Benesh for Ballet: Book 4

Rymans’ Benesh for Ballet series teaches you how to read Benesh Movement Notation (BMN) using words, images, animations, and notated examples. The interactive features and reviews challenge you to learn BMN theory while brushing up on ballet vocabulary and pedagogy.


This is the fourth book in the series. Book 4 focuses on sequences that travel around the performing area. No previous knowledge of BMN is needed to read the first three chapters that introduce stage plans and also location and travel signs. These chapters are directed to dancers, choreographers, actors, stage managers, and theatrical stagers, as well as ballet students and teachers. The final two chapters build on theory covered in Books 1-3 by presenting sequences with jumps, steps, and slides that travel around the performing area, geared to ballet students and teachers. Book 4 also contains DanceForms animations, interactive puzzles, and an extensive Glossary of definitions and cross-references of ballet terms from the three "schools" of ballet (English, Italian, and Russian) covered in Books 1-4.


Book 1 introduces the fundamental concepts of BMN. You'll learn to read basic ballet positions of the feet, arms, and body, as performed in the three "schools." Book 2 presents the five basic categories of jumps so you can explore allegro steps and sequences without travel, timed to music. Book 3 prepares you to read notated examples of centre work and repeated sequences. By reading phrases repeated with slight differences, you’ll learn to recognize the structure of a basic phrase and understand how it can be varied. Book 4 caps the series by presenting challenging sequences that traverse the performing area.