Search

Fomkin A.V. Classification of the principles of ballet pedagogy: didactic, professional, and ontological levels. Pedagogical Review. 2026. Issue 4 (68). P. 7-15

The article addresses the theoretical conceptualization of ballet pedagogy as a specific field of professional education possessing its own ontology, didactics, and system of pedagogical principles. The study begins with a critical analysis of the widespread notion of ballet as an “art of the young,” whose pedagogical implications have remained insufficiently examined within academic pedagogical discourse. It is shown that the age-related and corporeal determination of the ballet dancer’s profession fundamentally shapes the structure, content, and objectives of ballet education, distinguishing it from anthropocentric models of general pedagogy. The aim of the article is to develop a scientifically grounded classification of the principles of ballet pedagogy based on the analysis of historical experience, contemporary educational practices, and the author’s professional pedagogical experience. The methodological framework includes works by classical theorists of general pedagogy, studies on the methodology of teaching academic dance forms, curricula, ballet and theatre scholarship, dissertation research, archival sources, and interviews with practicing ballet dancers and teachers. The research employs methods of theoretical pedagogical analysis, comparative pedagogical approach, pedagogical modeling, and participant observation. As a result of the study, an original three-level classification of the principles of ballet pedagogy is proposed for the first time, comprising the ultimate (ontological), didactic, and professional levels. It is substantiated that each of these levels reflects a distinct dimension of the pedagogical reality of ballet and cannot be reduced to the others. The study demonstrates that ballet pedagogy is oriented not toward universal personal development, but toward a purposeful artistic and bodily transformation leading to the formation of a stage ballet performer. It is concluded that ballet pedagogy may be regarded as an autonomous and internally coherent field of pedagogical knowledge within the framework of specialty 5.8.1 “General Pedagogy, History of Pedagogy and Education.” The findings may be applied in the development of educational standards, professional training programs, methodological foundations for research in ballet education, as well as in interdisciplinary pedagogical and cultural studies of contemporary theory and practice of arts education.

Keywords: ballet pedagogy, ballet education, teaching principles, professional dancer training, dance didactics