Ballet on the Brain at American Ballet Theater's National Training Curriculum Seminar in New York

As I sit here in my New York apartment overlooking Lincoln Center, holy ground to performing artists,  my mind is blown away.  How are great artists made, or really, are they made, formed, or simply immaculately created?  What makes a Misty Copeland successful and countless other talented dance students fall just short.  After my second day of ABT's National Training Curriculum Level 4-5 course I've come to realize that the quality of one's dance education, especially from a young age, may be the key towards their future success.

Maartje and Niko at ABT New York

Yesterday was a day full of lectures pertaining to dancer health, and connecting the dots between the levels which I passed in February with what we are about to learn.  I'm so happy to revisit this method of training, it is almost like science.  The progression of this 400 year old art form is so logical and the way ABT makes it relevant to today's dancer, professional or hobbyist alike, is rich, tasteful, precise, and so challenging in its simplicity.

Today just got better, we spent hours analyzing movements, discussing the building blocks as more advanced steps and sequences are taught.  A highlight was seeing one of our students, Niko who we have taught for the past two years, apply this training style so well.  This summer at ABT he is making great progress, proof that the system works.  We look forward to hearing from other students studying at ABT's North Carolina and Long Beach programs when we and they return.

 Finally, after a day and a half of sitting, something guaranteed to make dancers achey and antsy, we had the opportunity to learn by doing.

The Level 4 class is designed for dancers from 11 and up, but that doesn't mean it's easy.  We are not just learning what to teach students (terminology and steps) but how to bring information across in a proven methodology taking into account developmental age and various learning styles.  I'm sure to be sore tomorrow.

Now its on to homework.  Each day begins with a review and demonstration by the students of the previous day's work.  We are expected to continuously implement new information concluding in a final exam on Saturday.  Tomorrow I'll be teaching either a petite battement with filk-flak at the barre or a tendu in center.  The decision lies not on what I want to teach, but on what I want the student to learn.  That is the crux of this method, everything is designed to develop the dancers of the future, who must show versatility built on a solid foundation of techinque.  Stay tuned for more updates as the week progresses and for next week's Level 6-7 workshop.