Ballet for Figure Skaters

Allow for some time during each lesson to relate what is being taught in class to on-ice specifics (some are already included in each lesson plan) and try to be available after class to answer any questions which individuals might have. This is essential as the skaters need to know why and how a particular movement/exercise applies to their skating needs. Suggestions can be made as to how to implement certain exercises during on-ice practice which can be found in the On-ice Application Classes provided in this book. You can encourage students to purchase one of the ballet class CDs you use in class to use during on-ice practice times before trying to incorporate what they are learning in their ballet lessons into their skating programs. Skaters are not used to working with different pieces of music every day so familiarity with the pieces being used will help to clarify movement for them in very specific ways. This will help to further ingrain classical movement technique versus taking movements out of context to merely add onto a piece of pre-existing skating “choreography”.

Study sequence “forms” used in this book

Even though the lessons presented in this book introduce each movement in basic and incremental forms they are not always initially presented in their most preliminary forms (such as in my introduction to frappé which is presented in its secondary form, and the immediate use of relevés at the barre). This is done for several reasons; the Russian Method curriculum is based on the assumption that the student is preparing 6 days a week for 6-8 years to become a professional ballet artist. The skater, on the other hand is preparing (presumably) for competitions and exhibition venues and although they need much more than mere “style augmentation” there are certain aspects of classical ballet training which are of more immediate concern to the skater. A target approach to teaching an appreciation for the details of a true art form meshed with these immediate needs is what these lessons present.

A few details to pass along to your students:

The use of degrees in leg extension (22.5º, 45º, 90º and 120º) has a very practical as well as artistic explanation. Classical ballet is normally done in a group of several if not many dancers (as in synchronized skating) so there must always be an accurate measurement of every angle of the body: legs, head, arms etc. On the stage the angles need to be even more accurate as the poses are often held much longer and there is no velocity to distract the viewer from possible discrepancies. Also, classical ballet is based on the poses of classical sculpture which are very precise and even mathematical in their precision. From a purely technical point of view teaching to ingrain precision within the mind–body connection helps the student to perform with consistent accuracy throughout their career…

Body awareness and clear on-going dialogue between teacher and student
(Intra-personal and inter-personal communication)

In ballet class we are taught to be hyper aware of what our bodies are doing at every moment. As the ice rink is often a very noisy and distracting place to become attuned to one’s own body and skating itself does not readily allow for such minute introspection (especially now without figures being taught), skaters, especially young ones, frequently find themselves saying something like “it feels weird” or “funny” or even “it hurts” when in fact it is the discovery of “new” muscles being used that is usually triggering the response. It is always important to take every student very seriously when they say that something truly hurts BUT communication and finding out what kind of pain (dull, sharp) what prompted the feeling and exactly where they felt it is extremely important as well. Newly “found” muscles can elicit a myriad of reactions and the teacher needs to be able to both discern and communicate to the student how she/he needs to respond to each situation. …

The following are excerpts from Annette's upcoming book:

"Lessons in Classical Ballet for the Figure Skater"