Tag: teaching tips

Salwa Rizkalla on How Hard Work Can Inspire the Next Generation

Salwa Rizkalla’s dance training began at 11 years old in Cairo, Egypt, where she trained in the Vaganova method at the Higher Institute of Ballet. “At the time, Russia and Egypt had a cultural-exchange program in which they sent instructors who were internationally recognized to work with us,” she says. For nine years, Rizkalla attended […]

Steps on Broadway’s Nancy Bielski Opens Up About Her Life as an Educator in New York City

On any given weekday between 11:30 am and 1 pm at New York City’s Steps on Broadway, Nancy Bielski offers an advanced-intermediate professional ballet class that keeps even ballet’s biggest superstars on their toes. By the end of tendus, her students (a mix of freelance ballerinas, former professional dancers and a revolving door of off-season […]

5 Ways to Begin a Creative Movement Class

Dance teachers love to create an environment that is engaging, collaborative, and productive for student learning. A reliable invitation to begin class, especially in creative movement, can connect students to one another and root them in a sense of purpose and excitement for the movement opportunities that await. Thoughtful consideration for how to begin a […]

How to Help Your Dancers Fully Embody Character Onstage—Even the Ones They Struggle to Relate to

Telling a cohesive story in a ballet is no easy task. After all, ballets don’t typically come with a script for an audience to follow, so it’s entirely up to the dancers to make sure the viewer understands what’s going on via dance. Plus, some of ballet’s most beloved characters—swans, fairies, sylphs—are often the hardest […]

Aiano Nakagawa Is Building Personal Power in Young Dancers

In Aiano Nakagawa’s creative-dance class at Acorn Woodland Child Development Center in Oakland, California, a student wanted to run really fast instead of exploring shapes as planned. Nakagawa didn’t dismiss or correct the desire. Instead, she yelled, “Yeah! And can you try a sharp shape at the end?” Another time, teachers were asking students not […]

Students of the Kirov Academy of Ballet Learn That Job Readiness Is More Than Stellar Technique

As well-trained as pre-professional students are, how many are ready to move into a company environment at 17 or 18 years old—and succeed? Runqiao Du, artistic director of the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC, has seen many dancers struggle as apprentices and first-year corps members and notes that some don’t make it beyond […]