"Raising the Barre on Ballet Schooling" TM CDA's mission is to improve and maintain at the highest level the quality of Classical Dance training nationally and internationally. A resource organization and educational initiative, CDA fosters Classical Dance in the classroom and on the stage by making its formal vocabulary and training methodology more accessible to ballet instructors, as well as performers, creators and spectators of dance. PUTTING PEDAGOGY FIRST - Performance is just the final link in a chain that begins with formative training. Instructors and their students require the best available tools at this first critical phase of the dancemaking process. But rarely do they have them. As more of our ballet teachers walk off the stage and into the classroom, they rely on personal experience and intuition to educate students with varying degrees of success. A ballet student today faces nearly as many approaches to training as he/she does instructors. This is confusing, if not injurious Pedagogy sets a standard carefully developed in practice. With strict adherence or informed departure, it is a powerful tool in the hands of even the most intuitive instructor. Such training methods properly applied can improve results dramatically and provide a distinct advantage for teacher and student alike when competing for coveted positions in ballet academies and performing companies. Teachers, artistic directors, choreographers, and ultimately audiences all benefit from schooling of the highest caliber. Every day another performing company is born; yet the first critical step in the process that culminates in performance - the training of our dancers - is too often overlooked. That's where we come in. With your support, Classical Dance Alliance can have a unique and meaningful impact on the contemporary landscape. Copyright Classical Dance Alliance 2016, All rights reserved
