The concepts and practice of elementary pointe technique for college-level ballet students

Date

8/30/1980

Authors

Shell, Caroline Goodrich

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Abstract

The purpose of the study was to prepare a handbook on elementary pointe technique at the college level. The instructional materials were based on the physical and technical deficiencies of thirteen college-level skilled ballet students, but their presentation in the handbook was directed toward the needs of both the teacher and the student. A descriptive design was used in which a single group of students participated in a ten-week instructional period and was scored in the execution of pointe vocabulary in a pretest and posttest performance. The null hypothesis, that there is no significant difference in the means of the pre- and posttest scores, was tested at the .05 level of significance and was rejected; there was a significant difference in the means of the pre- and posttest scores. Although the study was too limited to ascertain the extent to which the instructional materials were responsible for the improvement in performing skills, the handbook was offered as an alternative to traditional ballet manuals which often fail to address the college dancer in terms of her experience. These manuals sometimes contain technical requirements and mechanical aspects of execution which are ambiguous to the college-level ballet student.

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Keywords

Ballet, Education, Dance

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