EXPERIENCES AND PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICE OF CLASSICAL BALLET TEACHERS IN THE CITY OF RECIFE, BRAZIL

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand specific training in the city of Recife for teaching classical ballet and how the experiences of these professionals, as students or dancers, influenced their pedagogical practices. A descriptive, exploratory and qualitative study was conducted in which 14 teachers were interviewed. The data were subjected to content analysis and the results indicated a pedagogical practice based on different forms of knowledge, in addition to the importance of experiencing in one’s body what is taught and how it affects the teaching activity, resulting in reproduction and/or transformation of the experience. Teachers’ approach was based more on practice than on theory, through their experiences as students, although scientific knowledge was considered an important subsidy for teaching classical ballet.