Building Ballet Technique

Dance teachers, both experienced and aspiring, will find this book to be an in-depth source of original choreographed center floor combinations for a ballet class. Each chapter presents detailed explanations arranged by "difficulty level" (beginner through advanced) as well as categorized by various areas of center floor work, including: Center Floor Barre, Adagios, Warm-up Jumps, Petit Allegro, En Diagonale (across-the-floor), Grand Allegro, Port de Bras, and so on. These teaching enchaînements can be adapted to, or used to supplement, any style (syllabus) of classical training. The book also includes a collection of sample lessons for each difficulty level that can be used to create a full program of classes. As the combinations progress they build the technical expertise of students and give teachers "tools" to use to keep their students interested and challenged. Written by a former professional ballet dancer with an extensive national and international performing and teaching background, and an M.F.A. in Dance completed after her lengthy dancing career, this is the third volume in a series, following Vol. 1, "Building Ballet Technique, A Practical Guide for Teaching All Levels" and Vol. 2, "Building Ballet Technique, A Self-Improvement Guide for Dancers." It belongs on every dance teacher's bookshelf.
About the Author: ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marilyn Z. Gaston began her professional performing career before and after graduation with a B.F.A. in Ballet/Theatre from Texas Christian University. She danced with the Ft. Worth Ballet, Casa Mañana Summer Musicals, Inc., the Atlanta Ballet Company from 1972-74 and, from 1974-1977 she was engaged as a fully-contracted company member with the German State Theatre ballet companies in Lübeck and Karlsrühe (Germany), and the Ballet du Rhin (then housed in Strasbourg, France). She later also danced with the professional company of the Maryland Ballet when it was headquartered in Baltimore until 1979. Upon returning to the U.S. from Europe, Ms. Gaston began teaching in universities, private dance schools and pre-professional studios. In 1981 she founded the Ballet Academy of Baltimore and the Ballet Concerto of Baltimore, now known collectively as the Baltimore Ballet, and continued in that capacity for 17 years, until 1997. She served on the dance faculties of Towson University, Goucher College, Loyola University (Baltimore), Tyler Jr. College, and other universities, and later completed a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance (ballet emphasis) on a teaching fellowship in 2012 at the University of Oklahoma. Her past students have been accepted into college dance programs, pre-professional schools, and professional dance companies. In 2008 Ms. Gastoncompleted an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte. She has two fiction books (under M.Z. Gaston), and two other ballet books in this series in publication. She currently teachs at the Orlando Ballet School, Florida.