Ballet for Figure Skaters Survey Results

Note from Ice Mom: This guest post comes from ballet for figure skaters expert Annette Thomas. A few weeks ago, I asked readers to complete a survey about ballet in their area of the world. Here are Annette’s responses to the survey results. You can download the complete survey results here: 2010 Ballet Survey Results. Annette will be available today if you have questions for her. Just ask them in the comments.

Questions 1 & 2: How much does a group ballet lesson cost in your area? How much does a private lesson cost?

I felt that $11-$15 per class was well within the normal range. It is expected that lesson prices will vary somewhat by region. What blew me away was the $10 for an hour private lesson! Generally I think that the lessons should be within the typical range for the region and commensurate with the teaching experience and credentials of the instructor. You want to know the quality of the instructor you are learning from and price can be an indicator of that quality.

One person indicated that their club provides all of the off-ice lessons at least once a week but that the club has a higher rate because of it. This is more common in Europe as I have heard this before and I think it is an excellent idea. This way the skaters can be in the same classes together learning from the same instructors who (hopefully!) gear their curricula to the needs of the figure skaters. It also adds continuity for the skaters as they can go from off-ice to on-ice instruction without leaving the building. And it can potentially facilitate communication between the off-ice and on-ice instructors, which I believe is very important.

One of the biggest problems it taking ballet lessons at a dance school or studio is that they try to get you into the recitals (an extra fee for everything as one person wrote!) Skating is expensive enough without adding all of this extra stuff to it!

I am so glad that “Sk8rgirl’s” mom recognizes the quality of her daughter’s teacher and that she KNOWS she is getting a “steal”! I don’t know who they are or where they live but one of my concerns is that as professionals we do not want our lessons to be “undervalued”. For example if we live in an area where the rink we teach at charges the skaters $5 per lesson while the local ballet school charges $20.00 per lesson and the YMCA charges $5.00 per lesson…what will the skaters, coaches and parents think of the quality of the lesson/teacher at the rink? I have been in this situation and fewer and fewer people seem to know how to recognize a good ballet instructor…in fact recently I was told “anyone can teach ballet”!
Question 3: How long is a typical ballet lesson?
This one was quite revealing! The time allotment for a “typical” ballet lesson is not up for speculation…it *is* 1 ½ hours long, except for the beginning year which is 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes long. This is the main difference between a “class” – going through the motions/choreography, and a true “lesson” (please see my Facebook Page Discussion” What a Ballet Lesson Entails”. A true ballet lesson is a progressive study with a curriculum, syllabus and a written daily lesson plan which is designed to condition the entire body at each lesson in very specific ways…this just can’t be done in 45 minutes! I have to beg to even get 1 hour and 15 minutes, plus, I teach Character Dance in almost every lesson as well so even I am “skimping” a little in order to add that little extra style!

Question 4: Where do Figure Skaters Take Ballet Lessons?

I was sorry to hear from one person that their rink was charging more for ballet than the local ballet studio…I do hope that she/he was a better teacher! Unfortunately many rinks do not have a real ballet room. This is understandable as a ballet room needs wall to wall mirrors, barres set at the correct height and a sprung wood (or other material which has the same qualities) floor. This is very expensive to provide for just *one* off-ice discipline so typically a rink will go with an all purpose off-ice room which may or may not fit the bill for ballet specifically. I believe that this may indicate that ballet is looked upon as an “extra” which is not as important as, let’s say strength training. Little do they know how much strength training there is to real ballet!

As mentioned earlier taking ballet at a studio or dance school can distract a skater from their real purpose…training to be a better skater; but if it is all you have in your area go for it! Just try to get the best teacher you can (and maybe she/he will even go in half with you on my Lesson Book!) Ballet teachers of figure skaters really should know how edges, velocity, and spin and jump direction affect movement.
Question 5: Does the ballet studio offer ballet for figure skaters?
I recently came across a studio claiming to have a ballet for figure skaters program as a marketing scheme when in fact the teacher knew nothing about teaching figure skaters ballet so ask questions, watch a class…make sure!
Question 6: Is ballet offered year round?
This can be a problem at seasonal rinks because if there is a ballet program which is only seasonal the skaters will either have to go elsewhere or stop for the duration, either of which can be detrimental. Of course… short breaks are good as everybody (even kids!) need some down time!

Question 8: Do you have any other comments about ballet classes for figure skaters?

I am always trying to get a ballet program going for the adults! I love teaching adults and there are so many adult skaters out there I really don’t know why more isn’t done for them!
The idea of a “Warm-up Class” really intrigues me! This would be superb as so many people think that a warm-up is a stretch!
Thank you to whoever said they were a “big fan” of my book!! I truly appreciate the positive feed back!
To the person who wrote about gymnastics producing earlier, similar results: Gymnastics forces the body (as does figure skating because they are both sports), whereas correctly taught ballet will do the same thing concerning flexibility and control safely and still in a timely manner. Training for one sport with another sport is not (IMO) a safe practice. Most skaters will not go to the Olympics and there will be a day when physical health and quality of life will be much more important.

Do you have a question for Annette about ballet for figure skaters? Do you have a comment about the survey results (2010 Ballet Survey Results)? Please share in the comments.

Thank you, Annette Thomas, for sharing your knowledge with us. If you’re an expert in something figure-skating related and would like to write a guest post, please let me know! If you have a question for Ice Mom or the Advisory Board, I’d love to hear from you, too. Do you have a suggestion for a blog post you’d like to read? Awesome! Send me an e-mail: IceMom.Diane@gmail.com

Annette T. Thomas is a ballet instructor and author of Fundamentals of Alignment and Classical Movement for Figure Skaters (IceMom.net book review). Her new book, Lessons in Classical Ballet for the Figure Skater, provides everything the professional ballet instructor needs in order to offer the highest quality classical ballet training expressly designed for figure skaters. Lessons in Classical Ballet for the Figure Skater contains 20 full-length one-and-a-half hour lessons from the beginning through the advanced levels including: body awareness and alignment floor exercises, warm-up, stretching and suggestions on teaching Style and Character Dance. Four “Ballet on Ice” lessons are also included for each of the Beginning and Intermediate levels, which reinforce what has been learned during their regular ballet lessons. A graded syllabus is provided for each level with evaluation questions and test suggestions. Also included is an invaluable section on figure skating jumps, spins, footwork and edges in order to equip the ballet instructor with the technical information needed to teach skaters as effectively and relevantly as possible. A section on “How to begin and maintain a Ballet for Figure Skaters program” is given in the index along with questions and ideas to use as a springboard for discussion between board members, coaches and the ballet instructor. Sold in over 15 countries around the world, Annette’s first book Fundamentals of Alignment and Classical Movement for Figure Skaters along with her new book Lessons in Classical Ballet for the Figure Skater make available all the tools needed to develop and maintain a quality Ballet for Figure Skaters program at your rink, on any continent, around the globe. For more information about Annette Thomas and her books, visit her site BalletForFigureSkaters.com. Annette Thomas and Ballet for Figure Skaters is a vendor partner with MySkatingMall.com

Have you voted in and viewed the results for the holiday gift polls?

From Ryan at MySkatingMall.com: We are putting together a video called “What’s so great about figure skating?” and we are looking for skaters, parents, and fans to take short videos of each other answering the question, “What’s so great about figure skating?”

This video will serve as a great encouragement to skaters and parents as well as telling potential new skaters what is so great about our sport! A short introductory video as well as directions for uploading videos to the MySkatingMall.com YouTube channel can be found at http://www.myskatingmall.com/skating. Everyone who submits a video will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 gift certificate for any item on MySkatingMall.com or from our Partner Stores. Videos will be accepted until 12/31/10.

Ice Mom’s taking a break! The family is becoming irritated with Ice Mom’s constant typing and lack of sleep. They’ve imposed a mandatory week-long Ice Mom vacation December 20 – 24. Ice Mom thinks they just want birthday and Christmas dinners, but neither Ice Girl nor Ice Dad will budge. Ice Mom will resume the crazy blogging thing on December 27.

Photo credits:
Annette Thomas’s image and her book covers: Annette Thomas and BalletForFigureSkaters.com. Used with permission.
Screen shots of ballet survey results: Ice Mom and PollDaddy.com

Annette T. Thomas

Thank you Diane for taking this excellent poll and for once again giving me the opportunity to write for your viewers! Merry Christmas and a very Happy, Healthy New Year to all!
- Annette
Anonymous

Annette- my daughter takes a ballet/lyrical class as well as a hip hop class. She says she dislikes ballet and really wanted to take the hip hop class so I sort of told her it was all or nothing. She seems to me to be getting more graceful and definitely more flexible from the ballet…her split jump is much improved. It works for us because the studio is local, and our rink (and any other high level ballet) is far away, so it is one week day we can help her in her skating goals without running around for hours. Am I wasting my money or do you think even less than perfect ballet is worth doing?
Annette T. Thomas

Hi Synchmomto2,
I think that if it is helping and your daughter is having fun (at least with the hip hop!) and it’s saving you time it can’t be a waste of money! If we all waited for “perfect ballet” very few would be taking or teaching (me included!) If your daughter likes the dance studio she is attending now, perhaps someday you can introduce the ballet teacher to my books or at least have her look at my website. Teachers can always grow and improve their teaching skills.
Hope this helps and thanks so much for your question!
- Annette
guest

I love, love, love this post – and I went back to re-read Annette’s others as well which were amazing.
I think my main question was about the first year (unspecified time in class) vs later years (90 mins) … can you give me an idea of how long a beginners class is, and why it might be different?
My skater is 6, and based on your posts I’m inclined to wait until the fall after she turns 7 to start her in ballet. But I’m not sure what I should expect from a beginner class, or how long to expect she spends at that level? (
Also she’s naturally quite strong and flexible but has the banana-back from gymnastics – do you think ballet can “fix” the banana-back or is it hers for life??
Annette T. Thomas

Hello “Guest”,

Sorry for the delay in response… had to teach this morning. I am so glad that you enjoyed my post! Beginning Classical ballet lessons are usually 1 hour long especially for young students. Normally Classical Ballet is begun at no earlier than age 7 as it is very difficult for younger students to concentrate at the level needed plus their bodies are just not ready for the intense training. A beginning level lesson should include all of the basic tenants of classical movement including posture, stance, how to hold the barre, turn-out, basic barre exercises and port de bras. How long your skater remains at the beginning level would be determined by a number of factors such as how many lessons per week she takes and how well her mind and body assimilate the curriculum. At this point the “Banana back” may be due more to your skater’s age than what gymnastics might be doing to her. Most young children have a banana shape (slightly swayed back and distended tummy) which they usually outgrow by age 8 or 9. I agree that gymnastics can do terrible things to the lower back because of the posture which is imposed on its participants but I do believe that Classical ballet training will help to correct this problem.
Hope this helps and thanks so much for your question!
-Annette
Anonymous

Thank you- I was able to get her into a class with older girls that was a bit more serious than the beginning classes for the younger ones. She is of course keeping up just fine.
Guest

I can relate to this. My rink is so far away that if I did anything ballet-related it would have to be closer.
Guest

I can relate to this. My rink is so far away that if I did anything ballet-related it would have to be closer.
Guest

I can relate to this. My rink is so far away that if I did anything ballet-related it would have to be closer.
Guest

I can relate to this. My rink is so far away that if I did anything ballet-related it would have to be closer.
Guest

I can relate to this. My rink is so far away that if I did anything ballet-related it would have to be closer.
Guest

I can relate to this. My rink is so far away that if I did anything ballet-related it would have to be closer.
Guest

I can relate to this. My rink is so far away that if I did anything ballet-related it would have to be closer.
Guest

I can relate to this. My rink is so far away that if I did anything ballet-related it would have to be closer.
Skatergirl7

I’d just like to say that some rinks do have proper ballet studios. One of the rinks I skate at has a ballet studio room with a proper floor and barre. Anyways, since there’s only one ballet class per week offered there, they use the room for off-ice classes as well, like jump class.