Legal education and ballet: an unexpected pas de deux

Abstract

Legal education has been structured around traditional doctrinal analysis and the case method. However, educating students to “think like a lawyer” requires more than mastering traditional legal skills; it also calls for creativity, adaptability, and imagination. This article reimagines legal pedagogy through the lens of ballet, a discipline that embodies the perfect balance between discipline and expressive artistry. Just as in a pas de deux, two dancers maintain distinct identities while moving in harmony, legal education must strike a balance between legal precision and legal creativity.
Building on this analogy, the article introduces pedagogical strategies such as embodied learning, frequency-building combined with improvisation, kinaesthetic empathy, and the educator as choreographer. These methods cultivate both doctrinal mastery and imaginative engagement. By adopting this model, legal education can move beyond rigidity and prepare lawyers who are technically proficient, empathetic, creative, and responsive to the complex realities of law in society.