A Contemporary Approach to Ballet Training for University Dance Majors

This paper seeks to help bridge the gap between the study of ballet technique and modern dance for today's university dance major. With the growing importance of strong ballet training in contemporary dance choreography, dance majors are often presented with a duality of training—modern vs. ballet—that can be difficult for them to marry, both in their minds and bodies. Traditional methods and concepts of ballet training are explored in this context with the goal of presenting a means of teaching ballet that allows for a full integration of ballet with other contemporary dance techniques.