For dancers, the Internet delivers news, gives access to teaching resources, and lets you connect with other people who share your passion. You can learn about ballet history, dance schools, auditions, and upcoming performances by simply turning on your computer and typing in a web address.

But, can you learn ballet through the Internet?

Still clip of YouTube do-it-yourself ballet student

Injuries from Internet Instruction

The issue of YouTube ballet lessons was recently raised by National Public Radio’s (NPR) The Bryant Park Project. The title of the story, “Girls Risk Injury with YouTube Do-It-Yourself Ballet,” summarizes the importance of this topic.

Unqualified Teachers

The first danger, of course, is that a beginner may take “lessons” from someone who is not reasonably qualified to teach ballet. NPR’s coverage included an interview with co-chairman of faculty at the School of American Ballet, Kay Mazzo. In commenting on some of the videos she had seen, Mazzo said she was “appalled,” and she said that “none of it was correct.

It was impossible to read Mazzo’s comments without afterward searching out some of these YouTube ballet videos.

One current set of videos offers instructions on how to make pointe shoes from cardboard, glue, and duct tape. And, they show the video creator using the shoes she claims to have made.

It’s true that someone without formal training would probably realize that this at-home method isn’t a ballet-class standard. But, that same beginner might not realize when the person demonstrating is simply wearing the wrong shoes. As Mazzo had observed, one problem with many of the YouTube ballet videos was that girls were wearing inappropriate shoes. In several current clips, girls dance “en pointe” in soft ballet slippers, poorly-fit pointe shoes, or even in sneakers.

Untrained Students

Even when a YouTube instructor does perform properly, someone who tries to learn ballet entirely from YouTube may still get hurt.

Some YouTube students, it seems, actually are trying to learn exclusively through video training, seeking no formal in-class training.

Some YouTube ballet videos are simply recordings of actual ballet classes, showing a dance teacher leading dancers in barre exercises or centre practice. On one video of a recorded ballet class, a commenter requested plain-English instructions on how to do “that thing at the beginning with the leg swishing and the bending.” Her answer came from a commenter who explained, “they are called rond de jambes a terre.” Within this same string of comments, one person asked if it was necessary to “be flexible” to learn ballet. She was told that, no, “u [sic] don’t have to be flexible.”

Many of the YouTube ballet videos have similar strings of comments and answers, showing that beginners who ask for do-it-yourself advice don’t always get it from the best sources.

Differences between Ballet DVDs and YouTube

Although instructional ballet videos exist, they are different from the YouTube videos. First, a DVD used by a dance instructor is likely to be a quality tool created by a professional who had the time, and money, to invest in making and selling a video. And, secondly, the videos are generally used in coordination with formal training and the corrections received in ballet class, not in place of formal training.

Even if a YouTube beginner starts with simple combinations, without any correction from an actual instructor, he or she might move too quickly into advanced exercises or push his or her body into positions that will cause injury. In one series of videos, marked for “intermediate” ballet students, the instructor included a segment on stretching, which went quickly into splits. The young woman, in her encouraging voice, said that it’s alright if you can’t do full splits yet, and that you should just do what you can. Good advice, of course: but, will the person learning from these videos really know what he or she can and can not do?

Can’t Stop a Dancer

Of course, it’s impossible to stop people from imitating. It’s also unreasonable to blame the YouTube ballet tutors for injuries that might result. Even without YouTube, inexperienced dancers would continue to hurt themselves while trying to copy what they see onstage.

But with YouTube, the availability of videos that look like ballet lessons encourages do-it-yourself students. And so, the question is whether dancers and instructors who upload videos should hold themselves more personally responsible for informing viewers on how to properly learn ballet.

Although a “don’t try this at home” disclaimer would be excessive for many of the videos, a brief caution about the importance of formal training and the proper use of ballet videos might be appropriate. And because the videos are becoming more popular, such an effort from a video instructor would show a commendable measure of personal responsibility.

It’s understandable that dancers who upload YouTube ballet videos are trying to share their art and their passion. And, if a desire to share ballet is the motive for creating a YouTube ballet video, then preventing harm should also be a natural element of this sharing.

(Photos: Stills from Online video clip. YouTube. Accessed on 1 July 2008. http://www.youtube.com)