Ballet has earned a reputation for being the foundation of all styles of dance—and rightly so! Its technical base, terminology, and movement qualities influence nearly every facet of dance education. That means teaching ballet comes with great responsibility; it requires teachers to continually grow their skills in the classroom so their students can learn correctly and confidently.
Whether you are an experienced dance professional, a university-trained graduate, or a brand new teacher, translating your knowledge of ballet into real-life instruction can be an ongoing challenge. For example, you may already know that you want to introduce certain concepts to a class of eight-year-olds, but what tactics will you employ to gently begin working their turnout from the hips? What tempo will you use to introduce rond de jambe à terre and how will that progress over time? How will you help them remember croisé from éffacé?
Having in-person teacher training experience equips you to answer these questions and many, many more! It offers you a way to truly analyze ballet class from the teacher point of view. A syllabus too, is an invaluable instrument for class and choreography planning, as it can serve as the compass to keep your lessons moving forward in precisely the right way.
With The Ballet Method™, our teacher workshops are designed to accelerate your success in the dance classroom. Through observation, demonstration, and practice, you’ll gain confidence in all of the following ways:
- Knowing which ballet concepts are suitable to teach at certain ages
- Learning how to break down larger concepts into smaller, achievable steps
- Understanding developmentally-appropriate progress in the young dancer
- Understanding the importance of repetition for certain steps and/or exercises
- Learning how to select the correct music and tempos for specific concepts
- Knowing how best to use the syllabi for creating lesson plans
- Learning ways to adapt class material into appropriate ballet choreography
All teachers have a common goal when it comes to dance education: we want our students to make progress and enjoy the process of learning. At The Ballet Method™, we believe in a similar goal for teachers! We want dance educators from all backgrounds to feel comfortable and confident passing down the traditions of ballet to their students.
Teaching ballet to children and teens can be both a wonderful gift and a formidable challenge. If you would like to enhance your knowledge and grow your skills at teaching ballet, we welcome you to explore all that we have to offer at The Ballet Method™!
