Dance Teacher

1 week ago | dance-teacher.com | Rachel Rizzuto

Agrippina Vaganova (1879–1951) transformed ballet training, melding French Romanticism and Italian strength and athleticism with Russian expressivity. The publication of her book, Basic Principles of Classical Ballet, systemized her technique that is now the foundation for ballet schools all over the world. Vaganova was born in St. Petersburg with ballet already in her blood: Her father was an usher at the Mariinsky Theatre.

2 weeks ago | dance-teacher.com | Jennifer Heimlich

Two years after hip-hop professor Tiffany Bong arrived at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, she asked to bring a DJ into the studio. “That’s a huge part of hip-hop culture,” she says. Just like most university-level ballet classes have a pianist and contemporary classes might have a percussionist, Bong’s classes rely on a DJ to give dancers a complete experience. “When I teach pedagogically, I want to recreate a club in the classroom.

2 weeks ago | dance-teacher.com | Courtney Escoyne

Educator Moves: What You Might Have Missed in Spring 2025From director shifts, notable awards, and beyond, here are the major dance educator moves you should know about from spring 2025. Melissa Toogood will be the next dean and director of dance at The Juilliard School, succeeding Alicia Graf Mack on July 1. Mario Alberto Zambrano has been named associate dean and director. Carla Körbes has been named ballet chair.

3 weeks ago | dance-teacher.com | Caedra Scott-Flaherty

Ballet wouldn’t be the art form it is today without its long history of incredible teachers. And while many training methods have proven themselves successful over the years, the man who trained some of the greatest dancers of all time—including Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, and Vaslav Nijinsky—was clearly doing something right. Enrico Cecchetti (1850–1928) was born in Italy to two dancers in a theater dressing room.

1 month ago | dance-teacher.com | Hannah Hayes

The postapocalyptic news footage from California at the start of the year seemed like something from a movie: 14 wildfires raged from January 7 to 31 in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. The fires caused at least 30 deaths and more than 200,000 evacuations, ultimately destroying 18,000 homes and businesses.