A Perspective on Teaching Contemporary Ballet

Abstract Research on contemporary ballet teaching in Finland has focused on the pedagogic perspective, but work on the teaching content is scarce. In this article, I describe my pursuit to outline core elements of contemporary ballet through two pilot workshops. I present four elements that seemed m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nordic Journal of Dance
Main Author: Marttinen, Fox
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Walter de Gruyter GmbH 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/njd-2016-0005
https://www.sciendo.com/pdf/10.2478/njd-2016-0005
Description
Summary:Abstract Research on contemporary ballet teaching in Finland has focused on the pedagogic perspective, but work on the teaching content is scarce. In this article, I describe my pursuit to outline core elements of contemporary ballet through two pilot workshops. I present four elements that seemed meaningful in my teaching (improvisation, interpretation, partnering and off-balance) and their nexus with classical ballet. In addition, I share my experiences of teaching contemporary ballet using these core elements to vocational dance students at North Karelia College Outokumpu. Here, I address contemporary ballet as a part of the evolution of ballet, not as a combination of contemporary dance and classical ballet. The overall aim is to develop a method of teaching that equips dancers with the skills they need when performing and co-creating contemporary ballet.