Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>The 21st century has ushered in a movement toward student agency and autonomy in ballet—an important departure from the authoritarian pedagogical practices that have long been in use across the field. Drawing on concepts from critical and feminist pedagogical approaches, this chapter builds on these emerging dialogues and uses student perspectives as catalysts for further development. It incorporates survey data from student respondents who envision and describe what autonomy in the ballet class could look like, and it thus offers a clear imperative to ballet pedagogues: to design approaches to the study of ballet that honor students’ wholeness, humanity, and individuality, from their unique bodies and artistic perspectives to their personal goals and aspirations. Psychologist Albert Bandura’s four “core properties of human agency” serve as a framework for developing praxis-based approaches in ballet that respect student perspectives and establish conditions that support student autonomy.</jats:p>