Publications
New Book: Humanizing Ballet Pedagogies: Philosophies, Perspectives, and Praxis for Teaching Ballet. London: Routledge, 2025.
In Humanizing Ballet Pedagogies, Jessica Zeller offers a new take on the ballet pedagogy manual, examining how and why ballet pedagogies develop, considering their implications for students and teachers, and proposing processes by which readers can enact humanizing, equitable approaches.
Reviewed in the Journal of Dance Education:
A “call-to-action for teachers of all dance genres and in all contexts to reflect upon the potential of humanizing our pedagogy for dance students.” —Sherrie Barr
Reviewed in Dance Chronicle:
“Humanizing Ballet Pedagogies is ultimately a clarion call for dance teachers to think critically about why they teach ballet in specific ways and to get to know the people in the room.” —Steven Ha
Book: Shapes of American Ballet: Teachers and Training Before Balanchine. Oxford University Press, 2016.
"At last we've a serious examination by Jessica Zeller of seven brave and resourceful ballet teachers from Russia and Italy who came here to initiate and catalyze their ballet traditions. It's been a missing link in studies of the major influences on the creation of our unique, contemporary American ballet. Located in New York City, their schools tempered and molded both the athletic bodies of Americans, and in so doing affected the bold choreography of our artists. Zeller's fluid and judicious writing brings to light the energy and pathos of early twentieth century dance history." –Judith Chazin-Bennahum
Anthology Chapter:
“‘Trust That I Know My Body’: Student Agency and Autonomy in the Ballet Class.” In The Oxford Handbook of Ballet Pedagogy. Edited by Adesola Akinleye and Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel. New York: Oxford University Press, 2026.
Anthology Chapter:
“‘Can you feel it?’: Pioneering Pedagogies that Challenge Ballet’s Authoritarian Traditions.” In (Re:) Claiming Ballet. Edited by Adesola Akinleye. 172-188. Chicago: Intellect Press, 2021.
Anthology Chapter:
“Pedagogy as Protest: Reimagining the Center.” In Hybrid Teaching: Pedagogy, People, and Politics. Edited by Chris Friend. Hybrid Pedagogy. 117-120. Washington, D.C.: Hybrid Pedagogy, Inc., 2021. (Based on my June 2020 post with the same title.)
Journal Article:
“Reflective Practice in the Ballet Class: Bringing Progressive Pedagogy to the Classical Tradition.” Journal of Dance Education 17.3 (2017): 99-105.
Journal Article:
“On Dance Pedagogy and Embodiment.” Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies 38. Society of Dance History Scholars. 2017. 17-20.
Journal Article:
“Luigi Albertieri: Bringing Italian Traditions to American Ballet.” Dance Chronicle 38.1 (2015): 55-80.
Anthology Chapter:
“Developing the American Ballet Dancer: The Pedagogical Lineage of Rochelle Zide-Booth.” In Dance on Its Own Terms: Histories and Methodologies. Edited by Melanie Bales and Karen Eliot. Oxford University Press, 2013.
Journal Article:
“Teaching Through Time: Tracing Ballet’s Pedagogical Lineage in the Work of Maggie Black.” Dance Chronicle 32.1 (2009): 57-88.