IADMS Madrid 2001   [back to the Category]

The use of pre-barre floor exercises for beginning ballet students...   [read the french version]

Author :   Judith Chitwood, MA

The use of pre-barre floor exercises for beginning ballet students as a method for proper warm-up and postural alignment necessary for the ballet barre

Judith Chitwood, MA, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA

Technique training for beginning ballet students traditionally begins in a weight-bearing position (i.e. barre work). Beginning ballet students often need instruction regarding muscle use and development for barre work. An effective means to complete this instruction is through simple floor exercises.
Floor exercises can be used to establish basic principles of ballet while the student is relieved of the pressure gravity exerts when standing. The non-weight bearing exercises allow the student to identify and isolate the muscles that effectively and efficiently perform the movement. When in a weight-bearing position, a student will often incorrectly engage muscles, which can result in muscular overdevelopment and strain.
Presented here is a series of floor exercises providing proper warm-up, postural alignment, and a working knowledge of muscle use: turn-out, pelvic alignment, the relationship of hip, knee, and ankle in outward rotation, and breathing techniques to increase muscular efficiency. The exercises are designed for the beginning ballet student with little or no previous movement experience, and are taught with constant reminder of proper execution of the movement and proper use of the breath. Once learned, the entire sequence should last only 15 to 20 minutes. When the student has mastered the floor exercises, they can be completed individually with little risk of injury.
Completion of these floor exercises will provide the student with an awareness of muscle to movement relationships that occur during barre work. This fundamental awareness may also minimize the risk of injury to the dancer.