This week’s preschool ballet lesson plan focuses on teaching skips (passé sauté) and arabesques a’terre (with their foot on the ground, in tendu). While I typically introduce these skills early in the year through quick exercises, I like to wait until we have a few classes under our belt before we start going across the floor, individually, with these steps. Anyone who has had the pleasure of teaching this preschool age group knows that getting everyone in line, and going across the floor one-at-a-time is a feat in itself. It can take a few weeks of building discipline and structure, as well as technique, before they are ready to try these on their own.
With that being said, make sure you have reviewed the previous lesson plans in weeks one, two, three, and four, which include a few different introductory exercises for arabesques and skips (passé sauté)
How to Teach Arabesque A’Terre
As mentioned earlier, by this week the dancers should already have a little bit of practice with these skills in a center floor combination. I typically start by incorporating an arabesque into a short combination with pliés, tendus, etc..
Breaking down the skill:
- Stand in first position on your dot (if applicable) facing the mirror
- Tendu right leg to the back wall
- Brings arms to either second position (T shape) or third position (alligator mouth)
- Lengthen back of the knees, reach, hold and find balance with foot connected to the floor
- Close back leg in first position
- Repeat with left leg
Important Teacher Notes:
- Start by teaching arabesques facing the mirror because this helps them see the proper foot/leg placement, and helps keep hips in alignment. I’ve found that it really helps to emphasize how the arabesque starts and stops in first position.
- I use proper terminology mixed with fun words to help memory. Ex: calling third position arms “alligator mouth”
- If they have the balance, you can have them lift their leg slightly off the floor, 1-2 inches. Try holding for 3 seconds.
After practicing facing the mirror, you can turn to the side of the room and repeat so they can see their legs in the mirror. Make sure they are still in first position!
Going Across The Floor:
- Spread out 3-4 dots in a line, across the floor
- Have dancers walk en relevé to the dot, landing in first position
- Bring arms to second or third position
- Tendu to the back with their leg that is closest to the mirror
- Find balance with the foot connected to the floor, hold 3 seconds
- Optional: Lift 1-2 inches off the floor and try to hold
- Relevé walk to the next dot, and repeat from first position.
How to Teach Skips
Fair warning, skips can be really hard for this age! They require a lot of coordination, but are a super important foundation step for ballet (and many other sports, actually).
- Start by having them do marches / passé walks across the floor, so they can understand the rhythm and idea of switching their leg with each step, and driving their knee up high
- After practicing marches several times, you can have them practice adding “hop,” where they jump and land on the same foot (not switching their legs in the air). Typically, the hardest part is getting them to understand the sauté aspect.
Important Teacher Notes:
- Keep hands glued to hips! Focus should be on footwork and height of their sauté / passé
- Incorporate skips into class combos. Add at the end of across the floor work (ex after the “hopscotch” activity, I have the dancers skip to the end of the room to get more reps in)
- Direction changes: Practice skips in a circle, or skip to a new dot.
- Repetition and practice is key. This may take several classes to master, but ideally you should see progress week to week.
Lesson Plan PDF
| Activity | Description | Notes |
| Attendance/Question | “What is your favorite dance move?” | Ask for a demonstration 🙂 |
| Butterfly | Pick a place to fly to | |
| Nose to toes. “Smell your stinky toes” | ||
| Try to pull in feet slightly closer and bend forward again. | ||
| Pike / legs out in front. | Practice switching arms from 5th to demi second. Changing tempos to quick and slow | |
| Flex and point feet. Bonus: Practice “Barbie” feet AKA demi-pointe | ||
| Stretch forward. Flex feet and try to grab toes, pulling heels off the ground. | ||
| Straddle | Reach towards each foot and “rainbow to the other side” | You can “make a pizza” in your straddle, ask kids for toppings, spread the sauce, put it in the oven, then enjoy 🙂 |
| Reach towards the middle, without rolling in toes/hips | ||
| Flex and point feet | ||
| Cobra / Child’s Pose | Press up on hands “like a mermaid” | |
| Bend knees and reach feet to head – Hold for 8 counts | ||
| Lean back into child’s pose, hold for 8 | ||
| Plié & Tendus | In 1st position: plié, then tendu right foot to the side, closing in first | Working on finding their center and quickly shifting weight from right to left side Refer to Lesson Plan #1 for full breakdown |
| Repeat other side: plié in first, tendu left | ||
| Repeat several times then turn around on relevé | ||
| Arabesque A’Terre | Start in First Position with hands on hips, facing the right side of the room | Make sure they have solid balance in the arabesque a’terre before bring it en l’air! See full breakdown above |
| Tendu left leg to the back, bring arms to “T” position | ||
| Find balance on the floor for 4 COUNTS(make them count!), then slowly lift leg a couple of inches off the floor | ||
| Repeat left side | ||
| Port de Bras | Start with arms in 1st, then rise to 5th | Refer to post called “Teaching Port de Bras to Toddlers: The Balloon Analogy” |
| Our balloon “pops” and our arms float down to demi. Repeat 3 more times and reverse | ||
| Sautés | 4 Sautés in 1st position, hands in a circle (1st) | Focus on strong arms! Refer to Lesson Plan #4 for a full breakdown |
| 4 Sautés in 2nd position, hands in 2nd | ||
| Challenge: Eschappe Sautés with arms! Practice jumping from first to second, just like they do in the hopscotch across the floor | ||
| Skips / Passé Hops (ATF and in a circle) | Hands on hips: Skips across the floor, bringing your second foot up to Passé and go all the way across the floor | See full breakdown above |
| Try Passé hops in a circle around the room! Switch up directions | See full breakdown above | |
| Chasses | Repeat terminology: chasse means to chase | Have them go all the way down and back in one turn to reduce time spent setting up a line on the other side! Refer to Lesson Plan #3 for full breakdown |
| Face the mirror, start in 1st position | ||
| Tendu to 2nd position and chasse all the way across the floor, and back | ||
| Sautés | Lay out dots hopscotch-style | Use Epaulement: Open arms from first to second as they jump! |
| Dancers jump to 2nd and first, following the dots | ||
| Hands on hips, focus on feet jumping out and in | ||
| Arabesques | Set out 3-4 dots across the floor | Hold arms in a “T” position See full breakdown above |
| Have students ballet walk to each dot, they land in 1st on the dot. | ||
| Tendu to arabesque, reaching arms to the opposite side of the room. Find balance with foot on the ground and hold. Slowly bring foot en l’air | ||
| Simon Says (Ballet Skills Review) | Play “Simon Says” with all of the ballet moves we have learned this year as a review! | |
| Ex: Simon says plié! Can have kids take turns being “Simon” |
