Geeky Ballerina
artistry + technique
Which Division is Right for Me?
Pre-ballet & Ballet Foundations​
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The youngest ones are so fun to teach! Every day is a dancing adventure and you can almost see their brains making new connections right in front of you. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed like eager little squirrels, these kiddos will play ballet with you all day. (By the way, that squirrel imagery is great when you're exploring steps like bourrée and couru.)
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Written specifically for your youngest dancers through age 7, the Pre-ballet & Ballet Foundations curriculum has all kinds of information to help these classes be the highlight of your teaching schedule.This division introduces basic vocabulary and also includes important extras like information about child development, learning patterns, class theme suggestions, and ballet-specific songs and nursery rhymes to make class even more fun!
Elementary Division
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The Elementary division is a time of amazing progress! Students in these levels are able to integrate information in a much more complex way than beginners can. And these kids ask the best questions! Watching the dancers grow from beginners to ready-for-pointe-work is an amazing transformation that happens in just a few short years. These dancers have no idea how much they are going to progress in these three levels. It's the most wonderful not-secret secret ever!
The Elementary division is designed for students in elementary school (around age 8 and up) and includes levels 1, 2, & 3. By the end of the Elementary division, students will be fully prepared to begin pointe work and will have developed a strong understanding of their center line, alignment, and aplomb.
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Adult and teen beginning dancers should start with Level 2 in the Elementary curriculum.
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Dancers are ready for Level 1 when they are ready for the focus demands of formal ballet training.
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By the end of the level they will be familiar with basic ballet vocabulary from barre through grand allegro.
Level 2 places a lot of emphasis on alignment. Dancers progress from using 3rd position to using 5th.
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By the end of the level, dancers will have the strength and habits to correctly engage the muscles around the knee and maintain or (self-correct when cued) pelvic alignment when standing in a classical position.
In Level 3 dancers focus on developing their sense of aplomb and show their mastery of the concept through steps like assemblé.
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In order to be ready for the Intermediate Division, dancers should be able to perform single pirouettes en dehors and en dedans from 5th position and have strong, well-aligned ankles in relevé.​​
Intermediate Division​
If I had to choose one division to specialize in for the rest of my life, it would be this one. All the hard work dancers have put into their earlier training really pays off and they now have the stability and aplomb to really play with the technique. They can jump higher, show off batterie, and turn more than ever before. Movements that seemed out of reach just a few years before now look easy.
Designed for ages 11 and up and including levels 4, 5, & 6, the Intermediate division also challenges students to find greater grace and clarity in their dancing.
Dancers in Level 4 should expect to be pushed and learn a lot of vocabulary this year. They will also refine their movement through the study of épaulement
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By the end of the level they will be able to perform double pirouettes en dehors and en dedans from 4th position. They also will be ready for a pointe evaluation
Level 5 challenges dancers to think about their turnout in a deeper, more intentional way.
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By the end of the level they should be able to demonstrate their mastery of turnout through all movement and have extensions at or above 90º.
In Level 6 dancers focus on refining their mastery of aplomb and how it relates to transfer of weight during grand allegro.
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In order to be ready for the Advanced Division, dancers should be able to show dynamic range in their vocabulary and precision in their alignment throughout movement.
Advanced Division​
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I know I confessed to loving the Intermediate division, but there are joys in teaching the Advanced division that you can't experience anywhere else. By this point in training, students have already learned most of the ballet vocabulary. There is still more to be taught, but the focus of classes becomes how to support upcoming performances and long-term goals for professional or collegiate dancing. Dancers in the Advanced division are encouraged to infuse all of their movement with various elements of artistry so class is always more than copying someone else's demonstration.
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The Advanced division curriculum is specifically designed for dancers that are dedicated to pre-professional study and may not be right for all students. Many competition and recreational studios find that Level 6 (in the Intermediate division) is the best "highest level" for them. That's great! Geeky Ballerina is all about helping people teach quality ballet at all levels and I encourage you to offer the levels that are best for your students. But if offering pre-professional ballet training is part of your studio's mission, this division includes all of the finishing details your students will need to reach their goals.
Dancers in Level 7 are preparing for preprofessional and collegiate programs. They are ready to finesse beats in all small jumps and are working on 4+ pirouettes.
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By the end of the level, dancers will be able to show sustained poses in the air during jumps and perform multiple fouettés with no loss in technique.
Level 8 is the final polishing year in student training. Dancers focus on consistently combining elements of artistry with advanced technique vocabulary.