Dean Speer (Dance ’78), founding director of the Chehalis (Washington) Ballet Center, former artistic director of the Chattanooga Ballet, and regular contributor to Ballet-Dance Magazine, is now also a published author. His new book, On Technique, provides a fascinating look into the careers and teaching philosophies of eighteen of the world’s most respected ballet masters, principals, and artistic directors. Dean sat down with prominent ballet pedagogues and asked each a standard set of questions, including “What do we mean when we say someone has beautiful technique?” and “How did you become a dancer?”
Featuring such artists as Peter Boal (artistic director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet) and Bené Arnold (first ballet mistress of the San Francisco Ballet), this volume offers fascinating insights into the nature of both performance and artistic instruction. Speer’s approach reveals sometimes surprising convergences among these world-class talents, despite their varying pedagogical backgrounds and divisions.
On Technique is “an interesting and unique book that shows both commonalities and divergent opinions that guide all ballet teaching professionals.” (John White Jr., author of Advanced Principles in Teaching Classical Ballet)
