Ballet Professor Embraces Student-Centered Approach to Training
In the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance’s ballet program, students are encouraged to engage not only with faculty but with their own bodies, developing artistry through a more individualized and collaborative approach to training. Jessica Zeller, professor of dance, emphasizes adaptability in her programs, allowing dancers to tailor movement to their unique anatomy while shaping their own learning experience.
Zeller’s teaching philosophy challenges traditional ballet structures that often prioritize rigid instruction and competition. Instead, she fosters an environment centered on trust, equity and collaboration, giving students agency in how they receive feedback and space within class to focus on their individual needs. Her work, including her book “Humanizing Ballet Pedagogies: Philosophies, Perspectives and Praxis for Teaching Ballet,” explores how these evolving practices can redefine ballet education.
“That they could do class and study with their friends, and they could all support one another, has been revelatory for lots of them—that ballet didn’t have to be an antagonistic, competitive form,” Zeller said.