Moomin

Well said anjuli. Hope you are feeling better x

Thanks for posting that balleteacher, very helpful. Tamara rojo is amazing in the fouetté clip. Turning is not my strong point!

Sending much love to you, anjuli xxx

Thank you, you're all fab! X

Bogeyman soup sounds interesting, I will definitely have a look thanks amethyst. I am quite relaxed about her eating, I believe everything in moderation too, she doesn't like chips though! (and I would end up eating them ;-) ).

I wish there was a standardised ballet language! My understanding is that a dégagé in cechetti method is the same as a glisse in rad etc- just off the floor. Battement Jete is the higher one.

One of my parents came with me to my university open days and that was 20 years ago, it was the norm amongst friends and the majority of people I saw there. Big decision at 16/17 and I wanted a second opinion I guess (and of course they were contributing financially!). It definitely wasn't a lack of independence as I chose to move to London from a small town and never looked back or felt homesick really!

Not sure if this link will help fiz, there are quite a number on there but you could ask for allergy testing? http://www.m.webmd.com/allergies/latex-allergies?page=7

They contain latex like proteins Lin. It's also avocados and kiwi fruit, may be others I can't remember (not allergic myself). It's a tricky allergy to have as latex can be in so many things in the home; carpet backings, chairs etc so it is quite difficult to avoid

Are you allergic to latex fiz? There is cross sensitivity between that and bananas x

Lots of good ideas thank you. I hadn't thought about a tray but that would definitely be a very good idea

It wasn't an absolute first for me but I had a 20 year gap. Thoughts at first class; I am so unfit, I will never be able to do this, my brain can't work fast enough to make my feet move but also I love this! Fears; everyone will laugh at me looking like a hippopotamus doing ballet! I will fall over. I will not ever improve :-( (which of course I did but the first few months often felt like I hadn't) I went back because I remembered just how much I loved to dance and how much I've missed it. I have always deeply regretted giving up and my older, wiser self was not about to let that happen again, even though I felt a bit embarassed by my performance and my wobbly bits!

She is only 7 and she won't get home until about 7pm so I don't think she'd last until afterwards. My younger daughter has a lesson first so she has around an hour to eat & digest. Thanks for the links will definitely get one of those food flasks, pasta, rice etc always goes done well. I love home made muesli too Janet, it is one of the few things that keep me going til lunch. Currently adding dates, pumpkin seeds and pecans, I like it with pouring yogurt instead of milk too. Lin you must be starving! I get so grumpy when I'm hungry, I always have to eat before ballet! Kitsch queen if you have time to share your chicken recipe that would be lovely, the slow cooker definitely comes in handy round here!

No, unfortunately no microwave etc. soup would be nice, would have to be Heinz tomato to meet with approval though!

I'm going to have to start taking dinners for my daughter to eat before her class as we haven't got time to come home. Does anyone have any good ideas? Would prefer something hot and filling, having a hot school lunch and sandwich later is not an option. Thank you!

A few of the Bolshoi corps were distinctly wobbly in that piece!

Amazing for only 3 years experience, well done! I particularly noticed that the arms were nicely held (I have a thing for arms recently!).Your partner is a beautiful dancer too

Whilst I agree that there are good and not so good professionals of all types if I go to see a solicitor or a nurse or a physio etc I know that they have at least met a minimum standard of education and training and that they are regulated so that there are sanctions in place if they step out of line. The piece of paper may not make much difference to the teaching but it does protect the public from charlatans and ensures a minimum standard. I feel it is a bit different for vocational schools as they would have their own internal methods to ensure quality teaching and the students would be more aware themselves. I am interested to know anjuli, how do people choose ballet teachers in the US and know that they are getting quality training? Perhaps there are other things that they consider which we don't?

What tape are you using? Do you think it's sore because of the tape being on or that it's getting irritated when you're pulling it off ? ( in which case I'd get some proper plaster remover)

Out of sheer nosiness I had a look at the height/weight charts, how bizarre! They have a difference between max & min height of 3cm but that spans the entire year, so for example a girl 8 years 1 month of 135 cm is ok but one of 8 years 11 months of 136cm is not, although they are actually shorter or am I being stupid? Similar thing with weight and those dancing say 10 hours a week will surely have a bigger muscle mass than those dancing 2 hours a week.

Hello! Have you asked her teacher for advice? That would be my starting point but I'm sure others will have advice to share. It probably also depends on where you can realistically travel to?

After the first sentence I probably should have qualified that my children are only little and I'm not expecting them to have any career in dance (which the vast majority of students won't). I can see that if you had older children who were considering it as a career the answer may be slightly different although I'm not sure I would need every teacher to have that experience. If they were at that stage I would guess they would have more than one teacher from associates or vocational school etc and the performance aspect should come in somewhere but I wouldn't need every teacher to have that experience.

I think the answer problem varies somewhat with the age of the child and what aim you have in mind. I would look for a qualification from an accredited course and membership of one of the societies. Within that I would have a hierarchy based on personal opinion of which methods I prefer. Apart from that I would look for ability to bond with and understand children, ability to maintain a good learning environment in the classroom (kind but with a good ability to maintain discipline!), a love of and passion for dance, a keen eye and ability to correct mistakes. I would also look to see whether any pupils had gone on to careers in ballet. I don't think having had a professional career is essential or even one of my more desirable prerequisites. Some people are naturally good at teaching others that is true but I think a teaching course is always going to make someone a better teacher than they would have been without it.

Mine's not great either. My hips took a but of a battering in pregnancy & anything which involves turning the leg in the socket is definitely more difficult than it used to be! When you say non existent, do you have any turnout at all? I'm not sure that you can increase the actual turnout but as you build strength you will be able to hold it at the maximum of your potential turnout which you are probably not at the moment. As long as you can turn out a bit I don't thing it is a serious impediment to doing an adult class, almost the entire class willbe working with some type of restriction and a good teacher will not push you past your limitations. You obviously danced quite a bit as a child so I'm sure you will quickly get back into it.

Balleteacher your advice is appreciated and respected by myself and many others please keep contributing. I work in health care, some people will not take advice ever, others will not show it outwardly but it has caused some self reflection. You can only do your best. David I have searched for bikram yoga classes but apparently it hasn't made it out to the sticks yet! Shame as it sounds good, especially on a cold winter day!