Ballet’s Storytelling Language: A Framework for Teaching Artistry

Abstract:

Every ballet teacher knows the frustration: students execute technique beautifully but lack the expressive quality that transforms movement into storytelling. We resort to vague feedback – “be more artistic,” “connect to the music,” “show more emotion” – because ballet artistry has traditionally been treated as an innate gift rather than a teachable language with identifiable vocabulary.

This interactive workshop introduces a comprehensive framework for teaching ballet’s storytelling language as intentionally as we teach technique. Participants will explore nine distinct elements – Body Carriage, Breath, Line, Moving through 3-D Space, Musicality, Acting, Somatic Awareness, Eye-line, and Dynamics – discovering how these components function as the fundamental vocabulary of ballet’s narrative expression.

Through guided movement exploration, attendees will:
–Experience each element in their own bodies by performing a simple barre exercise while focusing attention on each element sequentially
–Learn to define, explain, and teach each of the nine elements in their classes
–Identify which expressive elements are present or absent in student performance
–Provide specific, actionable feedback that replaces “be more expressive” with targeted artistic development
–Integrate artistic training within technical instruction rather than separating it into performance contexts

This framework emerged from interdisciplinary research combining kinesiology, child development, and music theory with ballet pedagogy, refined through years of practical classroom application. While a comprehensive introduction to nine elements is ambitious for 60 minutes, this focused session prioritizes experiential understanding and practical application tools. The approach serves high-level training, addressing the finishing touches that transform technically proficient dancers into artists often described as ineffably “special.”

Participants leave with concrete tools honoring both technical excellence and artistic expression.

 

Bibliography:

  • Bauer, Susan. The Embodied Teen: A Somatic Curriculum for Teaching Body-Mind Awareness, Kinesthetic Intelligence, and Social and Emotional Skills. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2018.
  • Beaumont, Cyril W., and Stanislas Idzikowski. The Cecchetti Method of Classical Ballet: Theory and Technique. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2003.
  • Cavalli, Harriet. Dance and Music: A Guide to Dance Accompaniment for Musicians and Dance Teachers. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2001.
  • George, Doran, ed. Susan Leigh Foster. The Natural Body in Somatics Dance Training. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.
  • Gilbert, Anne Green. Brain-Compatible Dance Education, 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2019.
  • Lee, Carol. Ballet in Western Culture: A History of Its Origins and Evolution. New York: Routledge, 2002.
  • Romita, Nancy, and Allegra Romita. Functional Awareness: Anatomy in Action for Dancers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
  • Sievers, Beau, Larry Polansky, Michael Casey, and Thalia Wheatley. “Music and Movement Share a Dynamic Structure that Supports Universal Expressions of Emotions.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110, no. 1 (2013): 70-75.

 

Presented by Chelsea Weidmann, Instructor, Project Move

 

Biography:

Chelsea Weidmann pioneered the first comprehensive framework for teaching ballet artistry as systematically as technique, creating a universal language that transcends training methodologies. As author of Artistry Inside Ballet Technique, Volume 1 and creator of ballet curricula used by educators on three continents, she has transformed ballet pedagogy by identifying and codifying nine distinct elements that enable teachers to guide dancers from technical proficiency to artistic mastery.

Her innovative framework emerged from interdisciplinary research combining kinesiology, child development, music theory, and ballet pedagogy to answer the question every teacher faces: how do we teach artistry rather than hoping students will “just get it”? Her nine-element approach – Body Carriage, Breath, Line, Moving through 3-D Space, Musicality, Acting, Somatic Awareness, Eye-line, and Dynamics – provides concrete vocabulary and developmental progression that moves artistry instruction from vague feedback to coachable skills.

Her students have gained acceptance to elite training programs including university ballet programs, Alberta Ballet School, and Boston Ballet School. Chelsea presents at conferences including the Utah Dance Education Organization and has published research in peer-reviewed journals including The Journal of Dance Education and Dance Education in Practice. She consults with studio owners and program directors internationally, maintaining an active teaching practice while developing resources that serve ballet educators worldwide.

With graduate research in interdisciplinary arts, Chelsea operates Geeky Ballerina, where her mission addresses the finishing touches that distinguish complete artists from technically proficient dancers. Her work provides teachers worldwide with clear frameworks that enable creative teaching freedom, honoring both the rigor and joy of ballet training across all training methodologies.