A Month In The Country ballet is a one-act ballet choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton and adapted from Ivan Turgenyev’s play. The music is by Frédéric Chopin and arranged by John Lanchbery. The decor and costumes were originally done by Julia Trevelyan Oman. A Month In The Country Ballet was first performed by the Royal … Read more
If you want to wish your fellow dancers good luck before they go on stage, it doesn’t sound quite right to say ‘break a leg’ like you would to an actor. Also, as the old wives’ tale goes, it is actually considered bad luck to say to another dancer “good luck” before they go onto … Read more
A lot of dance teachers get burnt out and frustrated at certain times of the year. Here is a guide on how to survive teacher stress burnout. The trick of course is to stay focused and positive, but it, as you know, is easier said than done. This post may contain affiliate links, which means … Read more
Swan Lake Ballet Video This is a brilliant production of Swan Lake that I had to share with you if you have two hours to spare. If you want to read a Swan Lake Synopsis before you start, you can click here. This production is done by the Kirov Ballet and has the usual perfect … Read more
How to deal with a teenager in your dance studio is a problem we as dance teachers will all face at some time or another. For the most part, things will run smoothly, but there are always problem teenagers, whether they get suddenly stubborn and won’t take correction, are always tired, or just get downright cheeky. … Read more
Do your dancers have tight shoulders? Dancers need to be flexible in this area, so here are seven exercises for tight shoulders that you and your students can do in class or at home. If you are an Acro or Gymnastics teacher and you have students who have tight shoulders, they will most certainly struggle … Read more
I thought I just had to share this documentary called Ballets Secret Code with you all, as ballet is becoming more and more competitive each year with dancers working their bodies to do the impossible. Sometimes it is good to remember that solid technique is always the best so that you don’t injure yourself trying … Read more
Here are some ideas on how to teach a class with a Cinderella Theme going. This post is aimed at dance teachers who teach small children, but this type of class will also work for pre school, kindermusic and even gynmastics classes for small children. When I teach my tiny tots ballet class, I always … Read more
Not all of us are born with pretty ballet feet, but there is a lot you can do to improve both the shape of your foot and the strength of your feet, and if you are a dancer, you know just how important your feet are to your craft. So what does the ideal foot … Read more
In order to improve our coordination in dance we first need to understand exactly what coordination is. So let’s start with . . . What Is Coordination? Coordination simply explained is basically the teamwork between your muscles and your conscious thoughts, to make movements possible, whether it be a familiar or a new movement. When … Read more