Pirouettes into parallel : how classical ballet technique informs the training of contemporary dancers

Prior to the 1960s, which marked the beginning of a fusing of dance styles, classical ballet and modern dance were seen as incompatible. Even with an increasing number of dancers subsequently taking classes in the alternate dance style, the mutual distrust continued; particularly, debate about the suitability of this technique as a training mechanism for modern, or what was now more often called contemporary dance. Simultaneous to this polemic was concerned international discourse on the future of classical ballet itself, and the suitability of curricula that includes classes in both contemporary dance and ballet for the training of diversity in dancers. These issues, which are of particular relevance in Australia where the predominant form of dance training is in classical ballet, were the genesis for this study. Through a case study of dance teachers, choreographers, artistic directors, and students in a tertiary setting, this study investigates how the classical ballet technique informs the training of contemporary dancers at a vocational level. It identifies the aesthetic qualities attributable to the classical ballet technique, and explores key issues in ballet teaching methodology thought to be relevant to the training of contemporary dancers. While examining and supporting the dual technique system of training dancers at a vocational level, the study also establishes a rationale for such a program at the studio level. Finally the difficulties that ballet trained dancers experience as they learn contemporary dance for the first time are specified and examined. It is anticipated that this study will facilitate consensus amongst dance educators, dancers, and employers of dancers about the value of classical ballet in the training of contemporary dancers. This consensus will have the potential to inform both curriculum and methodological discussion in dance training courses.