Building Ballet Technique, Teaching Pointe: Pre-Pointe to Advanced Levels & Repertoire Classes - Paperback

by Marilyn Z. Gaston (Author)

This is volume four in the successful series of books on ballet pedagogy (Building Ballet Technique), with the emphasis here on the specialized field of teaching pointe technique. It explores every aspect and level, including Pre-Pointe, Beginning Pointe, Intermediate and Advanced, and further delves into the teaching of repertoire (variations) classes and rehearsing students for performance and recognized competitions, with advice on choosing suitable difficulty choreography pieces, and going beyond technique to artistry. Each level has sample lesson plans, complete with barre and center exercises, complete with descriptions, photos, and terminology. it includes photographic reference sheets explaining body, arm and head positions. There is also a brief and fascinating early chapter on the evolution of pointe in the history of ballet. This is a book every teacher, whether experienced or novice, can use as a source of knowledge and step-by-step referral when teaching the beautiful art of pointe work to their students.

Author Biography

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 (Texas), 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. Recently she was certified by the American Ballet Theatre National Teacher Training Program for levels Pre-Primary through Level 3 as the first part of completion of all the levels in the future. In 2008 Ms. Gaston completed an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte. She has two fiction books (under M.Z. Gaston), and three other ballet books in this series in publication. She currently teaches at the Orlando Ballet School, Florida.