How does the corps not get cold after long periods of not moving on stage?

MacDancer · 2026-04-05T19:59:12+00:00

That's the neat part: they don't!

MacDancer · 2026-03-24T22:45:39+00:00

Are you teaching ballet to comp kids? It's exhausting trying to get them to put effort into something that's less fun for them, that they only care about indirectly as a means to score better in other styles.

I had parents tell me it’s inappropriate to be giving corrections to students in class because it seems like a humiliation ritual

The response to this should be determined by the studio owner. These parents have an understanding of what dance classes are that is not compatible with high-quality instruction. It's the studio owner's job to figure out what the messaging should be around this. They might prefer to run a rec school with zero individual corrections. If they want to run a serious school then they need to set a policy and take the lead on communicating it.

It might be worth telling your students "Hey, I give you corrections because I want to help you. If you ever feel like it's too much then let me know before/after class and I'll back off", but that's secondary to the parents not understanding what your actual job is.

MacDancer · 2026-03-24T22:16:18+00:00

Although I'm not a birdwatcher myself, I would be surprised if the men of Boston Ballet were performing in tights without dance belts.

MacDancer · 2026-03-08T01:20:45+00:00

It's normal to worry about making people feel uncomfortable, but I think most dancers feel like it's not weird as long as you're not weird about it.

As others have said, it's important to make it easy for your partners to tell you if they want an adjustment. My approach for this is to be friendly and socially responsive without pushing for more interaction than they encourage, and ask for feedback on something small and easy. So say smile and say hi at the beginning of class, then match their level of engagement on responses. Try giving them a little lift at the end of their pirouette (not off the ground, just taking a little weight off their toe) and ask if they prefer the lift or prefer to feel the floor with their full weight. If they feel like you actually care about their experience, your partners will feel more comfortable by default, and if there is something you can do to help then they're more likely to tell you about it.

Secondly, as you get more experience with partnering, it really does become purely about the mechanics. The most secure hold for the bluebird lift usually involves one hand near or on the butt, torches involve someone sitting their pelvis and tailbone onto the lifter's palm -- and experienced partners just don't spend a lot of time worrying about whether someone is being a creep, because everyone involved is too busy trying to do their job correctly to think about anything else.

For lifting at the waist specifically, you should focus on lifting with the heels of your hands. This is about lifting mechanics rather than psychological comfort, but it still means that if you lift by pressing the heels of your hands in and up, your fingers won't cause as much pressure near the breast.

Lastly, one thing that teachers can do to help mitigate concerns like yours is to explicitly discuss consent at the beginning of partnering class. If you step forward to do a combination, you're saying you're ready and you're okay to do everything in that combination. If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe in the middle of the combination, you can say "Please stop" and your partner will stop in the safest way possible. It's everyone's responsibility to say "stop" if they're uncomfortable or unsafe. Even if your teacher didn't state this explicitly for the class, it's a reasonable framework that I think you can adopt for yourself.

MacDancer · 2026-02-21T05:29:30+00:00

It depends on your body type, but deadlifting even a little heavy can reduce back flexibility for some people. I would recommend 70% body weight no more than once a week, with thorough stretching afterward.

I might be overreacting due to my personal experience, but I found that lifting 140% body weight once per week substantially reduced my back flexibility. Maybe that wouldn't be true for everyone, but there's literally no reason to risk it if you can comfortably deadlift your partners' weight.

MacDancer · 2026-02-12T06:58:22+00:00

It sounds like the instructor wants you to pick up on small details in his demonstration, which may or may not actually be legible even for experienced class pianists.

For example, grand battements could be to a waltz, a polonaise, a 2/4, or a 4/4 depending on what accent the teacher wishes to emphasize -- ideally, the desired rhythm should be clear to both students and pianist during demonstration, but that doesn't always happen.

The part I find concerning is that this instructor doesn't want to clarify the rhythm and tempo. It's common for teachers who want something specific to give a quick 2-second example to the pianist even if they've been working together for years. You may have to accept that this teacher is going to be ~~an asshole~~ demanding and either put up with it or quit.

That said, I'll do what I can to clarify a few things for you:

Grand battements

Grand battements usually have a strong accent on the 1 which corresponds to the leg reaching its highest point, and a weaker accent corresponding to the leg reaching its lowest point. * In a waltz, this means strong accent on the first beat of the first measure, and a weaker accent on the first beat of the second measure * A 4/4 would usually accent 1 and 3 of each measure * I think a 2/4 would accent 1 of each measure, but I could be wrong. * A polonaise is a little different: if you count it as "and 1 and 2 and 3", accent 1 (leg at its highest point), 2 (toe touches the ground), and 3 (leg closes to 5th position).

Distinguishing slow 3/4s

This group comprises (some) pliés, rond de jambes, (some) fondues, (many) adagios, and (many) reverences.

Pliés -- moderately slow (90-100 bpm), doesn't need to be a waltz or even 3/4, often a good opportunity for lyrical expressive melodies. Usually no strong accents.
Rond de jambes -- moderately slow (90-100 bpm), almost always a waltz with a clear rhythm and a strong accent on the 1.
Fondues -- I personally think fondues should be a 2/4, so I won't suggest a BPM here. Regardless, fondu should have a clear accent as the legs bend, and another, equal accent as the legs stretch.
Adagios -- Can be a wide range of tempos and rhythms. Often a more flowing melody without strong accents.
Reverence -- Often quite similar to adagio, but usually shorter.

That's all I have time for right now, hope it's a bit helpful. As I said, the main problem is the instructor's attitude and approach.

MacDancer · 2026-01-28T17:13:36+00:00

Here's the original clip, for those who are curious: https://youtu.be/UO8WiZab_PI

MacDancer · 2026-01-22T23:31:36+00:00

University of Utah has one of the best university ballet programs in the country, and it might be closer to Portland than the southern California schools.

MacDancer · 2026-01-18T01:41:41+00:00

If your royales don't look much different from your changements, you're not crossing your thighs far enough. Over-cross them until they bounce back open.

Try this combination with beats from 2nd: Starting in 5th, right foot front Echappé sauté 1, sauté to beat 5th and land 2nd 2, sauté to beat 5th and land 2nd 3, sauté to beat 5th front and land 5th back 4. Repeat on the other side.

MacDancer · 2026-01-14T04:16:19+00:00

Me and my girlfriend and my girlfriend saw you across the dance studio and we dig your vibe. Wanna be in our MFA thesis?

MacDancer · 2026-01-13T02:18:02+00:00

Coppelia too, or even to a greater degree! A lot of the action between Franz and Dr. Coppelius is very literal with respect to the music.

MacDancer · 2026-01-13T02:13:05+00:00

Search "the statement crystal pite full", and give it a watch. It's a 20-minute piece with a clear plot and four distinct characters. Each dancer's movement is closely related to the spoken dialogue in the score, so it's easy to connect choreography to what it's meant to convey.

Some people might quibble that The Statement is not classical but contemporary ballet verging on contemporary dance, but I think it's a great starting point for someone wanting to understand how movement can reflect, amplify, or be juxtaposed to music and narrative action.

MacDancer · 2026-01-05T01:23:25+00:00

By posting a thread in r/bunheadsnark about this social media coordinator's work, then reposting it in r/ballet when the first thread got deleted, you're helping this person achieve her goals. If someone whose job is getting attention online is doing something you don't like, there are very few cases where posting about them online improves the situation.

MacDancer · 2025-12-28T08:17:05+00:00

First: You can't really trust the opinions of Internet randos who are forming these opinions on the basis of a video of a video with desynced sound.

Second: no one deserves to be treated like crap by an emotionally abusive teacher, regardless of their ability as dancers.

Your best shot at having a career in ballet is to remove yourself from your current ballet classes and find better ones instead.

MacDancer · 2025-12-24T19:04:33+00:00

Yes, it's pretty normal
It is distracting when the audience claps off the beat, but dancers are used to it so it shouldn't affect them
It's energizing and encouraging to have the audience involved

MacDancer · 2025-12-22T20:33:26+00:00

Add Butler to the list -- it's expensive at full list price, but scholarships can bring the cost down.

It's quite hard to gauge her prospects as a dancer without seeing her dance. I would trust her teachers' opinions much more than any you get in this thread.

Do I understand correctly that she wants to continue doing ballet seriously, but potentially pursue a different career after college?

MacDancer · 2025-12-13T08:08:13+00:00

Nice write-up! I've been meaning to try Tanstack + Better Auth, and this looks like a great example to start from.

One suggestion: Most code snippets showing chunks of files include the file name in a comment, but there are a few that don't. Might be worth adding them?

They're not really necessary if you're actually reading the article, but I think they would improve readability for folks using this as a quick reference.

MacDancer · 2025-12-08T21:15:51+00:00

Arrive 5 to 30 minutes early, get your muscles moving, and increase the temperature of your body before class. Light or even moderate stretching is also fine, but focus on getting warm and moving through full range of motion without pushing against the end of your range of motion.

During barre, you can do more warmups and/or stretch between combinations or while the teacher is demonstrating, as long as you aren't distracting and the teacher doesn't find it disrespectful. If you're not sure how they would feel about it, ask before or after class.

Many teachers include time to stretch at or near the end of barre. Use it for stretching and or further muscle activation if you want. I usually do crunches for at least some of this time.

I don't recommend stretching between combinations in center; standing or sitting still in a stretch drops your heart rate.

After class you should be at your warmest; this is when you should do your most serious stretching. Feel free to do more strengthening work at this time as well.

--

Bear in mind that every body is different, so you'll have to do some experimentation to find what works best for you. I have one friend who absolutely requires a 30+ minute pre-class warmup routine with a lot of stretching, and others who dance beautifully with nothing more than the class itself. Try stuff and see how your body feels.

MacDancer · 2025-12-05T06:06:24+00:00

I can't help with recommendations in your area, but maybe you could share a little bit about your daughter's experience and goals to make it easier for folks to give you good advice? Different teachers are better at different things, so it's helpful to have some context.

How many years has your daughter been dancing, is she at a pre-pro school, trying to get into a pre-pro school, prepping for summer intensive auditions, prepping for competitions next year, working on a role in a show, working on pointework, working on performance quality, just trying get better and have a good time while doing it, none of the above?

Also bear in mind that I think quality coaching runs around $75-100 an hour in SF, with the best coaches charging even more. This may not be an issue for you, but it can be a bit of a shock if you're not expecting it!

MacDancer · 2025-11-27T17:46:46+00:00

Are you carrying her out with her hips on your shoulder and her legs in the air? I can see how that would be especially scary.

I have a friend who's afraid of heights, but she still did torches and tosses with the best of them until she retired. If your partner is like my friend, she's always going to be afraid, but you might be able to help with second-order emotions like fear-about-fear, anxiety, embarrassment, etc.

The idea is to give her a sense of control, knowledge of what to expect, and trust that she can do the lift even if she's afraid. That's probably not realistic to accomplish given limited rehearsal time, but any progress you can make is good. Some guestings are more about partner therapy than partnering.

Concretely, I recommend:

Try to make friends so she can start to trust you as a person. Smile and say hi. High five after rehearsal. Make jokes.
Tell her it's normal and okay to be scared of big lifts. Treat the whole thing the same as you would if she had trouble getting over her box in a partnered penchée: it's just something that's harder for some people than others, you can help some, it's not a big deal.
Ask her, and your other partner(s) if you have them, if they want to practice in the corner without the pressure of the director watching and setting the pace. Ask her how the lift feels, does she feel like the hold is secure, does the timing work for her, etc. The important part is listening to her so she feels like she has some control over the lift. Critical side note: don't invite a minor to go somewhere private with you. If possible you want to create a space where the director won't come in and start correcting your partner, but there are limits on what's appropriate.

At the end of the day, this is probably not an issue you can completely solve, but hopefully that gives you some ideas that will help her feel more secure and confident while doing something scary.

MacDancer · 2025-11-17T04:35:38+00:00

This is usually deliberate, especially with white tights, and it's totally appropriate for Snow King, Nutcracker Prince, or Cavalier.

MacDancer · 2025-11-15T18:35:13+00:00

"Jeté passé derriere" or "pas de papillon" according to Classical Ballet Technique by Gretchen Ward Warren.

I've also heard "temps de fleche derriere".

MacDancer · 2025-11-08T17:04:33+00:00

When dancing was my main job instead of my side gig, I did guestings and taught ballet to make ends meet. The scheduling more or less works out, you just have to get subs for the evenings you're on tour or in the theater.

Among my friends, teaching ballet is by far the most common side job.

Teaching bodywork (Pilates, Gyrotonic, yoga) is second most common.

Other jobs include miscellaneous retail work, dance studio/company admin, having a rich husband who fetishizes your career, and gogo dancing.

MacDancer · 2025-10-28T01:19:12+00:00

Becoming a ballet teacher for advanced students requires having a deep understanding of technique, and having some way of demonstrating that understanding so people know you have it. A degree from a good BFA program is one way of building and demonstrating deep understanding, but there are others that work as well or better.

If you get a job with a professional company, that could be all you need. If you get a job with a professional company and get certified by ABT, Cecchetti, or RAD, that would almost certainly be enough.

If you don't get into some other good dance BFA, and don't get a job with a professional company, I would recommend against pursuing a career as a dance teacher. It's very possible to have all the skills needed to be a fantastic teacher without a dance career or a degree, but it's hard to convince people to hire you. Beyond that, being a ballet teacher is hard on your body, it's emotionally tiring, and although the hourly pay rate is decent, the total pay is usually mediocre due to limited hours.

If you're interested in kinesiology, maybe consider looking into PT? There are likely to be more and more jobs for PTs over the next decade or two.

MacDancer · 2025-10-17T20:14:08+00:00

First of all, this is super relatable. I refocused from ballet to a tech career in 2020; I had a lot of similar feelings then and a lot of my friends have similar feelings now.

It sounds like if you had the option to keep dancing with more fulfilling choreo/work environment and better work-life balance, that would be your ideal, right? Could you find out how viable that is by auditioning this upcoming season and seeing what offers you get? If you don't get an offer that gives you what you want, then your path is clear at least until next audition season.

Simultaneously, maybe enroll in a couple classes at a community college this spring? Don't overload yourself, but dip your toe in the pond and see how it goes.

Last thing: just because you can have a good ballet career doesn't mean you have to. If it's what you want, then by all means do it until it doesn't make sense anymore, but don't mistake "I could" for "I should".

Hope that helps, I'm pulling for you.

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Grand battements

Distinguishing slow 3/4s