The beginning and intermediate classical ballet levels take an average of 5 years to master if begun at age 8.

Ballet uses "turn-out" of the legs, but there should never be any strain to achieve and maintain the "turned-out" position.

To determine a child's natural "turn-out" have him lie on his back on the floor, legs almost touching, and not assuming an artificial position. Note how much the legs are turned outward from the hip joint. It has been my observation over 40 years that this is the natural turn-out and will probably always remain the student's turnout. I have seen dancers holding closed 5th positions that turn-out in access of their natural hip rotation, and that little extra is coming from rotation of the knee and ankle joints which can lead to injuries.

In teaching pliés be very careful that the student's knees remain aligned over their feet - knees neither bending to the inside or outside of the feet.

The most important aspect of teaching ballet is placement while stationary and moving.

The alignment for a student standing in 1st position should be - head over shoulders; shoulders over hips; hips over the joint of the foot where the leg shin bone meets the front top of the foot.

Standing on one foot the placement changes to center of hips over the shin bone and top of foot connection as in the illustration.

In movement the center of gravity is going to be constantly changing - that is a big challenge in maintaining stability in turns and any action.

The time spent at the ballet barre is the time to learn about balance while learning the ballet steps. The barre is just for balance and not to be leaned upon.

I have had success teaching barre exercises in the center rather than the barre occasionally - so the student will have extra practice learning to establish placement in motion.

Leaving the barre and moving to center practice in the lesson, be sure to concentrate on achieving the rhythm of the sequences before honing in on perfection of technique, which takes many years to achieve.

Let the movement of the arms be an extension of the torso, and the legs carry the steps along. I have found watching dancers move that I am most drawn to their torso and arm movements as expressions of the music, idea, or story being portrayed.

Yes, even classical ballet is full of subtle movements in facial expressions, tilt of head, how the hands and arms move. It is more than learning combinations to repeat, over and over.

Classical ballet is an art form - take care to keep this in mind and pass along this legacy to your students!

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Academic benefits of ballet training

Classical Ballet Beginning to Advanced by Susan Kramer. Preballet, beginning, intermediate and advanced levels of ballet with hundreds of combinations including a separate section of pointe work. 100 pages. Buy as an Ebook or Paperback Book.


Article and illustration by Susan Kramer