The First Suggestion I Give When Teaching Ballet Class (usually)

By Chelsea Weidmann, ballet educator with 29 years of teaching experience and author of Artistry Inside Ballet Technique

I love guest teaching, and I leave every time inspired by the dancing I get to see. Over the years I’ve noticed that I almost always give the same first suggestion, and in my experience it makes a visible difference right away.

The Ballet Alignment Cue I Give First

Imagine your hip bones as balloons, floating up toward your ribcage.

That’s it. In my experience, this one image helps with several things at once. It can ease a posterior pelvic tilt (tucking under), it can release clenched muscles that limit turnout, and because it’s gentle language, you can adjust without adding tension.

That last part matters. Many of us were trained to grip every muscle to approximate the ballet look, and the correction list can be overwhelming: force turnout, pinch the penny, close your ribs, shoulder blades back but also relaxed, control your breathing. A soft image like this one lets you work with your body’s natural alignment instead of fighting it.

Try it

Next time you’re standing in first position at the barre, picture the balloons and notice what your pelvis does. Then notice whether your turnout feels any easier. If it doesn’t help, that’s useful information too, so try another image.

Feel Your Alignment From the Inside

Noticing what your pelvis is doing is somatic awareness, one of nine elements of artistry. The Ballet Artistry Deck has six prompts for each one, so you can try a new experiment at your next class.

Get the Deck