On Ballet Teaching from the Perspective of Physiological Principles of Dance Training

LI Fei

【Abstract】Ballet teaching is an important step in training professional dancing talents. Both scientific teaching materials and strict training play a vital role in the shaping of ballet dancers. Ballet training is based on human anatomy and dance physiology and it is a set of scientific training system established according to the human body structure. The human body is a tool for dancing， so it must be cared for in every possible way. At the same time， it also needs to be measured before use， like wood for cello making—only the right piece of wood can be chosen for this purpose. As scientific and reasonable methods serve as a guarantee to improve the effect of ballet teaching and training， the principles of dance physiology must be followed. This paper mainly expounds the basic principles of dancing physiology for ballet training， the main stages of ballet teaching， and problems concerning scientificity and normalization of ballet training.

【Key words】ballet teaching； principles； dancers； dance Training

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】LI Fei， Minzu University of China.

1. Ballet teaching is supposed to be comprehensive in that various materials

in teaching， focusing solely on one aspect of training while ignoring related aspects should be avoided. In the past， many teachers focused their attention on the teaching of dance steps. The consequence of this teaching practice is that the students simply imitate the dancing steps shown by the teachers and reproduce the dance forms superficially other than have in-depth thinking and understanding of technical skills. If the body of a dancer is not properly prepared according to the basic requirements， neither the arms nor the legs can be effectively opened through the power of muscles， resulting in failure of dance steps performance. This is often the case in training. Ballet instructors emphasize the flexibility of some joints while ignoring other joint exercises. For example， due to too much emphasis on the flexibility and explosive force of the body training， some other physical fitness training is thus ignored. The human body is a complete system， wherein the parts， tissues and organs are interrelated and mutually restricted. Either the development or downturn of a part will affect other parts. Only when properly arranged， the shape， function and quality of the body will promote each others improvement together. Otherwise， it may cause abnormal development of the body， or widen the gap between the developed part and other parts till out of balance； or the undeveloped part hinders the overall improvement， thus affecting the effect of ballet training. For example， limb flexibility directly affects muscle strength and muscle strength also affects flexibility. Only by developing these two physical qualities at the same time can they promote each other and develop in coordination.

Therefore， reasonable arrangement of ballet training is advocated. Each training may have its main content， but in all cases， other related content should be considered and method should be adopted of reasonable combination or alternate complementary for both focus and comprehensiveness. Some teachers lay too much emphasis on technical movements， likely to ignore the cultivation of aesthetic sense of dance.

Ballet training method is relatively scientific， in line with the laws of dance anatomy. Its scientificity is first manifested in comprehensiveness of training， which enable the students each joint position from bottom to top to receive reasonable contraction and extension. After strict training their limbs will obtain symmetrical development and have a stretching long line from the overall point of view. If we do not pay attention to the scientificity and normalization of ballet teaching， for example， too much concentrated training has been done for a part of the muscle in a period will make this part thicken in abnormal development. Obviously， martial arts and Peking opera performers， whose hips are wide due to much squat exercise， usually stand not as straight and upright as ballet dancers. All these problems are worth studying and paying attention to in teaching. In particular， the middle school students should do comprehensive body exercise because they are in a special period of growth and development， when the body has excellent limberness and will grow lopsided over time without all-round training.

2. Ballet teaching should adhere to the principles of moderate exercise

It refers to reasonable arrangement of exercise load in training， so that it can meet the needs of training content and purpose， in line with the bodys actual receptive ability. Moderate exercise is a very important principle in physical training. Because all physical exercises are designed to make the body bear a certain load， resulting in a certain amount of internal and external stimulation， thus they may cause corresponding responses to enable the body to obtain actual training effect.

In ballet teaching， we should pay attention to arranging and adjusting exercise load reasonably. We should gradually increase the exercise load according to the law of the change of human physiological function and that of human functional adaptability. In the whole teaching activities， along with the improvement of the students physical fitness， the exercise load can be gradually increased rhythmically according to the students adaptation to exercise load and the physiological law of functional recovery process. Specifically， it can be arranged in this way：

（1）Arrange teaching materials and identify teaching task for each class

The teacher should have a good idea of how to prepare lessons before class. When arranging the content of the textbook， the teacher should rationally match it with exercise of different nature， intensity and density because exercise load for basic training varies from one grade to another， from one course to another. In the arrangement of the content of the textbook， it is necessary to alternately arrange the exercise with large and small load， such as from activities with less intensity， barre holding via intermediate movements with greater intensity to the combination of jumps and turns.

（2）Reasonably adjust exercise load

Ballet training must have appropriate exercise load. It is unbalanced to pay too much attention to students physiological effect while neglecting their psychological effect. However， it goes from one extreme to another to pay no more attention to their physiological effect. Arrangement of appropriate exercise load is not only necessary to exercise limbs and to master dance skills but also indispensable to promote students physical and mental healthy development.

3. The overload principle should be implemented in ballet teaching

It means that the bodys is supposed to receive more exercise load than that it has been adapted to in training. In general， after a period of training， the body will be adapted to the existing strength of training， which will be no longer enough to stimulate the body， the body can only maintain and consolidate the original functional level. Only by increasing the training load， can the body produce a stronger response with enhanced training stimulus. Hence， the body function and training capacity on will be continuously improved on the existing basis. It should be added that physical fitness is a prerequisite for all training activities， and its importance to ballet dancers cannot be too much overemphasized.

4. Ballet teaching should be carried out in an orderly way

It refers to the gradual improvement of training contents， difficulty， time and load in a planned and step-by-step manner according to the law of human development and the principle of excess load. While the body is constantly adapted to exercise， its physical quality and ability are gradually enhanced.

From the initial exercise to the on-stage performance， no class is carried out in one step. Barre holding is the first exercise， and then the intermediate， namely Adagio and Allegro. Barre holding should be less than 40 minutes while Allegro practice no less than 20 minutes. A class should have a clear theme， a clear logical line throughout the exercise， and warm up the students body step by step till they can completely do the exercise.

The gradual improvement of body exercise function is a process of gradual adaptation. It is suggested to improve heart and lung function， muscle strength， reaction speed and so on by gradually increasing training amount. Teaching content should be organized from simple to complex； motion requirement from easy to difficult； training load from small to large. Training is supposed to be carried out gradually other than in a hurry. Too slow increase in training load will limit the speed of physical fitness and technical improvement while too fast increase will cause excessive fatigue or sports injury， affecting normal learning and living. Proceeding in an orderly way and step by step is a basic principle to ensure the effectiveness of ballet training.

5. Conclusion

In summary， ballet teaching is both comprehensive instruction and step-by-step training from the perspective of physiological principles. Neither moderate nor overload exercise is dispensable for leaners in appropriate conditions. In addition， for those who have engaged in ballet career， whether as professional actors or teachers， they must care for their own body and have a good understanding of the basic principles of the body before learning or teaching ballet. In this way， they can better show their limbs on the stage or train better ballet dancers.

References：

[1]Li Chunhua.Classical Ballet Teaching Methodology[M].Beijing： Higher Education Press，2004.

[2]Wen Rou.Dancing Physiology[M].Beijing：Higher Education Press， 2004.

[3]Gao Yun.Dancing Anatomy[M].Beijing：Higher Education Press， 2004.

[4]Wang Ruiyuan.Sports Physiology[M].Beijing：Peoples Sports Publishing House，2002.