Andrew Champlin
Ballet for Contemporary Dancers

This workshop approaches Ballet as a dynamic and functional technique, providing contemporary dancers with tools to refine alignment, musicality, and movement clarity. Through clear movement tasks, they break down key technical principles – examining how they function part by part – before reintegrating them into full-bodied dancing. In this dynamic learning process, the group focuses on tuning the body for percussive movement, finding ease in foundational positions, and exploring Ballet’s precision without rigidity. Following a conventional class structure, participants move through exercises at the barre, centre work, and travelling sequences, including big jumps. Rooted in Janet Panetta’s philosophy of Ballet for Contemporary Dancers and the syllabus she developed over decades, this workshop offers a rigorous yet adaptable approach to Ballet, supporting dancers in expanding their technical and expressive range.

Beginners

Beginners will learn the fundamentals of Ballet, techniques that open up more possibilities in movement and performance. An invitation to those who have just started Ballet or would like to refresh their knowledge.

Advanced

Here, movement sequences are deepened into more challenging sequences to encourage artistic development. The workshop invites dancers to practise line alignment in space, skeletal placement, timing and the use of strength and release in jumps, turns and other full-bodied movements and is aimed at dancers of diverse backgrounds who have a working knowledge of classical Ballet.