Geeky Ballerina
artistry + technique
Technique Curriculum Preview
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.) Written specifically for your youngest dancers and those up to 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 early 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 alignment, aplomb, and épaulement.
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Adult and teen beginning dancers should start with Level 2 in the Elementary curriculum.
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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.
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. Some 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 details your students will need to reach their goals.
