Ballet as Somatic Practice: A Case Study Exploring the Integration of Somatic Practices in Ballet Pedagogy

ABSTRACT

This case study explores one teacher’s integration of Alexander Technique and the work of neuromuscular retrainer Irene Dowd in ballet pedagogy to establish a somatic approach to teaching, learning, and performing ballet technique. This case study highlights the teacher’s unique teaching method called IMAGE TECH for dancers (ITD) and offers evidence to support ITD as a somatic approach to ballet pedagogy. The personal perspectives of the teacher and students in this ethnographic study support my observations that ITD integrates principles of somatic practices in ballet pedagogy. Additionally, these data illustrate the pedagogical innovation involved in the teacher’s communication with her ballet students, which moves away from traditional authoritarian teaching practices. With ITD concepts communicated in such a way that the students feel confident to individually adapt the material, internal authority becomes established and ballet students can claim autonomy in their training and future careers.