Ballet

Ideation

POV Statement:

The ballet dancer, whether from beginner to advanced, needs a way to check their form and posture without the assistance of a teacher.

Research & Observation:

- It's hard for beginners to be able to know what form they need to have without the teacher helping but the teacher can't make it to everyone in the class for one combination.

- Each dancer is trained differently.

- Each dancer is a different height.

- Dancer lose their form when they go into a plie by letting their butts sticky out.

- Dancers need help for different combinations becauset hey focus too much on the combination rather than form.

- It needs to be able to fold in not use up space within the dance floor after using.

- Dancers lose form when we are doing center work.

- It's hard for a dancer to pay attention to what their entire body is doing while also trying to focus on the combination that is at hand.

A dancer using the barre

A dancer using the barre for the different positions

Wall barre

Hand placement when facing the barre.

Hand placement when facing forward or backwards on the barre.

In the ideation of building my first prototype, I wanted something that would come off the barre, either the wall barre or the free standing barre, that would help a dancer be able to keep their form and posture during a combination. A lot of beginngers, and even some advanced, ballet dancers can lose their form while doing a harder combination. I came up with the idea of having a back plate that could attach to the barres and dancers could use for different combinations.

Prototype - 1

Material - chipboard

Prototype - 1

After building the back plate for my first prototype, I needed to think of a way to be able to attach it to the barre.

Diagram of back plate attached to the wall barre.

Diagram of back plate attached to the free standing barre.

Back plate attached to not only the barre but also the wall for better adjustment and stability.

How the back plate that is attached to the barre and wall would work with a dancer leaning against it.

Free standing barre with the back plate being adjusted.

In the ideation before building my second prototype, I tried to think of material that would be able to attach to the barres but also be good for the dancer to use. Wood would be the easiest to attach to the barre but also it would be something hard enough for the dancers to make sure that they aren't losing their form and posture.

Prototype - 2

Material - wood

Prototype - 2

After talking with Emily and Michelle about my second prototype, I realized that being able to build something that would be able to attach to a ballet barre and be adjustable for the different height of the dancers on campus or in a studio would be difficult. I then came up with the idea of having the back plate attach to the dance themselves. It would be more adjustable and geared toward the dancer and also be used during center work, which I noticed during classes that is also another place that dancers have trouble with their form and position. Also the ballet barres are usually used for more than just placing your hand on it.

Another use of the barre besides using the hand would be to place the foot on it.

Back plate attached to the dancer or user, by adjustable belts and straps for the different eheight of each dancer.

It would also be used during center instead of just at the barre.

Different ideas for the back plate and the shape of it.

Ideation of how to attach the back plate to a dancer.

During the ideation of my third prototype, I wanted to think of something that would be able to attach to a dancer that wouldn't hurt their arms. I wanted the material to be soft so that it didn't bother them or change their mindset during the middle of a combination. The back plate also needed to be something that wasn't heavy and that also wouldn't bother a dancer during the middle of a combination or always haviing them think about it.

Prototype - 3

Material - chipboard and croshayed straps.

Prototype - 3

After creating my third prototype, I noticed that the back plate needs to be a hard material or something that won't bend and form to the body itself. The straps need to be soft so it doens't bother or hurt the dancer using it. I also noticed from the above picture that there does need to be a strap across the midsection of the body to hold the back plate in place and keep the back straight as it should be in ballet.

Final Product

Material - chipboard, black fabric and black croshayed straps

The material used for my final product is fabric sewn together, covering the harder material of chipboard. The straps, for both the shoulders and midsection, is croshayed yarn. The shoulder straps are adjustable to help with the placement of the back plate itself. The dancer has control on how close to the body and how tight the straps can go. The midsection strap wraps around the dancers waist and ties, similar to that of a ballet skirt. All of the straps tighten as much as the dancer desires them to to help them keep the form and posture they need to have all without the help of the teacher.