Decoding Ballet Methods

Many dancers are trained each year in a specific ballet “method”. These methods of training have a vast history leading to their survival of the ages. These methods were preserved through remaining choreographic works and schools of training. Ballet training methods build dancers to reflect a certain technique of ballet. A ballet “method” isn’t to be confused with a ballet “style”.

A method reflects training curriculum and technique whereas the “style” reflects an era’s trends, concepts and images. The oldest and most famous schools of ballet on the planet uphold one of the eight ballet methods religiously so their dancers all reflect the same finesse and divergent technique. A dance company relies on the chosen method to assure that the dancers all dance alike (so the choreographic works will look as clean and precise as possible). Here is a list of ballet methods or techniques:




Bournonville Ballet Method

The Bournonville method of ballet dancing is not only a method of training and technique, but a choreographic school developed by August Bournonville (1805 – 1879). August was the choreographer for the Royal Danish Ballet, a ballet company who continues to use his choreography and teaching methods till this day. This method focuses specifically on the romantic style since it was born in the romantic era of ballet. August Bournonville not only preferred a more romantic tone to his choreography, but he preferred his ballets tell a vivid love story. Bournonville knew a great deal about musical theatre, so he incorporated a rich array of expression into his works.

Bournonville said himself that “dance should be an expression of joy”. This method displays the movement as effortless though it is very technically challenging. The Bournonville method dancer exudes fluidity, seamlessness, and musicality. The technique is refined with delicate detail. It is not only expressive and romantic, but it touches the heart with dramatic pantomime.

The Bournonville technique begins in the shape and softness of the arms. This method has distinctive and specific lifted torso framework. The legs must define musical rhythm while the arms define the melody; this combination exudes musicality. The Bournonville technique also relies heavily on epaulements, and many movements begin and end in fifth position. Bournonville pirouettes are executed with a low develope into seconde and outside pirouettes use a low develope into fourth. Many poses are recognizable as Bournonville, including tendu derriere having one arm in fifth with the other down at the side (with a touch of epaulement of course).

Bournonville ballets display technically challenging roles, but usually in reversal of what we’re used to…Bournonville establishes the importance of the male character whereas other methods focused more on the female. This ballet method is such an honest and revealing style using pure and precise movement. The choreography forms a harmony while telling a story. Some of Bournonville’s ballets were La Sylphide, Napoli and Flower Festival in Genzano.


Russian Ballet Method

The Russian method of ballet came straight from the Imperial School of Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia back in the nineteenth century. Imperial at that time, meant it was the property of the dictator in charge. Imperial ballets were originally “commissioned” works. The works at this time were commissioned by Sergey Diaghilev who later founded the Ballet Russes as well as developed protégés such as Vaslav Nijinksky, Anna Pavlova and George Balanchine among many others.

The Imperial Russian technique reflects a classical style of ballet. This method is technically challenging, flamboyant and larger than life. The balances are longer and more daring; the jumps are higher, the turns last for days… Each Russian trained dancer was pushed to their limits. According to this method of ballet, pantomime was childsplay. Ballet dancers were now here to show the world how difficult and impressive ballet was. It was a mere show of brute strength and talent. Ballets no longer told a story; it now only showcased brilliance of technique. Needless to say, it made the Bournonville technique seem a bit pedestrian in comparison…

A particular distinction of the Russian trained dancer includes a very confident, somewhat proud demeanor. Russian technique distinctions include putting the hands on the hips, and tossing the hand up at the end of a difficult sequence or during one. The Russian dancer has an extreme focus on line. Russian technique training is very intense; the arabesques are expected to be higher and the jumps more powerful…

Russian ballet dancers are chosen at a very young age and literally molded with the Russian ballet method. These children that are chosen usually have long limbs and neck, a short torso, a pretty face and talent. Many of our greatest ballet dancers to date came from the Russian school of ballet. Many defected from Russia though due to the lack of creative freedom and the strenuous training.

Some of the finest ballet classics emerged from the Russian Imperial Method. These ballets display virtuoso movement and were a grand spectacle. Such ballets are still very well known and ballet companies today still bring in a huge audience for them: La Bayadere, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake.


Vaganova Ballet Method

The Vaganova technique was developed by Russian student Agrippina Vaganova. This method spawned from the Russian technique as many others did. Vaganova danced at the Imperial Ballet School then she later taught there when it re-established as the Leningrad Choreographic School, The Soviet Ballet, and now The Mariinsky Ballet. The Vaganova ballet technique is not only Russian, but it has elements of the French and Italian schools of ballet as well.

The Vaganova method concentrates on lower back strength and the “boneless” look of the arms. Vaganova trained dancers execute ballet movement with an especial effortlessness by using supple arms to contrast the robust movement of the legs. The arms would give the dancer an ethereal look as if she defied gravity. Many movements of the Vaganova technique require the dancer to remain in the air for as long as possible to give the dancer an illusion of floating. This requires extreme flexibility and extension. The arms and legs appear longer and leaner by the stretch and line of the pose. A Vaganova trained dancer executes movements with clean precise lines and movement with special attention to placement (forming the ethereal illusion).

Today the Vaganova method is used by the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Russia as well as many ballet schools around the world. Vaganova trained students have found success in the world’s leading ballet companies. The world-renowned Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet in Russia both use the Vaganova technique.


Cecchetti Ballet Method

Enrico Cecchetti developed his own ballet training method in London (1918). Coming from Italy, Enrico and his wife opened a dance school and influenced British ballet throughout the ages. Many new methods spawned from the Cecchetti training method. After dancing in Milan as a young man, Enrico Cecchetti migrated to Russia and ended up working for Diaghilev by training his school of dancers. He taught at the Imperial School in St. Petersburg. When the Ballet Russes began to tour the world, students did not want to leave the daily Cecchetti classes that afforded them such exquisite training.

The Cecchetti technique is very involved; the student is trained then tested in stages and graded. Each Cecchetti instructor is to be registered by qualifying with the Imperial Society of Teachers Dancing. Each student endures rigid testing before they graduate to the next level of which there are six. Each student is only allowed one examination per year.

The Cecchetti technique has a strict training regimen; the barré is memorized and done without breaking. There is a specific barré for each day of the week. Each side of the body is worked altering from week to week. The Cecchetti technique has eight particular port de bras, and about forty adages that develop the students balance, poise and grace. The end of class would include a new combination of movement for the student to grasp quickly and perform. This method condenses ballet training to an exact science.

The Cecchetti dancer moves as an instrument; the arms and legs are all one working entity. The energy is focused through the feet and up through the head so the line goes on infinitely. This method teaches quality over quantity; it was better to execute the movement right once rather than being able to do it sloppy several times. Each student is taught the essence of the technique, so this method is something exuded rather than a specific flair as in the Bournonville and Russian techniques. It teaches a dancer to be self reliant rather than mimicking the instructor. This technique uses a classical style most often and develops a dancers balance, poise, elevation, vigor and suppleness.

Enrico re-staged certain ballets such as Coppelia and developed the roles of Bluebird and Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty.


Balanchine Ballet Method

George Balanchine was a protégé of Diaghilev’s Imperial School of Ballet. He defected to Paris from Russia then later met back up with Diaghilev’s touring Ballet Russes. Balanchine joined the Ballet Russes as a choreographer. After developing and working with a variety of ballet companies, Balanchine was encouraged to come to America to open his own training facility: the School of American Ballet (1934). After forming and disbanding several companies, Balanchine founded the New York City Ballet Company in 1948.

The Balanchine technique is very distinctive; the use of the arms and hands is very eccentric to ballet. Balanchine had a special liking for jazz and modern movement, as well as being a huge fan of Fred Astaire. Many of his ballets reflect this. A distinctive Balanchine flair is the unconventional hand and arm placement. The elbows would often break the arm line (as the wrists did), as the hands remain curled. This technique requires a great deal from the dancer. Balanchine enjoyed watching dancers break laws of motion; he would play with the choreography. His dancers developed such speed of motion that they would fit a lot of movement into a small block of music. Balanchine would not allow an orchestra to slow down for his dancers. He wanted to create a look of longer limbs so he would distort arabesques and extensions in order to do so. A dancer could give the look of a longer arabesque line by opening her hip to the audience as well as opening it upstage away from the audience. This type of placement goes against general ballet form.

Many of Balanchine’s ballets reflect a contemporary or classical style of dancing. He defined modern ballet as we know it today. His works are vast and famous pieces performed by New York City Ballet currently: Serenade, Jewels, Don Quixote, Firebird, Stars and Stripes, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and countless others.


French Method (École Française)

The French method or École Française (meaning “French School of Ballet”) was started in 1661 France. Louis XIV was the first to open a ballet school in France, and at that time ballet was restricted to men only. This technique was more currently developed by Nijinsky protégé Rudolf Nureyev at the Paris Opera Ballet. The French technique is used in ballet schools all over the world and most notably at the Nureyev Ballet of Paris.

The French method of ballet is charecterized by emphasis on elegance, grace and precision. A distinctive charecteristic of French ballet choreography is barely squeezing the dance phrase into the accompanying musical phrase. This oftentimes causes the orchestra to slow down in order to accomodate the dancing. Dance was no longer an accompanyment to the music but rather, the main spectacle. Nureyev had a great influence on the development of the French school of ballet technique. He liked to cross borders between modern and classical dancing. Nureyev re-staged many ballets in the French technique including Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, La Bayadere and Cinderella .


Royal Academy (RAD) Method

The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) was established in London (1920) by a group of dance professionals: Phillip Richardson (brought the group together), Phyllis Bedells, Tamara Karsavina, Eduard Espinosa, Adeline Genée and Lucia Cormani. This association of people came together to produce a better standard of teaching ballet in Britain. This method began to expand under King George V in the 1930s and continued growing into what we know today as the RAD method of ballet. This particular school of dance not only developed a school of training, but they sought to preserve and copyright many choreographic works.

The RAD method includes a very precise training regimen. Students train until they reach the next official RAD level. They must pass a test in order to be accepted into this next level. Each level of students must don a specific color leotard. Each level must demonstrate classical dancing, character (folk) dancing and free (modern) movement. RAD students also receive classical jazz training.

The RAD classical style ballet method is a merge of Italian, French, Russian and Danish ballet technique. Those who learn ballet through this particular method find they are taught the basics of ballet with great detail, progression is very slow. The degree of difficulty to each movement is only slight from grade to grade. The value is placed on the quality of technique rather than knowing an assortment of movements early on. Turn-out, body placement, tendu, and plié are focused on in the earlier grades almost entirely. There are eight grades as well as a pre-primary then a primary class prior to starting the levels. A typical student starts at age five and finishes the grades by age eleven so they can train in the “Vocational Graded Syllabus” level which introduces pointe work and more dance vocabulary.



Royal Ballet (English) Method

The English ballet method is most prominently used by The Royal Ballet which is a distinguished ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in England. This company was founded in 1931 by Ninette de Valois. Margot Fonteyn came from this school and Rudolf Nureyev danced here until he left to start his own school (this is where the famous partnership began).

The English method has a structured rank of dancer: artist is a corps dancer, first artist is a senior member of the corps who gets the more prominent corps roles, Soloist get to dance minor solo roles, First Soloistdances the highest and best soloist roles under the principle, Principle Character Artist is one who dances the main character roles (such as Drosselmeyer in the Nutcracker), Principal is the highest rank of dancer who performs all the leading roles, and Prima Ballerina performs the best roles to only the best audiences under the best conditions of time, location and cast. Lastly, there is the Prima Ballerina Assoluta, a title which has only been given out three times in history, first to Alicia Markova, then to Margot Fonteyn, and then to Alessandra Ferri. This is the highest rank possible and given to dancers who deserve a high mention in history books.

This method takes eight years of full-time schooling prior to professional status. The emphasis is put on fluidity, musicality, artistry and vibrancy. This method stresses purity of line over expressiveness and clean technique.




If we were to trace ballet methods back to the start, it originated in the 1400s, during the time of the Roman Empire (which includes our current regions of Italy and France). It is obviously French since the terminology of ballet is in the French language…and it is obviously Italian being that the word “ballet” comes from the Italian word “balleto” meaning “to dance”. In the 1500s and 1600s it took shape in Renaissance Italy (after the fall of the Roman Empire).

Ballet technique varies in concept and flair; the methods reflect the curriculum of gaining that technique. The dialect of technique varies from country to country and classroom to classroom…but one thing that stands out is that it all comes from the same language of ballet which is one of many voices of dance. The world continues to embrace ballet holding it in high esteem. The future of ballet will indeed bring many new methods to the table as well as preserve those who left a mark in history. One thing is certain; ballet remains a beloved art of mankind. We dancers all contribute to keeping it alive through our study and our will to give back a gift that was given to us from our mentors and the heavens above.