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Most adult ballet students are taught ballet vocabulary before they are taught the physical foundation that makes ballet possible.

They are shown pliés, tendus, rond de jambes, and port de bras — but rarely taught how the body must be organized underneath those movements: how the feet, legs, pelvis, torso, shoulders, and neck work together to create the clean, lifted, stable quality we recognize as classical ballet.

The BalletPrep™ Method: An Introduction was written to address that missing layer.

In this short introductory book, Clare S. Shabsis shares the personal and pedagogical path that led to the creation of BalletPrep™ — a method designed for adult and late-starting dancers who want to understand ballet from the inside out, rather than simply imitate its shapes.

The book explores why traditional adult ballet classes often fail to provide a true technical foundation, why “posture” is not an afterthought in ballet, and why adult students need a different approach than children — one that is more explicit, analytical, structured, and body-aware.

Inside the book, you’ll be introduced to core BalletPrep™ concepts including:

• The Technical Foundation — the five-point system for organizing the body in ballet
• The Pillar — the structure that creates reliable balance and stability
• Induced Resistance — the invisible muscular engagement behind correct ballet execution
• Command Lines — simplified cues that help the body remember and apply technical instructions
• Turnout as function, not decoration — why turnout matters for muscle recruitment, alignment, and ballet mechanics
• The adult ballet education gap — why adults are often taught movements without the preparation those movements require

This is not an exercise manual or a full BalletPrep™ course. It is an introduction to the ideas behind the method — a way to understand what has often been left unexplained in adult ballet training.

If you have ever wondered why your movements do not look like your teacher’s, why ballet feels harder than it appears, or why years of adult classes may still leave you feeling technically stuck, this book was written for you.