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GETTING STARTED IN BALLET
Students from the School of Madison Ballet, Madison, Wisconsin. © 2015
Maureen Janson
 SECOND EDITION
✦
GETTING STARTED
IN BALLET
A Parent’s Guide to Dance Education

A N NA PA S K E V S K A

R E V I S E D B Y M AU R E E N JA N S O N

1
1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press

198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.

© Oxford University Press 2016

First Edition published in 1997

Second Edition published in 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior
permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law,
by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization.
Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the
Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.

You must not circulate this work in any other form

and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Paskevska, Anna.
Getting started in ballet : a parent’s guide to dance education / Anna Paskevska with Maureen
Janson. — Second edition.
pages cm
Summary: “From selecting a teacher in the early stages, to supporting a child through his
or her choice to dance professionally, Getting Started in Ballet, A Parent's Guide to Dance
Education leads parents of prospective dancers through a full range of considerations,
encouraging careful thinking and informed decision-making when embarking on dance
training”— Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–19–022619–0 (paperback) — ISBN 978–0–19–022618–3 (hardcover)
1. Ballet—Study and teaching. 2. Dance schools. I. Janson, Maureen. II. Title.
GV1788.5.P377 2016
792.8′071—dc23

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan, USA
 To Boris, Tamela and Tatiana, Theo,
Linda and little Theo and Brianna, and to Nadezhda

For Claude, Mom, and Dad

 CONTENTS

Foreword xi
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii

1. Why Dance? 1
2. Dance Training 19
3. How to Select a Teacher and School 43
4. Progression of Training 67
5. What to Wear 83
6. Parent and Teacher Relations 95
7. Recitals, Demonstrations, Competitions,
and Concerts 107
8. Avoiding Injuries 121
9. Diet and Eating Disorders 137
10. Entering the Profession 151
11. Secondary Education and Beyond 165
12. Parenting the Dancer 181
viii   | C ontents

Appendix 187
Glossary 199
Suggested Further Reading 203
Index 207
This book (particularly Chapters 8 and 9) addresses the real-
ity of injuries and eating disorders commonly associated with
the field of dance. Information presented in Getting Started
in Ballet is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for
the personalized advice given by your healthcare provider
including professional medical advice, diagnosis or treat-
ment. The information herein is not to be used for treatment
or diagnosis of a medical or health problem or disease. The
opinions expressed in the pages of Getting Started in Ballet
are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
views of other contributors or the publisher. Always seek
the advice of your healthcare provider with any questions
regarding a medical condition and never disregard profes-
sional medical advice or delay seeking it because of some-
thing you have read in Getting Started in Ballet. If you think
you have a medical emergency, call your doctor or call 911.
The authors, publishers, and agents shall not be respon-
sible or in any way liable for the continued currency of the
information or for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in
this book, where arising from negligence or otherwise or
for any consequences arising therefrom. Further, under no
circumstances shall the authors, publishers, designers, other
contributors, and staff be liable under any theory of recovery
for any damages whatsoever arising from the use of informa-
tion within.
 FOREWORD

Becoming a dancer, a lifetime quest, involves more than

talent, desire, and discipline. These are the stones for the
building of a house. They remain only that unless there is a
structure, and that cannot be accomplished without a design.
Getting Started in Ballet is a book intended to assist in the
design of a dancer’s life. Like a knowledgeable architect, Ms.
Paskevska speaks to us about the issues and concerns in the
creation of that course, so that dancers, or anyone involved
with the guidance of a dancer, can make informed decisions
each step of the way.
Getting Started in Ballet is an invaluable source book.
Using her knowledge and inspirations based on a life in
dance, professionally and personally, Ms. Paskevska guides
us developmentally through matters crucial to a dancer’s full
realization. She does this with information that is backed up
by academic research and personal anecdotes.
A true cornerstone toward a celestial architecture,
I found Getting Started in Ballet informative and enjoyable.
Violette Verdy
 PREFACE

Much has changed since this book was first published and
it is my great honor to help bring forth this second edi-
tion. Although the foundation of ballet technique train-
ing has remained virtually unaltered for centuries, over the
past 20 years (since the first issue of this book) our techno-
logically influenced world has expanded the way we give
and receive information. The overall approach to training
in ballet has been refreshed within these pages to include
supplemental dance styles and conditioning methods that
are now commonplace in dance training. Secondary educa-
tion and career opportunities in dance have grown since the
1990s, also something presented here. The infusion of these
ideas and more shed new, exciting light on Getting Started
in Ballet. At the heart of this second volume, which blends
Anna Paskevska’s original writing and philosophy with a
few upgrades and expansions, is the hope that the parents
of a novice, promising, or preprofessional dancer enter into
the art form along with their child, and do so with a solid
xiv   | P reface

understanding of and appreciation for dance, and ballet

in particular. I first met Ms. Paskevska as a student ballet
major in her classes within the dance department at Indiana
University. To say that her teaching, wisdom, kindness, dedi-
cation, and heart inspired me is an understatement. She was
a life-changing force for me. I had the good fortune to receive
her guidance through that formative time of my career,
and over the following years I grew to credit her as a men-
tor and to look to her for continued learning in dance and
in life. Having assisted Ms. Paskevska with several writing
endeavors, I was most pleased when she originally decided
to compile this book—to share with prospective dance par-
ents insights that had felt so important and influential to me,
many that I had adopted as a young teacher. This edition is
still peppered with Ms. Paskevska’s wonderful quirky anec-
dotes and sage advice, while addressing our contemporary
world in an inviting and thorough way. With a good support
network (starting with you, the parent) and a bit of knowl-
edge going in, anyone can be given the chance to experience
dance, discover its magic, and perhaps pursue it for life. It
has been an honor and pleasure to revisit and work with
Ms. Paskevska’s language, theories, and thoughts, and to help
guide them into a new context while staying true to the long-
lasting traditions of the beautiful art form of ballet.
Maureen Janson
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special thanks to Claude Heintz, Selene Carter, W. Earle

Smith, Alyssa Gunsolus, the School of Madison Ballet, Emily
Stein, Sibyl Spalinger, Lisa Thurrell, Maribeth Kisner-Griffin,
Norman Hirschy, Peg and Gene Janson, and to all who have
helped in numerous ways, especially those who patiently
listened as I discussed the many aspects and challenges of
assembling this revised edition.
In loving memory of Anna Paskevska
Students from the School of Madison Ballet, Madison, Wisconsin. © 2015
Maureen Janson
 INTRODUCTION

You want to take your child to a dance class: where do you

go? How do you know that the school presented on a website
will be suitable? Which type of classes will be most benefi-
cial? Because dancers train from an early age, the parents’
choice of a first teacher, and the advice and support through
the years of training, are central to their development. Even
if neither the child nor the parents envision dance as a pro-
fession but simply look for a meaningful extracurricular
activity, the choices are best guided by some knowledge of
the field.
The dance profession is both more exciting and more
demanding than anyone standing on the outside can appre-
hend. It is exciting not only because of the gala occasions,
but in subtle and personal ways—feeling the total stretch of
a leg, experiencing the headiness of multiple turns, arriving
at a level of technique when the motion takes over and step
follows step without conscious effort or mental deliberation.
And it is demanding because dance is all-encompassing.
xviii   | I ntroduction

Children may give up a social life to attend classes and

rehearsals and put up with tired muscles. A professional will
persevere knowing that there may be few material rewards,
little security, and possible physical discomfort. Proper
training and awareness of the obstacles can ease the dancer’s
experience.
In these pages teachers will learn to understand the role
of the dance parent, and parents will find questions answered,
concerns addressed, and an overview of the unique world
of dance.
GETTING STARTED IN BALLET
In creative movement, students learn how to express their ideas and imag-
inings, while improving balance and coordination. Students from the
School of Madison Ballet, Madison, Wisconsin. © 2015 Maureen Janson
 1
✦
WHY DANCE?

FOR HUMAN BEINGS, DANCING IS as natural as breathing.

We have forgotten how our ancestors danced or why they
danced, but children remember. My granddaughter at six
months would begin rocking as soon as she heard music.
A conversation with prospective students’ parents frequently
begins: “Jenny is always dancing, around the kitchen, in the
living room …” How old is Jenny? Typically she is about two
or three.
Why do we dance? There is no single answer to cover all
reasons. In the past, humankind danced in worship and cel-
ebration. In the Western tradition, social dance has occupied
a very special place: we dance for the pleasure it gives us. The
tradition of classical ballet has its roots in the social dances
at the courts of the European kings. We dance to entertain
others, or we dance to share our feelings or the feelings of the
role we portray. At a more pedestrian level, we dance because
it is a good exercise. We learn to dance to promote good pos-
ture, to burn off calories, to become more graceful. All of the
above reasons have one factor in common—through the act
of dance we experience a sense of communality. We share,
express, or communicate our sense of well-being through
motion.
2   | G etting Started in Ballet

When modern dance icon Isadora Duncan was asked

at what age she started dancing, she replied, “In the womb.”
Acclaimed choreographer Martha Graham said that she did
not choose to dance; dance chose her. Indeed, dance is sel-
dom a conscious decision; when the time comes to make a
commitment to serious training, the dance is in the blood
of those who have been chosen. To stop dancing seems as
inconceivable as to stop breathing.
Although not everyone is born to be a professional
dancer, dance training benefits all. It establishes an aware-
ness of the body, and an appreciation for what the body can
do. It also aids in the physical and mental development of
the child.
A study conducted by William Greenough at the
University of Illinois has linked the development of synaptic
connections in the brain to simple physical tasks repeated
many times. “When you exercise vigorously and regularly,
you are not only changing your muscles … you are chang-
ing your brain … Improving the brain’s ability to respond
efficiently to one form of exercise also prepares it to better
handle other types of physical activities” (Chicago Tribune,
1991). Greenough suggests that exercise is good because it
enlarges the brain’s capacity to respond to a variety of stim-
uli: “When the environment demands extensive repetition of
a small set of simple, well practiced movements, the vascular
support is altered to handle the increased metabolic load and
is associated with higher levels of neural activity.” In other
words, repetition of a movement practice such as the one
that ballet training provides aids the circulatory system and
in turn, the central nervous system and the brain.
The fields of science and medicine have turned to dance
in conducting studies to discover its potential to unlock
 W hy Dance ? |   3

the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease. A 2003 study pub-

lished in the New England Journal of Medicine compared
various activities for their potential to stave off dementia.
Dance emerged as the activity most likely to keep it at bay.
Promising results have also been found through recent stud-
ies using dance and movement as therapy for people with
Parkinson’s disease.
Dance is also of great benefit in the social sphere. Unlike
playing video games on a personal electronic device, chil-
dren participating in a dance class become aware of spatial
relationships and learn how to work in harmony with each
other. In this noncompetitive environment they learn about
cooperation and support of each other’s efforts. In creative
movement or preballet classes, they also learn how to express
their ideas and imaginings, thereby improving their commu-
nication skills.
In a 2015 public television special called P.S. Dance!,
Catherine Gallant, who teaches dance to kindergarten
through fifth grade at P.S. 89 Liberty School in New York City,
voices the opinion of many: that with our increasingly seden-
tary lifestyle choices, children simply need to move. “In the
past few years, the time the children spend in front of screens
has exponentially risen,” she says in an interview, “and so the
need just for unstructured play is very great.” Gallant’s cre-
ative movement approach to teaching dance provides such
unstructured play.
But learning to dance also introduces structure and
discipline—not the kind that is imposed on us, but a deep-
rooted response, an innate sense of orderliness and har-
mony. Appreciation of the visual arts, both sculpture and
painting, is spurred by dance training; dance aids recogni-
tion of form, balance, and line. Dance also encourages an
4   | G etting Started in Ballet

awareness of the rhythm in all of life and our participation

in that rhythm. Bertram Ross, a former principal mem-
ber of the Martha Graham Dance Company and a teacher
at the Graham school in New York, exclaimed during one
class: “Go to the country, go to the park, take your shoes
off, and run through the grass!” He encouraged a recon-
nection with nature in order to understand the movement
he was demonstrating. Animals in the wild do not over-
eat or oversleep; they live in harmony with their nature. It
could be argued that a lack of discipline is a sign of imbal-
ance, or, conversely, that a balanced life is a disciplined life.
When we are not in harmony with our nature, it is as if we
close the door to our inner promptings. We stay up too
late at night, feel groggy in the morning, drink too much
coffee, and then are perhaps wired up and prone to rash
decisions. We are out of balance and may act in an undisci-
plined manner. Finding balance can come in many forms.
For some it’s that trip to the country, taking shoes off, and
feeling grass caressing the toes. For others, it’s going to a
dance class.
Much has been written about the “high” that runners
experience during a vigorous race. In a subtler and perhaps a
more complete way, dancers also experience a transcendent
sensation. After a good class all worries seem manageable,
all problems solvable. During a difficult period in my life,
my mother once said to me as I was leaving for class, “Go
seek your oblivion.” She was right. Class provided solace and
grounding; in class I had a measure of control, and the physi-
cal exertion was in itself cleansing.
At many performing arts high schools, the dance stu-
dents are the most disciplined members of the school com-
munity. Typically they have a high grade-point average,
 W hy Dance ? |   5

are responsible about handing in their homework on time,

and are courteous and considerate. They form a close—but
not closed—community and are supportive of each other.
Although some will not pursue a career in dance after grad-
uation, all invest a maximum of effort in their technical
improvement and their understanding of the art form.
The Greeks knew the value of dance; not only did they
dance in worship and ritual, but they also made dance a part
of the training of athletes and warriors. Through exercise
comes control and awareness, and through control comes
a heightened sense of physicality, coordination, and grace.
In the heyday of the European Renaissance all of Europe
danced, and its courts laid the foundation of today’s ballet.
After the dark Medieval era, when asceticism, self-denial,
self-flagellation, and hairshirts had been thought to bring
one closer to God, humankind was again free to extol the
pleasure of well-being through movement. Later, at the
seventeenth-century French court of Louis XIV, courtly man-
ners were polished through the study of dance and deport-
ment. In 1661 Louis established the Academie Royale de la
Danse, marking the beginning of the separation between
professionals and amateurs. Technique developed and was
codified, a sophisticated notation system was developed, and
treatises on training were written.
Dance training has an expanded presence in our current
age of heightened awareness of and emphasis on physical fit-
ness. Many people either take up dancing for the first time
or return to it in their adulthood. They appreciate the toning
and control that dance fosters, enjoy the soothing predict-
ability of the lesson structure, and can let their imaginations
soar to the rhythms of the classical music of the ballet class or
the driving pulse of a modern or jazz dance class.
6   | G etting Started in Ballet

H I S T OR IC A L OV E RV I E W

Of the ballet, modern, tap, and jazz dance styles, ballet is

the first to have developed training methods. The rules of
the classical ballet technique are based on the motions that
are natural to human beings. For example, when we walk,
as the right foot comes forward the left arm swings forward.
From this natural action came ballet’s use of opposition.
Balance and the need to maximize the push off the floor in
jumps made us appreciate how the weight of the body affects
all movement. This knowledge resulted in dancers’ associat-
ing positions of the head and arms with specific postures or
movements of the legs in order to facilitate or counterbal-
ance motions. The use of turnout (rotating the leg outward
from the hip) came about when it was discovered that turn-
ing out the toes allowed for a variety of steps to be executed
that were otherwise either impossible or ungainly, such as
the entrechat, a jump in which the legs bypass each other in a
rapid beating motion. Louis XIV is reputed to have mastered
the entrechat six (the legs bypass each other three times dur-
ing the jump). A popular explanation for the renaming of the
entrechat trois, a single beating of the legs, is that when Louis
could no longer perform the more difficult entrechat six,
the entrechat trois became known as “royale” in order not
to offend the king. The early technique focused on intricate
footwork accompanied by graceful movements in the upper
body, head, and arms.
Costumes into the eighteenth century were rather cum-
bersome, as they followed the fashion of the day. Marie
Camargo (1710–1770) scandalized her public by shortening
her skirt to reveal her ankle and thus show off the cabriole
jumps and entrechats that she has mastered. These steps had
 W hy Dance ? |   7

previously been performed only by male dancers, whose cos-

tumes permitted a fuller view of the body as well as a broader
range of motion. Camargo’s rebellious gesture has assured
her place in the history books, but more importantly, she
opened the door for female dancers to experience the whole
breadth of the technique.
During the eighteenth century, dance’s vocabulary
of motion relied on the steps used in court dances. Dance
teachers experimented with movement to find new steps
or sequences, which they then used in the composition of
dances. Dancers were often their own choreographers, and
they favored steps in which they excelled. For example, if a
dancer pirouetted easily, he or she practiced turns and incor-
porated them into his or her compositions, utilizing them
more than other motions; thus dancers became known for
specific feats. As dance steps increased in complexity the gap
between the vocabulary of the court dances and professional
dance widened, and the need to train dancers arose. A set
vocabulary for training emerged, and exercises involving the
barre developed as a prelude for work in the center, which
became the basis for a choreographic vocabulary.
Renowned dancer Carlo Blasis (1797–1878) was con-
sidered the most influential teacher of his day. In 1830 he
published The Code of Terpsichore, a Treatise on the Art of
Dancing. In this book Blasis outlines several types of motions
still performed today, and discusses the function of the exer-
cises in limbering up for performance. These exercises form
the base of the classical ballet technique.
By the romantic era, from the 1820s, all dancers under-
went Blasis’s recommended training regimen. Marie Taglioni
(1804–1884), the epitome of the romantic ballerina, was
taught by her father, Filippo Taglioni (1777–1871). She often
8   | G etting Started in Ballet

fainted from exhaustion by the end of the two-hour classes

that he devised for her.
Ethereality and lightness were some of the essential char-
acteristics of a romantic ballerina. In order to enhance those
qualities, female dancers began to rise fleetingly on their
toes. From this physical innovation the pointe shoe devel-
oped, with its sturdy tip to protect the toes and its pliable yet
strong inner sole to support the arch. By the second half of
the nineteenth century, dancing on pointe had become an
important facet of the ballerina’s technique.
Ballet technique is ultimately adaptable to the character
of the people performing it. Thus in the late nineteenth cen-
tury, Italian dancers were known for their speed and dexter-
ity in turning, the French for their nobility, the Danish for
the lightness of their jumps. Ballet masters of the nineteenth
century traveled extensively, which accounts for the dissemi-
nation of ballet technique as well as its basic homogeneity.
This tradition of travel has persisted to our day, ensuring the
continued sharing of ideas and making dancers true citizens
of the world.
Russia had long admired the arts of Western Europe, espe-
cially those of the French. Russia routinely imported dancing
masters both to teach at the Imperial School and to produce
ballets. The man credited with the rise and preeminence of
the Russian ballet is Marius Petipa (1818–1910), who came
to Russia in 1847 as a dancer and was appointed ballet master
and choreographer in 1862. He held the position of choreog-
rapher until his retirement in 1903. Under his leadership the
foundation of the classical repertory was established, and the
rules and usages of the ballet vocabulary were firmly fixed.
Two more notable styles influenced the emergence of the
Russian style: the Danish School, represented by Christian
Another random document with
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 TO ROAST A HAUNCH OF MUTTON.[79]

79. We recommend Liebig’s directions for roasting (page 171), to be applied

here, and for the joints which follow.

This joint should be well kept, and when the larder-

accommodations of a house not are good, the butcher should be
requested to hang it the proper time. Roast it carefully at a large
sound fire, and let it remain at a considerable distance for at least a
couple of hours; then draw it nearer, but never sufficiently so to burn
or injure the fat. Keep it constantly basted; flour it soon after it is laid
to the fire, instead of frothing it, as this latter mode is not generally
relished, though fashion is in its favour. In from three and a half to
four hours, the haunch will be done, and it will require something
less of time when not kept back at first, as we have advised. Serve it
with a good Espagnole, or with plain mutton-gravy and currant-jelly.
This joint, when the meat is of very fine quality, may be dressed and
served exactly like venison.
3-1/2 to 4 hours. 5 hours or more by the slow method.
 ROAST SADDLE OF MUTTON.

This is an excellent joint, though not considered a very economical

one. It is usual for the butcher to raise the skin from it before it is
sent in, and to skewer it on again, that in the roasting the juices of
the meat may be better preserved, and the fat prevented from taking
too much colour, as this should be but delicately browned. In less
than half an hour before the mutton is done, remove the skin, and
flour the joint lightly after having basted it well. Our own great
objection to frothed meat would lead us to recommend that the skin
should be taken off half an hour earlier, and that the joint should be
kept at sufficient distance from the fire to prevent the possibility of
the fat being burned; and that something more of time should be
allowed for the roasting. With constant basting, great care, and good
management, the cook may always ensure the proper appearance of
this, or of any other joint (except, perhaps, of a haunch of venison)
without having recourse to papering or pasting, or even to replacing
the skin; but when unremitted attention cannot be given to this one
part of the dinner, it is advisable to take all precautions that can
secure it from being spoiled.
2-1/2 to 2-3/4 hours. More if very large.
 TO ROAST A LEG OF MUTTON.

In a cool and airy larder a leg of mutton will hang many days with
advantage, if the kernel be taken out, and the flap wiped very dry
when it is first brought in; and it is never tender when freshly killed: in
warm weather it should be well dredged with pepper to preserve it
from the flies. If washed before it is put upon the spit, it should be
wiped as dry as possible afterwards, and well floured soon after it is
laid to the fire. When the excellence of the joint is more regarded
than the expense of fuel, it should be roasted by what we have
denominated the slow method; that is to say, it should be kept at a
considerable distance from the fire, and remain at it four hours
instead of two: it may be drawn nearer for the last twenty or thirty
minutes to give it colour. The gravy will flow from it in great
abundance when it is cut, and the meat will be very superior to that
roasted in the usual way. When this plan is not pursued, the mutton
should still be kept quite a foot from the fire until it is heated through,
and never brought sufficiently near to scorch or to harden any part. It
should be constantly basted with its own fat, for if this be neglected,
all other precautions will fail to ensure a good roast; and after it is
dished a little fine salt should be sprinkled lightly on it, and a
spoonful or two of boiling water ladled over. This is the most
palatable mode of serving it, but it may be frothed when it is
preferred so, though we would rather recommend that the flour
should be dredged on in the first instance, as it then prevents the
juices of the meat from escaping, and forms a savoury coating to it;
while the raw taste which it so often retains with mere frothing is to
many eaters especially objectionable.
Leg of mutton, 7 to 8 lbs.: slow method 4 hours, common method
1-3/4 to 2 hours.
Obs.—Many common cooks injure their roasts exceedingly by
pouring abundance of hot water over them, “to make gravy” as they
call it. This should never be done. The use of any portion may,
perhaps, be rationally objected to; but when the joint is not carefully
cooked it is sometimes very dry without it. A few spoonsful of
Liebeg’s extract of meat will supply excellent gravy for this, or for any
other dish of roasted meat.
 BRAISED LEG OF MUTTON.

Take out the bone as far as the first joint by the directions of the
following receipt; roll some large strips of bacon in a seasoning of
mixed spice, and of savoury herbs minced extremely fine or dried
and reduced to powder, and with these lard the inside of the boned
portion of the joint; or fill the cavity with forcemeat highly seasoned
with eschalot or garlic. Sew up the meat, and place it in a braising-
pan or ham-kettle nearly of its size, with slices of bacon under and
over it, two or three onions, four or five carrots, two bay leaves, a
large bunch of savoury herbs, a few bones, or bits of undressed
mutton or veal, and about three quarters of a pint of gravy. Stew the
meat as softly as possible from four to five hours, and keep live
embers on the pan (or, as this mode of cooking is not general in
England, set the mutton, if it can be done conveniently, into a
moderately-heated oven, after having luted the edges of the vessel
in which it is arranged with a bit of coarse paste); lift it out, strain the
gravy, reduce it quickly to glaze, and brush the meat with it; or
merely strain, free it from fat, and pour it over the mutton. White
beans (haricots blancs), boiled tender and well drained, or a mild
ragout of garlic or eschalots, may be laid in the dish under it. The
joint can be braised equally well without any part of it being boned.
3 to 5 hours.
 LEG OF MUTTON BONED AND FORCED.

Select for this dish a joint of South Down or of any other delicate-
sized mutton, which has been kept sufficiently long to render it very
tender. Lay it on a clean cloth spread upon a table, and turn the
underside upwards. With a sharp-edged boning-knife cut through the
middle of the skin, from the knuckle to the first joint, and raise it from
the flesh on the side along which the bone runs, until the knife is just
above it, then cut through the flesh down to the bone; work the knife
round it in every part till you reach the socket; next remove the flat
bone from the large end of the joint, and pass the knife freely round
the remaining one, as it is not needful to take it out clear of the meat;
when you again reach the middle joint, loosen the skin round it with
great care, and the two bones can then be drawn out without being
divided. This being done, fill the cavities with the forcemeat, No. 1.
(Chapter VIII.), adding to it a somewhat high seasoning of eschalot,
garlic, or onion; or cut out with the bone, nearly a pound of the inside
of the mutton, chop it fine with six ounces of delicate striped bacon,
and mix with it thoroughly three quarters of an ounce of parsley, and
half as much of thyme and winter savoury, all minced extremely
small; a half teaspoonful of pepper (or a third as much of cayenne);
the same of mace, salt, and nutmeg, and either the grated rind of a
small lemon, or four eschalots finely shred. When the lower part of
the leg is filled, sew the skin neatly together where it has been cut
open, and tie the knuckle round tightly, to prevent the escape of the
gravy. Replace the flat bone at the large end, and with a long needle
and twine, draw the edges of the meat together over it. If it can be
done conveniently, it is better to roast the mutton thus prepared in a
cradle spit or upon a bottle-jack, with the knuckle downwards. Place
it at first far from the fire, and keep it constantly basted. It will require
nearly or quite three hours’ roasting. Remove the twine before it is
served, and send it very hot to table with some rich brown gravy.
 A BOILED LEG OF MUTTON WITH TONGUE AND TURNIPS.

(An excellent Receipt.)

Trim into handsome form a well-kept, but perfectly sweet leg of
mutton, of middling weight; wash, but do not soak it; lay it into a
vessel as nearly of its size as convenient, and pour in rather more
than sufficient cold water[80] to cover it; set it over a good fire, and
when it begins to boil take off the scum, and continue to do so until
no more appears; throw in a tablespoonful of salt (after the first
skimming), which will assist to bring it to the surface, and as soon as
the liquor is clear, add two moderate-sized onions stuck with a dozen
cloves, a large faggot of parsley, thyme, and winter savoury, and four
or five large carrots, and half an hour afterwards as many turnips.
Draw the pan to the side of the fire, and let the mutton be simmered
gently from two hours to two and a half, from the time of its first
beginning to boil. Serve it with caper, brown cucumber, or oyster
sauce. If stewed softly, as we have directed, the mutton will be found
excellent dressed thus; otherwise, it will but resemble the
unpalatable and ragged-looking joints of fast-boiled meat, so
constantly sent to table by common English cooks. Any undressed
bones of veal, mutton, or beef, boiled with the joint will improve it
much, and the liquor will then make excellent soup or bouillon. A
small smoked ox-tongue boiled very tender will generally be much
approved as an accompaniment to the mutton, though it is out of the
usual course to serve them together: innovation on established
usages is, however, sometimes to be recommended. The tongue
should be garnished with well-prepared mashed turnips, moulded
with a tablespoon into the form of a half-egg, and sent to table as hot
as possible; or the turnips may be dished apart.
80. We have left this receipt unaltered, instead of applying to it Baron Liebeg’s
directions for his improved method of boiling meat, because his objections to
the immersion of the joint in cold water are partially obviated, by its being
placed immediately over a sound fire, and heated quickly; and the mutton is
very good thus dressed.
2 to 2-1/2 hours.
 ROAST OR STEWED FILLET OF MUTTON.

Cut some inches from either end of a large and well-kept leg of
mutton, and leave the fillet shaped like one of veal. Remove the
bone, and fill the cavity with forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter VIII.), which
may be flavoured with a little minced eschalot, when its flavour is
liked: more forcemeat may be added by detaching the skin
sufficiently on the flap side to admit it. When thus prepared, the fillet
may be roasted, and served with currant-jelly and brown gravy, or
with only melted butter poured over it; or it may be stewed gently for
nearly or quite four hours, in a pint of gravy or broth, after having
been floured and browned all over in a couple of ounces of butter: it
must then be turned every hour that it may be equally done. Two or
three small onions, a faggot of herbs, a couple of carrots sliced, four
or five cloves, and twenty whole peppercorns can be added to it at
will.
Roasted 2 hours, or stewed 4 hours.
Obs.—At a large fire, half an hour less of time will roast the mutton
sufficiently for English taste in general.
 TO ROAST A LOIN OF MUTTON.

The flesh of the loin of mutton is superior to that of the leg, when
roasted; but to the frugal housekeeper this consideration is usually
overbalanced by the great weight of fat attached to it; this, however,
when economy is more considered than appearance, may be pared
off and melted down for various kitchen uses. When thus reduced in
size, the mutton will be soon roasted. If it is to be dressed in the
usual way, the butcher should be desired to take off the skin; and
care should be taken to preserve the fat from being ever so lightly
burned: it should be managed, indeed, in the same manner as the
saddle, in every respect, and carved also in the same way, either in
its entire length or in oblique slices.
Without the fat, 1 to 1-1/2 hour; with 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hour.
 TO DRESS A LOIN OF MUTTON LIKE VENISON.

Skin and bone a loin of mutton, and lay it into a stewpan, or

braising-pan, with a pint of water, a large onion stuck with a dozen
cloves, half a pint of port wine and a spoonful of vinegar; add, when
it boils, a small faggot of thyme and parsley, and some pepper and
salt: let it stew three hours, and turn it often. Make some gravy of the
bones, and add it at intervals to the mutton when required. This
receipt comes to us so strongly recommended by persons who have
partaken frequently of the dish, that we have not thought it needful to
prove it ourselves.
3 hours.
 ROAST NECK OF MUTTON.

This is a very favourite joint in many families, the flesh being more
tender and succulent than that even of the loin; and when only a
small roast is required, the best end of the neck of mutton, or the
middle, if divested of a large portion of the fat and cut into good
shape, will furnish one of appropriate size and of excellent quality.
Let the ends be cut quite even and the bones short, so as to give a
handsome squareness of form to the meat. The butcher, if directed
to do so, will chop off the chine bone, and divide the long bones
sufficiently at the joints to prevent any difficulty in separating them at
table. From four to five pounds weight of the neck will require from
an hour to an hour and a quarter of roasting at a clear and brisk, but
not fierce, fire. It should be placed at a distance until it is heated
through, and then moved nearer, and kept thoroughly basted until it
is done. Tomatas baked or roasted may be sent to table with it; or a
little plain gravy and red currant-jelly; or it may be served without
either.
When the entire joint, with the exception of the scrag-end (which
should always be taken off), is cooked, proportionate time must be
allowed for it.
 TO ROAST A SHOULDER OF MUTTON.

Flour it well, and baste it constantly with its own dripping; do not
place it close enough to the fire for the fat to be in the slightest
degree burned, or even too deeply browned. An hour and a half will
roast it, if it be of moderate size. Stewed onions are often sent to
table with it. A shoulder of mutton is sometimes boiled, and
smothered with onion sauce.
1-1/2 hour.
 THE CAVALIER’S BROIL.

Half roast or stew, or parboil, a small, or moderate-sized shoulder

of mutton; lift it into a hot dish, score it on both sides down to the
bone, season it well with fine salt and cayenne or pepper, and finish
cooking it upon the gridiron over a brisk fire. Skim the fat from any
gravy that may have flowed from it, and keep the dish which contains
it quite hot to receive the joint again. Warm a cupful of pickled
mushrooms, let a part of them be minced, and strew them over the
broil when it is ready to be served; arrange the remainder round it,
and send it instantly to table. The reader will scarcely need to be told
that this is an excellent dish.
 FORCED SHOULDER OF MUTTON.

Cut off all the flesh from the inside of the joint down to the blade-
bone, and reserve it for a separate dish. It may be lightly browned
with some turnips or carrots, or both, and made into a small harrico
or stewed simply in its own gravy, or it will make in part, a pie or
pudding. Bone the mutton (see page 219), flatten it on a table, lay
over the inside some thin and neatly-trimmed slices of striped bacon,
and spread over them some good veal forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter
VIII.) to within an inch of the outer edge; roll the joint up tightly
towards the knuckle (of which the bone may be left in or not, at
pleasure), secure it well with tape or twine, and stew it gently in good
gravy, from four hours to four and a half.
4 to 4-1/2 hours.
Obs.—In France it is usual to substitute sausage-meat for the
bacon and veal stuffing in this dish, but it does not appear to us to be
well suited to it.
 MUTTON CUTLETS STEWED IN THEIR OWN GRAVY.

(Good.)
Trim the fat entirely from some cutlets taken from the loin; just dip
them into cold water, dredge them moderately with pepper, and
plentifully on both sides with flour; rinse a thick iron saucepan with
spring water, and leave three or four tablespoonsful in it; arrange the
cutlets in one flat layer, if it can be done conveniently, and place
them over a very gentle fire; throw in a little salt when they begin to
stew, and let them simmer as softly as possible, but without ceasing,
from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. If dressed with
great care, which they require, they will be equally tender, easy of
digestion, and nutritious; and being at the same time free from
everything which can disagree with the most delicate stomach, the
receipt will be found a valuable one for invalids. The mutton should
be of good quality, but the excellence of the dish mainly depends on
its being most gently stewed; for if allowed to boil quickly all the
gravy will be dried up, and the meat will be unfit for table. The cutlets
must be turned when they are half done: two or three spoonsful of
water or gravy may be added to them should they not yield sufficient
moisture; or if closely arranged in a single layer at first, water may be
poured in to half their depth. The advantage of this receipt is, that
none of the nutriment of the meat is lost; for that which escapes from
the cutlets remains in the gravy, which should all be served with
them: any fat which may be perceived upon it should be carefully
skimmed off. Cold broth used for it instead of water will render it
extremely good.
1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hour.
 TO BROIL MUTTON CUTLETS. (ENTRÉE.)

These may be taken from the loin, or the best end of the neck, but
the former are generally preferred. Trim off a portion of the fat, or the
whole of it, unless it be liked; pepper the cutlets, heat the gridiron,
rub it with a bit of the mutton suet, broil them over a brisk fire, and
turn them often until they are done; this, for the generality of eaters,
will be in about eight minutes, if they are not more than half an inch
thick, which they should not be. French cooks season them with
pepper and salt, and brush them lightly with dissolved butter or oil,
before they are laid to the fire, and we have found the cutlets so
managed extremely good.
Lightly broiled, 7 to 8 minutes. Well done, 10 minutes.
Obs.—A cold Maître d’Hôtel sauce may be laid under the cutlets
when they are dished; or they may be served quite dry, or with brown
gravy; or with good melted butter seasoned with mushroom catsup,
cayenne, and chili vinegar or lemon-juice.
 CHINA CHILO

Mince a pound of an undressed loin or leg of mutton, with or

without a portion of its fat; mix with it two or three young lettuces
shred small, a pint of young peas, a teaspoonful of salt, half as much
pepper, four tablespoonsful of water, from two to three ounces of
good butter, and, if the flavour be liked, a few green onions minced.
Keep the whole well stirred with a fork over a clear and gentle fire
until it is quite hot, then place it closely covered by the side of the
stove, or on a high trivet, that it may stew as softly as possible for a
couple of hours. One or even two half-grown cucumbers, cut small
by scoring the ends deeply as they are sliced, or a quarter of a pint
of minced mushrooms may be added with good effect; or a
dessertspoonful of currie-powder and a large chopped onion. A dish
of boiled rice should be sent to table with it.
Mutton, 1 pint; green peas, 1 pint: young lettuces, 2; salt, 1
teaspoonful; pepper, 1/2 teaspoonful; water, 4 tablespoonsful; butter,
2 to 3 oz.: 2 hours. Varieties: cucumbers, 2; or mushrooms minced,
1/4 pint; or currie-powder, 1 dessertspoonful, and 1 large onion.
 A GOOD FAMILY STEW OF MUTTON.

Put into a broad stewpan or saucepan, a flat layer of mutton

chops, freed entirely from fat and from the greater portion of the
bone, or in preference a cutlet or two from the leg, divided into bits of
suitable size, then just dipped into cold water, seasoned with pepper,
and lightly dredged with flour; on these put a layer of mild turnips
sliced half an inch thick, and cut up into squares; then some carrots
of the same thickness, with a seasoning of salt and black pepper
between them; next, another layer of mutton, then plenty of
vegetables, and as much weak broth or cold water as will barely
cover the whole; bring them slowly to a boil, and let them just simmer
from two to three hours, according to the quantity. One or two
minced onions may be strewed between the other vegetables when
their flavour is liked. The savour of the dish will be increased by
browning the meat in a little butter before it is stewed, and still more
so by frying the vegetables lightly as well, before they are added to
it. A head or two of celery would to many tastes improve the flavour
of the whole. In summer, cucumber, green onions, shred lettuces,
and green peas may be substituted for the winter vegetables.
Mutton, free from fat, 2-1/2 lbs.; turnips, 3 lbs; carrots, 3 lbs.;
celery (if added), 2 small heads: 2 to 3 hours.
Obs.—The fat and trimmings of the mutton used for this and for
other dishes into which only the lean is admissible, may be turned to
useful account by cutting the whole up rather small, and then boiling
it in a quart of water to the pound, with a little spice, a bunch of herbs
and some salt, until the fat is nearly dissolved: the liquid will then, if
strained off and left until cold, make tolerable broth, and the cake of
fat which is on the top, if again just melted and poured free of
sediment into small pans, will serve excellently for common pies and
for frying kitchen dinners. Less water will of course produce broth of
better quality, and the addition of a small quantity of fresh meat or
bones will render it very good.
 AN IRISH STEW.

Take two pounds of small thick mutton cutlets with or without fat,
according to the taste of the persons to whom the stew is to be
served; take also four pounds of good potatoes, weighed after they
are pared; slice them thick, and put a portion of them in a flat layer
into a large thick saucepan or stewpan; season the mutton well with
pepper, and place some of it on the potatoes; cover it with another
layer, and proceed in the same manner with all, reserving plenty of
the vegetable for the top; pour in three quarters of a pint of cold
water, and add, when the stew begins to boil, an ounce of salt; let it
simmer gently for two hours, and serve it very hot. When the addition
of onion is liked, strew some minced over the potatoes.
Mutton cutlets, 2 lbs.; potatoes, 4 lbs.; pepper, 1/2 oz.; salt, 1 oz.;
water, 3/4 pint: 2 hours.
Obs.—For a real Irish stew the potatoes should be boiled to a
mash: an additional quarter of an hour may be necessary for the full
quantity here, but for half of it two hours are quite sufficient.