hfbrew

One of my 14 year old pupils was successful.

And Jacob Wye who was also featured is with Ballet Black! Very charismatic dancer.

Congratulations to both! Ive known for a while but obviously couldn't say until it was official. I soon as I saw Anna Rose doing body conditioning in year 7 I knew she was destined to go far and made a point of finding out her name that morning!

Futher to this post I've just seen a review of Monday nights performance at Bury St Edmonds on public reviews.com rating it 4 out of 5 stars which is very gratifying. I've been afraid to post a review myself as such because I couldn't possibly be objective so its good to see the company being well received. Last night at Bury St Edmonds tomorrow, Wenesday 21st November.

I agree. Please do e mail them suggestions everyone, or even better get your local theatre to approach them. I know someone did this from Dorchester with the result that they are there on 19th and 20th December. And I will certainly pass on your suggestions pas de quatre!

All this sounds absolutely fascinating. And isn't it so the world over that prizes for anything are often subject to politics or whoever is in favour with any particular body at anyone time? Isn't it often the way that some people get credit for being the "1st" in their field when in actual fact they've been preceded by other lower profile groups? Really enjoy these posts Angela as its a reminder of the huge dance community out there- so many peoples knowledge is restricted to just the main big names(eg Bolsoi. Paris Opera, RB etc) .

Gandolfi is one of the oldest companies around. I had a fascinating chat with Mr Gandolfi at Cecchetti international competition, a real gentleman very proud of his family's heritage. But I'm afraid I don't have any experience of buying from their shop!

Ballet Theatre UK are at Bury St Edmonds until Wednesday. Saw the production on Saturday and it was lovely, a very tight clean performance despite a tiny stage at Rickmansworth. There is an excellent review from Blackpool on the company's website (blog page). Wish I knew how to do links but thought I'd mention it just in case anyone who has booked tickets wants to have an idea of the treat they are in for!

What I find gratifying about the list of contracts is that there are still so many dance companies out there offering work! Just because I haven't heard of some of them doesn't mean that they won't be any good. Whenever I get mail from Sadlers Wells I am always amazed at the variety of dance on offer and have made a more conscious effort in recent years to learn more. Many British people can only name the Royal Ballet or ENB as companies in this country so it stands to reason that many international companies are not that well known by people in this country, and vice versa. Something that has really opened my eyes these past 12 months is just how high a standard a small company has to be- there is no hiding behind a large corps if you are having an off day and thus directors of these companies really have to be very careful about who they employ, they know that their dancers have to have more stamina for starters. Lots of people my ds age who trained at top vocational schools from 11 are now working and I don't know of anyone who is dissatisfied or who feels they are in a "3rd" rate company, far from it. They all seemed to be very happy to have found jobs that best suit their personalities. My ds, despite knowing that there was at least one other company director intersted in him is extremely happy to be in a small company. He is already performing lead roles and more importantly to be in a position to be dancing at a high level every day rather than be in a large corps where it would be up to him to maintain fitness until he got his chance. He never wanted to be in a large company, its just not his style at least not at the moment.

t Whilst I agree with the other posters about the places that are more specifically contemporary schools it would be good if someone could answer the question more specifically, ie out o the three schools mentioned above, which is best for contemporary? My ds found the contemporary training at Tring very good but I know at least one of the teachers he had has left. But the training made him confident enough to go to a contemporary audition and get down to final 6-( in the end he didn't get the job because they needed someone the right ethnicity !) Lots of ex Tring stuents are at Rambert. I was talking to one only the other day who was very complimentary about the contemporary training at Tring and who was very glad to have waited two years before continuing training at Rambet rather than go at 16. Apparently the 16 year olds struggle far more with living away from home in independant accomodation at this age. Unfortunately I can't say anything about the contemporary at either Hammond or Elmhurst. But standard of the auditions will definately be pitched at advanced 1 level.

I really hope you change your mind jellybeans. I'e always thought your posts very sensible (just re read a few) and surely we need differences in opinions and experiences so that people reading this forum don't get a one sided view! You were absolutely right for example to express concern about protecting candidates identities and their schools in the recent Molly Lake thread. But I don't see that any responses to your posts have been unwelcoming, rather they have prompted very useful discussion. You do seem to be a realist and as such forums such as this really need people like you! And I agree with the other posters on here that the moderators are doing a fine job and I for one like the fact that I can now share my experiences (for example my work with teaching dance to boys) without being told off for self promotion!! Thankyou moderators, don't know how you do it. If like yesterday I'm out for the day , I find it incredibly time consuming catching up on threads- so glad that I'm doing it as part of my passion for ballet and not because I have to!

]As far as I know most of the vocational schools get visits from ADs doing the rounds and they usually watch class. They certainly don't only go to RBS. Many of the schools also have ADs and agents watching their shows

Highly likely. ADs do often come in Vocational Schools to "shop" as it were- lots of graduates over the years have got their jobs this way.If I remember rightly, Yasmin Naghi got her contact whilst still only 2nd year Upper School!

Thats brilliant news. Theres this worrying perception that somehow British students, or British trained students are not as good as other internationals which is simply not true. International students can be found at all our vocational schools which are still by and large made up of mainly British students. (except posssibility ENBS but I don't know for sure.) And isn't it better for our British students to know that they are in a course based on merit not because of Nationality? I been very lucky to be in a position that I've seen lots of young dancers at lots of schools and the British dancers are certainly holding their own. I've known some very talented individuals choose to go abroad for their first contracts rather than be in a large British company- it works both ways. Sadly the fact of the matter is is that there are simply too few jobs, especially for classical dancers in Britain. But rather encouragingly lots of British trained students of my sons age who were at British vocational schools from year 7, are in work both here and abroad. I can actually think of eight who are in British companies including Royal and ENB! Something I've learnt from the past 12 months is that for many companies its simply not about just taking the most technically dazzling or proficient more whether a dancers is actually peceived to be right for that particular company at any given time. For example a short virtuoso male dancer might be required, plus a small female to match. At one audition my ds noted that very tall girls were preferred, thus also requiring tall men. There is also the matter of personalities, I met a lovely man who had worked extensively in Germany and he said that apprenticeships were often a good way of judging individuals capacity to work and get along with others.

Well I can think of at least half a dozen straight away, including for example Ruth Bailey , Francesca Hayward, Tierney Heap and the wonderful James Hay. And thats before looking at the list of current dancers! Incidently some of the international dancers (Laura Morera for example) did actually train at both lower and upper school.

Definately true, There have always been lots of international students at ENBS. Same is true of RBS Upper school but they do seem to have more British students actually graduating.

Absolutely right. You should be able to feel the floor and be aware of what the feer are doing inside the shoe. Now I do allow ouch pouches etc if a student wishes because I don't believe in making students, especially new comers to pointe, suffer more discomfort than necessary. However Ive found that students who have complained about cramped feet invariably have had too much stuffed inside their shoes and they've usually been better off without so much!

I assure you they are. And although pointe work is started in year 7, a student who is not yet considered ready will not be allowed pointe shoes although this is rare because of the rigorous selection process the girls went through in the first place to get in. Great emphasis is placed on body conditioning and pilates exercises so at least half an hour of morning class is done in bare feet which are carefully watched. Those who were previously jas will have also done a lot of foot strengthening exercises (boys as well.) Incidently boys get fitted for shoes too. And sometimes a fitter will be able to tell straight away if a shoe is correct. Others take longer.

You are right. And sometimes graduates leave to go elsewhere or re train, others stay another year if they havn't been able to find a job. Many times or example the RBS have claimed 100 employment but this isn't the complete picture And yes, some students are only there for a matter of months before getting contracts. I believe all the schools have pretty much the same success rate in this very tough job market and the standard of the graduates is high accross the board but there are a variety of reasons as to why they don't all find employment which should not be seen as a reflection on themselves or the schools. It really is tough out there.

Gosh Julie, think it s easier to be a ballet dancer!!!

I personally think one, maybe two lessons a week is plenty at this age with perhaps either tap or modern so that she has a bit of variety.

clear wax on leather shoes. A tip I learnt in the shoe trade many moons ago...

Forgot to mention Capitol Theatre in Horsham on Thursday 15th November. Mind you only about 40 seats left!

So glad you enjoyed it Stirrups, I did too and I totally agree with all your comments! Ballet Theatre UK are in Bracknell tomorrow, nearly sold out I understand. But there are plenty of seats in Blackpool this coming Tuesday, likewise Monmouth on Friday and Rickmansworth on Saturday I notice. Go on folks, support a valiant British ballet company!

I vividly remember eating garibaldi biscuits at WL. I had to text my mum and tell her because its a family joke that she takes them everywhere, even up Welsh mountains!