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Junior Class plan 1

Exercise 1: Beginner bridge training

Music suggestion, Using Ballet Class app - Ballet class Giselle – La Vision 32 bars.

Tips:

I suggest rolling up the end of the mat for the beginners. They should
exhale through their mouth before lifting through their pelvis (talk to the
student about the feeling of zipping up their jacket) as they bridge slowly
they inhale through their nose. Always check that their pelvis is in line with
their femur and their ribs remain soft.

Ask them to look down and check their knees and feet at in one alignment.
To commence hold this position only a minimal time and let them
experience the feeling and then exhale to unzip their jacket rolling back to
the mat. After you have checked that the student can balance securely then
they should practice a simply ports de bras. Talk to the young students
about the feeling of the crown of their head reaching away from their toes
at the top of the bridge with the feeling of their body elongated and
lengthened just like their ballet posture in class.

Exercise 2: Beginner plié

Music suggestion, Using Ballet Class app - Giselle music L’Automne 32 bars

Tips:

Lay the students on their mat near the wall with the back of the mat rolled
over under the child’s neck. You can use a pilates softball or alternately a
soft toy ball. The students place their heels on each side of the ball with
their legs straight. Don’t force the student’s turnout by placing their feet at
the side of the ball if the students’ turnout is weaker. If the student with
less turnout adjust the feet closer together towards the front of the small
ball as required. Check the students sit bones remain on their mat as they
slowly draw down into a demi plié with flexed feet and slowly return sliding
the small ball back up the wall with stretched feet.

During the demi plié always check the students’ knees are over their toes
and the foot alignment is not in a sickle. The young child will commence to
activate their adductor muscles which will encourage the correct alignment
when standing. The students breathe out through the mouth as they demi
plié and in through the nose as they extend their legs and feet. It is
important to understand that the adductor muscles can only work as
external rotators when the pelvis is not tucked under, therefore it is
essential the child’s sit bones remain on their mat during this exercise.

Exercise 3: Attitude devant in 3 stages

Music suggestion, Using Ballet Class app - Ballet class – Giselle La Lune 48 bars

Relevant for stage one only

Tips:

This simple exercise demonstrates how to assist your students how to align
their leg and foot in attitude devant and the extension. To commence with
I’m using Kate who is a beginner and has not trained this way previously.
The second stage Connor demonstrates using the ballet barre followed by
Lucelle without the barre when the student is secure in this movement. If
the student releases their working hip or “tucks” under the pelvis when
extending in devant then it is best to take them back to the ballet barre or
the floor until this is fully understood. When the student first moves into the
centre they will often they will take the strain in their hands and loose the
shape of their port de bras such as in the footage. Sometimes when a young
student has extra technical elements to concentrate on such as their hip
and foot alignment they can sometimes take the strain into the hands and
arms.

Once the muscle memory has settled into the young students’ body you
must explore the coordination of the arms and hand shapes which are not
fully demonstrated as yet in this footage. As I’m acting from requests from
members that you wished to see real students in the demonstrations with
faults that occur in everyday classes. You can see clearly that Lucelle is
straining her hands and the arm shape isn’t being maintained at this stage
of training. I’m hoping in a few months you will notice this has been
corrected.

The first exercise with Kate on the floor is an excellent way to commence
this training while encouraging the correct posture and the sit bones even
on the floor. Always move back to this level if the student realises their hip
during the extension.

We are trying to encourage the student to feel long toes following the
contour of the ball as they feel the rotation of the leg from their hip. This is
actually a very complex movement for a young child; however well worth
the time spent to set this muscle memory into their body as young as
possible.

Exercise 4: Technical Petit Jeté

Music suggestion, Using Ballet Class app - Amaranto – Jetés C 16 bars

Tips:

Often young students find it difficult to find the strength in springing into
the air from one leg to another and maintain their posture throughout. As
you can see in the footage the young students can find this easier by
practicing on the bosu to set up the proprioception for the young child to
execute the same activation without the bosu. I suggest each class perhaps
a different student has a turn on the bosu trying the replicate this feeling in
the centre.

Exercise 5: Cool Down

Music suggestion, Using Ballet Class app - Nutcracker Ballet Class – Clara and the
Nutcracker 87% – 100BPM

Tips:

Simply a feel-good relaxation and balance at the end of class. Slowly

breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.