Constructing a Ballet Technique Class
"Where do I begin and what should I
include? Where should my focus be when creating a technique class?" Sound familiar?
Great classes don’t just happen, they require a considerable amount of planning and
observation. If you are teaching several dance classes a day it might be impossible to
plan each class in the manner described in this article. But you probably have that
special class that you go the extra mile for so we’ll concentrate our efforts there.
What elements should I focus
on when planning a technique class?
Your first priority should be to understand what the general skill level of the class is
and how much variation of those skills exist. Then, you should strive to turn each class
into a carefully placed pebble that will contribute to a strong foundation, supporting the
beauty of the finished dancers. The third consideration is to constantly test and
understand the students' limits and capabilities because observations of the students'
progress is necessary to adjust and fine tune the class.
Where should I begin?
"Begin at the beginning!" is a response that is not quite appropriate for a
ballet class. Consider what would happen if the class was structured around the centre
barre rather than around barre. Like a tree that starts small and grows by adding rings
around its center, your classes can also develop with a similar strength.
The logic behind this is quite simple. When
you build a class from the inside-out the exercises in the centre barre will determine the
type of allegro work the student will attempt during the latter portion of the class. In
so doing you have a better chance of building an allegro that is appropriate for your
students. Plus, with your centre barre goals in mind you can tailor the barre exercises to
support them.
The barre exercises are usually segmented into
shorter combinations, while the centre barre exercises are usually a combination of two or
more barre exercises. For example: the ronds de jambes à terre and en l’air exercise
from the barre are combined in the center with some sort of tours (pirouettes) movement as
a conclusion. The trick is to first plan the centre barre combination and then break up
that combination and present it first as two or more separate combinations for the barre.
In a true and completely developed technique
class almost all the exercises done at the barre should have some reference to the centre
barre. Planning a class from the inside out, starting with the centre barre, will insure
that this occurs. It is in the center, without the support of a barre, that the student
masters the art of dance, and it is this that the teacher must focus on.
What should I include?
The exercises for each class can be drawn from your experience, from the notes you take
when attending or viewing other classes, from technique books, and as Ballet Central
publishes its material, from the DanceArt archives. As a teacher I am always
reviewing my notes and updating my vocabulary. From this vocabulary I build my class
exercises.
As a teacher you should strive to thoroughly
understand all the basic steps in classical ballet. It will be from this knowledge that
the more advanced and complicated steps will develop -- every advanced step takes its form
and rhythm from some basic component step.
Below you’ll find a chart that highlights
the relationship between some of the exercises in a typical ballet class. Start with the
center column and pick a centre barre exercise. Then follow the colored lines to the left
and discover what basic barre exercises will prepare the students for that centre barre
exercise. Move to the right column and you will find the allegro components that you are
supporting with the centre barre exercise that you selected. Click
for chart
Anthony answers some of your
questions in this special section. You may email him at coach@danceart.com
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