Tag: teaching tips

Salwa Rizkalla’s dance training began at 11 years old in Cairo, Egypt, where she trained in the Vaganova method at the Higher Institute of Ballet. “At the time, Russia and Egypt had a cultural-exchange program in which they sent instructors who were internationally recognized to work with us,” she says. For nine years, Rizkalla attended […]

Until the late 1970s, a slight, regal man with radiant white hair was a quiet fixture at theaters throughout New York City. Edwin Denby (1903–1983), an established dance critic and poet, saw as many styles of dance as he possibly could. Though Denby rarely spoke—and when he did, he whispered—his silent authority carried a far […]

On any given weekday between 11:30 am and 1 pm at New York City’s Steps on Broadway, Nancy Bielski offers an advanced-intermediate professional ballet class that keeps even ballet’s biggest superstars on their toes. By the end of tendus, her students (a mix of freelance ballerinas, former professional dancers and a revolving door of off-season […]

There is perhaps no one else Skylar Brandt has disappointed more than her childhood piano teacher. “I knew by the age of 8 that I wanted to be a ballerina, but my parents insisted on having me try other activities, including piano,” she explains. “With my sense of musicality at a young age, my teacher […]

Dance teachers love to create an environment that is engaging, collaborative, and productive for student learning. A reliable invitation to begin class, especially in creative movement, can connect students to one another and root them in a sense of purpose and excitement for the movement opportunities that await. Thoughtful consideration for how to begin a […]

Being aware of joints and your ability to move easily are always concerns for dancer teachers and dancers. The older we get, the more common the diagnosis of arthritis becomes. While there are many types of arthritis, osteoarthritis, which is often called the “wear and tear” type of degenerative joint disease, is the most common. […]

Telling a cohesive story in a ballet is no easy task. After all, ballets don’t typically come with a script for an audience to follow, so it’s entirely up to the dancers to make sure the viewer understands what’s going on via dance. Plus, some of ballet’s most beloved characters—swans, fairies, sylphs—are often the hardest […]

Unfortunately, teaching styles that are borderline abusive, or even explicitly so, have been widely normalized in dance environments. Often these behaviors are touted as “tough love,” and excused because it’s the way we’ve been taught ourselves. But what is tough love, really?

In Aiano Nakagawa’s creative-dance class at Acorn Woodland Child Development Center in Oakland, California, a student wanted to run really fast instead of exploring shapes as planned. Nakagawa didn’t dismiss or correct the desire. Instead, she yelled, “Yeah! And can you try a sharp shape at the end?” Another time, teachers were asking students not […]

As well-trained as pre-professional students are, how many are ready to move into a company environment at 17 or 18 years old—and succeed? Runqiao Du, artistic director of the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC, has seen many dancers struggle as apprentices and first-year corps members and notes that some don’t make it beyond […]