I have noticed around the web that a number of people have questioned why ballet specifically geared for skaters is even necessary, and that taking a “regular” ballet class should be good enough. I’d like to just share some thoughts and reasons here for you as a skater, coach or parent of a skater to consider: Page from my "Fundamentals of Alignment and Classical Movement for Figure Skaters" book THE SITUATION: · The Classical ballet syllabus is comprised of we

Because of the huge volume of responses to my post last week about how coach behaviour influences the entire culture of a club – I feel the need to express not only my heartfelt empathies but also to address what I believe to be the crux of this phenomenon. This will be my last post on the subject as it is both personal as well as painful and needs maturity to even consider. The problem is nominally about education and mentorship, and it will never be a specific “program” whi

Skates on floor exercises at Atlanta Workshop 2018 This is such a difficult subject as coaches are required to teach both "stiff" and "hyper-mobile" skaters in the same lesson! I am going to just give some suggestions and bullet points as this is TRULY an entire week seminar in study (in person!). So here goes - and I am purposefully leaving this open ended so that we can study this more in depth in the future. Mobility is the KEY! The precise combination in methodically teac

Here I am again about how social media is not only changing the way we communicate - but also the way we LISTEN to instruction. Earlier I wrote about people not wanting to read these days - our emails will even "summarize" a correspondence so that we don't even need to read them in order to respond! But even in listening - we now want to cut to the chase. It has become "just give me the "take away", and this doesn't work for deep learning, or really any kind of cohesive le

Demonstrated By Laura Carolina Morelli a master graduate of Ballet for Figure Skaters program and co-owner of “Skate to Soar” in Toronto, Canada Just as in my previous article “The Importance of Plié”, Tendu (or Battement Tendu) is a fundamental part of almost every move we make – whether in skating or in dance. Plié is how we prepare, but Tendu is how we move. The genius of Russian ballet Methodology, Agrippina Y. Vaganova, said that it is the very foundation of the entire b

As we scroll, it’s good to keep in mind that most exercise gurus on social media are looking for “likes” and more importantly - customers. Naturally, impressive “wow factor” exercises draw attention the fastest – but they are also (obviously) the most challenging to do. ALL athletes including skaters and dancers love the challenge of trying hard things because it IS a challenge - it’s built into our mentality – the fun of trying something new and EXTREME. But technically, mos

A Definition of Cuing for movement training: “A short phrase or word, verbalized in place of a spoken count, used to inform the student about the next move, or to draw attention to an important ‘motor learning’ feature of a movement.” Dance teachers as well skating coaches conventionally cue for choreographically (meaning to prompt what movement comes next), But equally, if not more important is the ability to translate specific intellectual knowledge/information into precis

Photo of Sasha Cohen by Kathy Goedeken Photo of Alicia Makarova by Dina Makarova The Problem (The don’ts) I think we have all either witnessed or experienced some of the “horror stories” of how to do a Layback Spin, and more importantly the skaters' introduction to how to get into the position. And, as those of you who may have experienced the wrong way to learn these beautiful spins - it can cause permanent and sometimes crippling damage. Sad to say that in alm

Remember when you were in school and, in certain subjects anyway, you wondered “How on earth does this apply to my life?” or “Why do I have to learn this?” How many teachers told you that learning math would help you balance your checkbook (and then actually show you how that works), or how learning to read music can actually help you understand math? Practical information which has immediate real life application is something almost every student enjoys and excels at more th

More and more there seems to be a glut of online workshops, seminars and teachers promising "the world". Marketing has become so psychologically savvy (and sometimes deceptive) that understanding what you are getting becomes more of an emotional than intellectual choice. There are as many “Master classes” and "Certifications in__(fill in the blank) as there are cold cereals in the aisle at the grocery store, and unless you really know the person/organization and know what ty

I want to preface this “musing” with the understanding that I am in no way pointing fingers at anyone or any group of people here. This post is meant solely as my impressions which I would like to share in order to encourage productive/thoughtful conversation among us…and maybe even positive change within the system. I’m from NYC…so I tend to be frank both when I speak and when I write, lol! So, please just take it as that. Lately I’ve been contemplating the unfortunate phen

With almost everyone staying home and avoiding social gatherings including dance and exercise classes for the foreseeable future, I...

As kids we used to sit in a circle and play a game where one person would start by whispering a phrase into the ear of the person next to them, then that person would in turn pass the message along to the next one until it got around and back to the initial player. The fun was hearing how fantastically far off the end message was from the original. Unfortunately teaching dance movement of any sort can be just like playing the telephone game with just as random and confusing r

One’s approach to movement is all-important. An incredible force is lost if one relegates dance to just the outward appearance of a skating program. That is why in teaching ballet and conditioning to figure skaters my first concern is to increase their awareness that movement which is both technically and artistically sound comes from the “inside out”. Every great dance innovator, choreographer, and performer knows and utilizes this concept, this working from the inside out,

There are many opinions/ misconceptions about what a ballet class is supposed to "do" for a skater, how effective it really is as a training tool or even how “safe” it is for skaters to even take ballet. I have had skaters’ parents come up to me and tell me that their skater has been injured so they will not be taking ballet for X amount of weeks …but the coach suggested that the skater still take the strength training class during those same weeks! While I’m not suggesting t

Definition of Pedagogy: “The act, process and art of imparting knowledge. The art and science of instructional methodology.” Many coaches and movement instructors in America teach what and how they remember their teachers teaching them. Even professional dancers usually teach what they remember having been taught. Often, movement trainers do workshops to learn “tips & tricks” on how to improve skills and technique and many others take college courses and even get degrees in d

and how it affects our teaching and our learning Typically, the way many people teach dance classes today is that they give the...

I’m pleased to announce that In conjunction with Inna Stabrova and Dmitriy Tuboltsev, I am now teaching the complete Vaganova Level Zero and Level One Methodology. Not just the Syllabus – which is what most people teach to “the general public” – but the actual methodology behind the syllabus. This is a priceless pedagogical study in authentic Vaganova technique and the foundation for all classical work without incurring injury. To contact Annette: attdance@gmail.com to set u

I wrote this article quite a few of years ago, and later incorporated it into my “Lesson Book” in 2011. At that time, I was still thoroughly convinced that coaches, board members and parents would be eager to employ a cohesive, and comprehensive skating program (both on and off-ice), which would almost guarantee the best success for each of their members. And, there were many who were as optimistic as, quite honestly, I had only experienced this kind of cooperation among arti