ABSTRACT
In this age of diversity and versatility, the need for a well-grounded technical base is extremely important. Technique can be very simply defined as the “how to” of any skill to be mastered. It is an acquired ability that takes time and effort congruent with the complexity of the skill to be learned. The acquisition of that base brings us inevitably to the developmental aspects of training. When ballet is taught with due consideration for the physical, cognitive, and intellectual development of children, the technique provides the vehicle to learn physical control through the acquisition of a vocabulary. Ballet technique reeducates the neuromuscular circuits in an initial and direct manner that has, so far, not been paralleled in other Western theatrical dance forms. Please do not throw the book down and stomp on it! There is supporting evidence for this claim.
