Teaching Philosophy: Cultivating a Creative Space for Ballet Students

I chose to construct my teaching philosophy as a teacher to ballet students of varying levels in a traditional academic setting. Ultimately, my goal as a teacher in this setting is to cultivate a safe space for creative and artistic growth.

Jordan Wetzel, Dance, '19

My teaching philosophy is centered around the education of a high school ballet student, on the younger side of 9th or 10th grade. Dance in a traditional educational setting, such as a public school or non-specialized high school, can be tricky in the way that the use of the human body as an instrument requires a certain type of knowledge and understanding. As a ballet teacher in a traditional academic setting, my goal is to be able to effectively reach and teach a large population of students, similar to the way that music or visual art is taught in school. It is readily explored, while dance is largely unexplored. Because it requires using the body as a means of expression, dance lends itself to a physical sort of vulnerability.

photo courtesy of Fund For Public Schools

In order to cultivate a safe space that promotes physical creativity and comfortability for even the least experienced dancer, my lessons will largely include a social learning aspect. Students will have plenty of opportunity to discuss between one another the combinations with regard to technical alignment and creative execution. Ballet requires prolonged attention to instruction and detail. Even though the body is constantly moving, conversation is not something typically implemented in a ballet class, and in doing so, the students who are best served by having breaks from this intense focus will benefit by peer to peer interaction, guided by my instruction.

The structure of the class will be kept consistent each time the class meets. This consistency will provide a base for efficient learning as new, physical material will be taught frequently. Knowing and understanding the flow of the class will provide stability to delve deeper into the physical material with one less aspect to worry about. This way, the class flow will remain efficient and operational, if for example the students understand that succeeding the barre work comes more physically independent work in the centre. With this in mind, the students will be

properly engaging the proper muscles and perfecting the proper alignment with the help of a barre, before fully supporting these aspects on their own.

Photo courtesy of The Juilliard School

Attire in a dance class is paramount to teaching and maintaining proper body alignment, and due to the formality of the technique, this is hugely important in a ballet class. For my students, I will require of them to wear a tight fitting top, and tight fitting pants or shorts. This will allow myself as well as the students themselves to clearly see their bodies for alignment purposes. Additionally, students will be expected to wear ballet shoes, not socks or bare feet, for both safety and proper execution of the technique. Because this course will take place during the traditional school day, it is expected that students will either bring the appropriate attire to school the days that the class is held, or keep clothes and ballet shoes available in the locker rooms at the school to change in to. In the event that a student is not prepared with the proper attire on any given day, I will have in my office at all times clean, spare options to lend out at the cost of 50% of that day’s participation grade, since this aspect is so important.

My relationship with my students as a dance teacher will be less conventional than that of a teacher of traditional classroom subjects. Bringing back my point about vulnerability, dancing can be uncomfortable for many people as moving the entire body in considerably unnatural ways is foreign to so many, and can really be a scary thing. Being available and developing a genuine, comfortable relationship with my students will help to mitigate the discomfort of moving in these new ways. High school years are especially challenging as adolescents are fostering the development of their personal identities as independence grows stronger. Additionally, working so intimately with the body as a dancer can often lead to body image, or dysmorphia issues. Establishing this comfortable, non-top-down role as the dance teacher, is incredibly important for allowing my students to feel comfortable to discuss the challenges that will, without a doubt, arise. I will have a policy with my students where if at any time I am in my office, working or not, they can and should come meet with me at any point. This can occur as frequently as desired, to discuss whatever they feel, related to the course or not.

The students will be graded based on attendance, participation, written examinations, and an informal performance at the end of the course. Expectations to be based on and created around the National Arts Standards. Attendance is key to excelling, as new physical material will be taught each time the class meets, layering on top of the concepts taught prior to the lesson. In order to maintain the demands of the technique, consistent practice and repetition is essential. The course would meet three times a week, for an entire semester, totaling around 45 classes. It is expected that a student would miss no more than three classes in any given semester. If attendance becomes an issue due to injury, which is quite frequent, or any other helpless issue, I will work closely with that student to develop a realistic plan for completing the coursework, based on the case. If this issue develops because of carelessness or discomfort in the class, it would be my job to develop a relationship with that student, in hopes to engage and make them feel more comfortable being present. Participation plays into the willingness to be present and engaged with the coursework. I will hold myself with much responsibility for this, as I know that many will not always be comfortable or eager to move. Having the proper attire, however, are what the students are accountable for in order to properly participate, and from there, the comfort I cultivate in the class will foster optimal participation. Written examinations will be a great tool for objectively grading how students are performing in the class. It is expected that, even if not properly executed, the students know the terms and history incorporated into the class. A mid-term and final written examination will be administered, and both will be of low-stress. Finally, the greatest measurement of development and performance in the class is a physical demonstration of what was taught throughout the semester. This will take place in front of a small audience, and will include material taught throughout the semester. This performance is not explicitly about technical execution, but rather having an understanding of what the material is, and how it should be performed. This is an important tool for measuring improvement. It will be something that we will prepare as a class, have practiced, and discussed to ensure comfort and ease in demonstrating the beauty of dance that has been understood by the students.