Ballet is often considered the cornerstone of a dancer’s education, and its intricate techniques provide an essential foundation for many dance forms. However, today’s generation of students are not always engaging with ballet in the same way that past generations have, leading many teachers to face challenges in maintaining students’ motivation and commitment. The structured nature of ballet syllabi — such as those from the Royal Academy of Dance, Cecchetti, American Ballet Theatre, Vaganova or ISTD — remains fundamental to developing dancers, but it’s time to reconsider how this structure is approached, especially for young and beginning students.
Here, we explore five key areas with Zac Jones, from Heal Yourself and Move, in our sixth Beyond Stretching column.
The challenges of engaging today’s students
One significant issue is that ballet demands a long-term investment in developing form, strength and technique before the expressive qualities of movement can be fully realised. Many young students today, especially post-pandemic, are accustomed to quicker feedback and more immediate gratification. “Dance forms like jazz, hip hop and contemporary often seem more accessible, offering a quicker sense of accomplishment and less rigid expectations, which can make ballet feel like an uphill battle,” says Zac Jones of Heal Yourself and Move. “As a result, ballet is in danger of becoming a secondary option rather than the centrepiece of dance training.”
Teachers often find themselves having to convince students of the value of ballet by using it as leverage — e.g., students must attend ballet classes to participate in performances or other styles. This approach can generate resentment rather than genuine interest, and students often quit before genuinely understanding the expressive and transformative potential of ballet.
Adapting ballet for modern learners
To help today’s students better connect with ballet, “it’s important to reconsider how ballet instruction is delivered,” Jones explains. The key lies not in changing the content of the ballet syllabus but in adapting the order and approach to how it is taught. Much of the traditional ballet training was derived from professional-level techniques, which assume that students already have a high level of bodily awareness and form. “These expectations can alienate beginners who lack the flexibility or strength required to execute these movements,” he says.
Instead of focusing on form first — e.g., turnout, pointed feet, straightened knees — teachers should emphasise feeling and function before introducing form. This means allowing students to experience the sensation of movement and guiding them to find the shape naturally rather than insisting they mimic a position they may not have the strength or flexibility to attain.
Building from feeling to form
Focusing on movement quality — feeling and function — before precision can help students achieve better results faster and, more importantly, with greater joy. For example, “instead of starting with a static plié and demanding perfect turnout, teachers can start by encouraging students to explore the sensation of bending their knees with freedom, weight transfer and suspension,” suggests Jones. “Once they understand the natural movement, the correct form can be gradually introduced.”
This approach emphasises progression in feeling and movement rather than emphasising correction. Traditionally, ballet corrections focus on achieving the “perfect” form, which can lead to frustration when students can’t meet the demands. By starting with natural movement and slowly refining it, the students’ bodies naturally find a path to better form without the pressure of immediate perfection.
Understanding body systems in dance
“Young dancers are not miniature adults; their bodies are still developing, and they often struggle with aspects of ballet that require fine motor control and deep muscular engagement,” highlights Jones. “Children move naturally with fluidity, whereas ballet asks them to engage in more rigid forms with muscular precision.”
A helpful approach is introducing ballet concepts while honouring the natural movement tendencies of young dancers. This means blending their natural fluidity with the increasing engagement of their musculoskeletal system in a way that feels playful and natural. Teachers can guide students to support and suspend their movements, exploring balance and shapes without excessive tension.
A call to reinvent ballet training
For teachers, the goal should be to make ballet training feel accessible, enjoyable and progressive. By changing the emphasis from form to feeling, teachers can help students discover a love for the movement rather than seeing ballet as a series of challenges they can’t quite meet.
When students are given a chance to feel successful early on, their engagement and self-belief grow. “This results in a more motivated student who is more likely to stick with ballet long enough to fully appreciate its expressive and technical richness,” he notes.
Additionally, this approach can be integrated within the current syllabi. Teachers do not need to abandon their curriculum but rather reframe how they teach it, allowing the fluidity and natural movement of the young students to lead them toward more refined ballet forms.
Traditional methods must evolve
Ballet is an incredibly enriching dance form, but its traditional training methods must evolve to better meet the needs of today’s students. Emphasising feeling and function before form can turn ballet from an unattainable challenge into an accessible art form. By honouring the developmental journey of young dancers and allowing them to explore movement before insisting on perfection, teachers can inspire a new generation of students who are passionate, engaged and confident in their abilities.
If you are a dancer or teacher wanting access to more detailed information on how to get to these next levels in your syllabus, Heal Yourself and Move has a special Dance Informa readers opportunity to join The Heal Yourself and Move Breakthrough Club and get live weekly coaching from Zac Jones, plus on-demand access to many of the HY+M systems most popular and practical training courses for just $15 per month.
Learn more here: attractwell.com/ZacJones/page/the-breakthrough-club-dance-informa-exclusive.
If you would like to discuss how to fast-track your progress with a private instruction program aimed toward achieving syllabus mastery as a teacher or dancer or teaching goals, book a time to chat to Zac Jones here.
By Renata Ogayar of Dance Informa.
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