hellogoodbye Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Funny question, I know. But I'm really keen to know more about dance. DD is getting so into it now and I would like to be able to have at least a little knowledge to help her along... to help point out mistake she's making (like "sickled feet" after I looked that one up!) etc. So it's not that I want to learn how to dance so much, but I would like to learn what makes a good dancer - the technique, the terminology. Partly to help DD and partly because I find it incredibly interesting. How might one go about this? I started to take classes at Pineapple with a view to that helping, but of course it's more about learning routines there then it is about learning about dance. I hope I'm making sense and would appreciate some advice! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Hi hellogoodbye Welcome to the forum. That is a very good question. Speaking personally I have learnt a huge amount from this forum. Also sitting in private lessons and hearing corrections. Not sure if there are any DVDs out there. There is some useful stuff on youtube eg by the physio Lisa Howell. good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lartiste Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 There is an excellent book by Gretchen Ward Warren 'Classical Ballet Technique' Now available on DVD there is 'The Video Dictionary of Classical Ballet' Both available from Amazon Finis Jhung has a very precise teaching style focusing strongly on technique - some videos available on his Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQeqResmdq2tqURhHDQHdgg Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Yes, I agree with sarahw; if you are fortunate to be able to watch private lessons, or a class, and make mental notes of the corrections, that's very helpful. Also if you ever get the opportunity to watch a ballet company in class, it will help you see how an exercise should look in terms of posture, etc. If you can't see company class in person (ENB occasionally open up class to ENB Friends/Ballet Buddies), it's worth looking up "Royal Ballet Live" or "World Ballet Day" on Youtube where you will find footage of the RB dancers in their daily class. There are also book and video versions of Classical Ballet "Dictionaries" as well as the excellent Royal Ballet insights and glossary, which again can be found on Youtube. Your idea about going to class was a good one, but I wonder whether starting from scratch at an Adult Ballet Class for beginners would be more useful to you than one where you go straight into learning a routine? A good teacher will not only explain WHAT the technique is but also WHY it's important. Finally, I would always recommend going to see as many ballet performances as possible. :-) Good luck, and enjoy! Edited to add: Posting simultaneously with l'artiste re. the dictionaries! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflowers Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I'd love to go on a course to learn about the mysterious, illusive and perplexing 'Pointe Shoe', I'd love to know more about the fitting of them as whenever I go with my dd's we can be there for hours and when the assistants start oohing and aaahing that this is the perfect shoe, I can hardly tell the difference from the previous half dozen we have rejected!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfbrew Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Funny question, I know. But I'm really keen to know more about dance. DD is getting so into it now and I would like to be able to have at least a little knowledge to help her along... to help point out mistake she's making (like "sickled feet" after I looked that one up!) So it's not that I want to learn how to dance so much, but I would like to learn what makes a good dancer - the technique, the terminology. Partly to help DD and partly because I find it incredibly interesting. How might one go about this? I started to take classes at Pineapple with a view to that helping, but of course it's more about learning routines there then it is about learning about dance. I hope I'm making sense and would appreciate some advice! Echo all advice above. And its not a funny question! Oh how I wish the parents of my students were as interested as you! Nutcracker is about the only Ballet they can name. Do watch as much as you can. If you cant get to live performances then there are a wealth of dvds.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pups_mum Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I knew absolutely nothing about ballet when DD started, but I think I have picked up a lot along the way. I am not entirely sure how to be honest - my husband describes me as a "knowledge magnet" as I just seem to discover things. (Currently learning all about the world of hockey courtesy of youngest son!) I've learned a lot from here, reading other websites, watching performances, reading magazines, talking to more knowledgeable people, watching some of the DVDs already mentioned above, and talking to DD. I ask her a lot about what she's been doing, get her to explain what her teacher has told her (I did used to watch her private lessons when she was little but she doesn't like it now.) and when we watch performances together we discuss them afterwards. She on the other hand, asks me about things like anatomy and physiology as I know a fair bit about that so we do some fairly useful knowledge sharing. I don't suppose I will ever be an expert, but I do my best to understand as much as I can about all my children's interests. Ballet is more naturally interesting to me than most of the things my boys are into, but I try to learn as much as possible, and I think they do appreciate it most of the time, though I have been told off for asking embarrassing questions occasionally! It's not that I don't trust the coaches, teachers etc, but I feel that they are my children so it's my responsibility to know what they are doing too. Plus it's a lot more fun to watch if you understand what's going on. DD is starting to get interested in contemporary now so I'm trying to find time to read about Martha Graham - all interesting stuff. Good luck on your learning journey. i guess we are something of a self selecting group of interested parents here, but my experience in real life is that many parents don't ask enough questions about what their children are doing, so good for you. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I echo all of the above. I knew nothing about dance before my children started to get relatively "serious" about it, and we didn't have the wealth of knowledge at our fingertips via the internet then either! As others have said, I watched class as often as possible, chaperoned JA classes, read books, watched live performances - and found this forum (even if there were far fewer of us around back then!). Don't expect to learn it all at once - it's a gradual process. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anondancer_15 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I love this question - makes me kinda wish my parents were as keen to learn about dance as you are - I think it's great that you have this attitude towards it. I recently purchased 'the ballet companion' by Eliza gaynor minden which is full of technique pointers etc so you might want to check that out. Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trog Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 An excellent ballet dictionary is "Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet" by Gail Grant, which is £5 on Amazon. I found this extremely useful when I taking Cecchetti classes having done RAD & BBO for years. Cecchetti has different arms, for example there are three 5th positions."Mime in Ballet" by Beryl Morina is an expensive book, but it gives a lot of information about performance of ballet. How the story is told throigh the dance."How To Enjoy Ballet Without Really Trying" by John Cargher is a cracking read if you can find a copy. It is about attending a ballet performance and what you can expect. He also did similar books about opera and music. Cargher was well known to Australian radio listeners.A nice book is "Beginning Ballet: From the Classroom to the Stage" by Joan Lawson, which is an update of the original "Kay Ambrose Ballet Companion". It's probably a bit outdated, but it is one of the few books that I know of that includes anything about boys doing ballet. Of course, the best way to learn about ballet, is to watch as much of it as you can. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhodaKuc Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Wildflowers, if you really want a good course on pointe shoes then I can recommend the course run by Grishko. The course is primarily aimed at people who wish to stock their shoes in their shops etc. but I went along out of interest during my teacher training to add to my own personal experiences with pointe shoes. They said that they are pleased to see others on the course. It is a whole day course with a session on anatomy and physiology of the foot etc. before moving on to the practical fitting of shoes. Just go to the Grishko uk website, if the next course is not yet advertised then send an email as they have previously kept a list of interested people and then set up a course when there was enough interest. Hope this is helpful! RK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflowers Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 thank you rk, it is, I shall look into that!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I too was going to suggest that the Gaynor Minden book might be useful. Plus, what does your local library have? Books, DVDs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 A very simple and cheap book you can nearly always find on Ebay and Amazon is the Ladybird book simply called Ballet. Although not very long,it describes the history of ballet,from the court of Louis 14th,the reason why turnout evolved [because of the Cavalier and Roundhead`s bucket shaped boots],a page about mime,and at the back some of the more popular ballet stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petalviolet Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Turnout has something to do with bucket shaped boots??? The more I learn about Ballet the less I understand...must google this... I am always amazed and impressed by dancers who seem to be able to spot good turnout at about 50 paces. Not when children are doing frogs legs or any particular position meant to expose it but from just watching someone mooching around..pottering about...idly queuing or waiting for a bus. I've tried to understand but it remains a mysterious dark art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellogoodbye Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Thank you all for the advice! I will get reading! I would really like to know the terminology most of all so think I'll watch some videos to best help with that! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Here's a link to the lovely Ballet Glossary playlist by Royal Ballet: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7E40E6E2DAB561B5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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