Betty Oliphant: The Artistry of Teaching.

Potts and Ryman have created a wonderful resource for dance instructors. The book includes a foreword by National Ballet of Canada star Rex Harrington, introductory material explaining basic ballet positions and movements and how to interpret the DanceForms figures, a brief biography of Betty Oliphant, and a series of five of her complete ballet classes. Each class is preceded by a page of Oliphant’s reflections, and each exercise by a quotation describing the step or her approach to teaching it.

For each exercise, the time signature is noted and a musical style suggested. The movements are described count by count and are accompanied by DanceForms figures to demonstrate the look of each new position. The combination of text and illustration usually makes it simple to recreate the leg, arm, and head positions, though there are times when subtle distinctions do not come through clearly (such as the difference between a relevé en pointe and a sauté—a line representing the floor would make changes in height more evident). A knowledge of ballet terminology is not required (one can usually discern what the step should be from the illustrations), but is definitely an asset. So is a familiarity with the Cecchetti style (it would quicken the reader’s ability to demonstrate the exercise correctly).

Oliphant describes herself as a demanding teacher who aimed to instill sound technique and unmannered style in her students. The classes themselves are not very “dancey,” but rather are designed to build strength and purity of style. Novice teachers would benefit greatly from this book; the quotes throughout offer advice on how to give corrections, how to get students to think about movement (so it can be executed correctly), and how to work around physical limitations (such as hyper-extended knees) and avoid injury. The authors plan to produce three more books with five additional classes each. What a fantastic way to preserve Betty Oliphant’s wealth of teaching talent and expertise.