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How do teachers create a classroom environment that promotes collaborative and inquiry-based approaches to learning ballet? How do teachers impart the stylistic qualities of ballet while also supporting each dancer's artistic instincts and development of a personal style? How does ballet technique education develop the versatility and creativity needed in the contemporary dance environment?
Creative Ballet Teaching draws on the fields of Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis (L/BMA), dance pedagogy, and somatic education to explore these questions. Sample lesson plans, class exercises, movement explorations, and journal writing activities specifically designed for teachers bring these ideas into the studio and classroom. A complementary online manual, Creative Ballet Learning, provides students with tools for technical and artistic development, self-assessment, and reflection.
Offering a practical, exciting approach, Creative Ballet Teaching is a must-read for those teaching and learning ballet.
List of contents
INTRODUCTION
PART I RETHINKING CREATIVITY, COMMUNITY, AND TECHNIQUE
IN THE BALLET CLASSROOM
Chapter One Drawing inspiration from creative movement: teaching and planning
from movement concepts
Chapter Two Drawing inspiration from creative movement: developing body
knowledge and improvisation skills
Chapter Three Drawing inspiration from dance teachers: teaching students how to use
your "tools"
Chapter Four Drawing inspiration from dance students: learning from peers
Chapter Five Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis: a tool for facilitating creativity,
community, and technique
PART II IMPROVING BALANCE AND MOTION
Chapter Six Discovering the three-dimensional body: Shape Flow Support and Shape
Qualities
Chapter Seven Balancing three-dimensionally: Spatial Intent and Countertensions
Chapter Eight Moving three-dimensionally: Traceforms and Kinesphere
PART III DEEPENING DYNAMISM
Chapter Nine The dynamic palette: introduction to Effort
Chapter Ten Fluidity: Free and Bound Flow
Chapter Eleven Varying intensity: Strong and Light Weight
Chapter Twelve Rhythmical nuance: Sudden and Sustained Time
Chapter Thirteen Attentive movement: Direct and Indirect Space
Chapter Fourteen Playing with the Effort palette
About the author
Cadence Joy Whittier (MFA, CLMA, RSMT) is Professor of Dance at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, New York, and Faculty and Co-Director of Laban Movement Analysis/Bartenieff Fundamentals Certification Programs at Integrated Movement Studies.
Summary
Teaching Ballet Creatively draws on the fields of Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis (L/BMA), dance pedagogy, human development, and somatic education to explore how teachers might foster an environment of dynamic, collaborative learning, inquiry, curiosity, and creativity in the dance classroom.
