trying to attain. And once they reach their goal, the bar is pushed that much higher. Thirty-two… Read More

My Approach to Tricks

Building Smart Dancers

April 9, 2017

What good is knowing how to do 17 pirouettes if you don’t know when to do 17 pirouettes? What good is being able to extend your leg far behind your head if you don’t understand the nuances behind lovely extension?… Read More

Building Smart Dancers

Turning Recitals Into Education

March 30, 2017

Ballet recitals aren’t going away. I get that. I know when I was a young dancer I looked forward to recital with all kinds of anticipation. It was perfectly exciting. And without that experience I would not have known the… Read More

Turning Recitals Into Education

Self Care for Ballet Teachers

March 23, 2017

Throbbing feet, bone tired bodies, and exhausted minds. Being a ballet teacher is not easy. When I first launched my teaching career, my energy levels were sky high. Nothing was going to bring me down. Six straight hours of teaching… Read More

Self Care for Ballet Teachers

Working with Early Intermediate Students

March 18, 2017

We all have the ages and levels we adore teaching. It fits. We are synced in. Our flow is easy, organic, organized—it’s just all lovely. And then… We all have the ages and levels we struggle to teach. It feels… Read More

Working with Early Intermediate Students

Teaching While Injured

March 16, 2017

A few weeks ago I did a stupid thing while teaching ballet. This stupid thing landed me on crutches for about a week. Fortunately, there was no serious damage done and the healing process rolled right along. However, I can… Read More

Teaching While Injured

Ballet's Treacherous Terrains

March 10, 2017

Ballet is harsh. Unforgiving. Brutal. We love it all the same. Likely many of us love it directly because of these trying qualities. The beauty to be discovered within the challenge of ballet draws us in. Once there, we are… Read More

Ballet's Treacherous Terrains

Dealing With Attitudes

February 25, 2017

We have all been there. Every single one of us. The arch enemy of the ballet teacher excludes no one. When this imposter rears its head in the studio we are immediately entrenched in a battle. A battle we will… Read More

Dealing With Attitudes

How Friendly Should We Be?

February 17, 2017

More specifically—How friendly should we be with our students? As is almost always the case, this question has as many answers as there are ballet teachers in the world. These are my thoughts. The Ideal Situation Obviously, in the ideal… Read More

How Friendly Should We Be?

What Do Teachers Wear?

February 3, 2017

I vividly remember my first year of ballet. I was nine years old, and my teacher, whom I adored then and still adore to this day, had an assistant. She wore a blue camisole leotard, black tights, and a long… Read More

What Do Teachers Wear?

To Demonstrate or Not to Demonstrate?

January 27, 2017

Before I jump into this topic, I would first like to say that everything I write concerning teaching is based on my own personal experience in the field. I write what I know. Obviously. I can’t write what you know. Read More

To Demonstrate or Not to Demonstrate?

Balancing Discipline and Artistry

January 20, 2017

Two dancers. One possesses all the creativity that could exist in a human being. Put her in a story ballet and she will cause the earth to quake with profound emotion. But look for the briefest moment at her footwork… Read More

Balancing Discipline and Artistry

Where to Put All the Tiny Humans

January 13, 2017

I once taught a class of three year olds who I called my Sparkly Marbles. They were very proud of their title and often referred to themselves as Miss Robyn’s Sparkly Marbles. One class a dancer asked, “Miss Robyn, why… Read More

Where to Put All the Tiny Humans

Using Ballet Terminology and Musicality in Class

November 21, 2015

It gets to me every time. When I begin in September with a group of students who say, “I’ve been dancing all my life” and yet, at the age of 11, cannot dance to the rhythm of the… Read More

Using Ballet Terminology and Musicality in Class

What is Coordination?

September 19, 2015

Without a thorough understanding of the principles of coordination, it is difficult for dance teachers to know what to expect and how to encourage the proper development of natural coordination. It is definitely a vital building block, fundamental… Read More

What is Coordination?

Tips For Teaching Preschool Combo Classes

September 11, 2015

Rising in popularity over the past 10 years is the idea of the “combination class”. There are teachers and studio owners who love the idea, and others who struggle with teaching all that needs to be taught in such… Read More

Tips For Teaching Preschool Combo Classes

Why Warmups?

September 4, 2015

There is a pattern of traditional ballet exercises done at the barre. As a result of recent studies in the area of sports and dance, most teachers these days are also giving some “pre-barre warmup exercises” to their students. Read More

Why Warmups?

Why the Wait?

June 15, 2015

So, what do you do when your 7 year-olds don’t want to practice tendu, they want to saut de chat across the room like the beautiful ballerinas they saw in recital last year? I’ve had… Read More

Why the Wait?