Moomin

You can get basic tap shoes for around £10. My little one has porselli brand ones with toe tap for £9.50 and my elder one has capezio tele tone toe & heel which were less than £15 and sound much nicer! If she's keen to try I would have thought it would be much more fun if she has the actual taps on her shoes? If your dance school does 2nd hand sales they may have some?

I'm sorry that you feel like that Michelle, I can't remember all the posts you refer to but honestly I did think one of your posts came across a little rude but that is the problem with something like this. I'm sure I read it with a meaning that wasn't intended. Nothing wrong with a bit of straight talking! I don't get time to read all the posts but I do enjoy hearing about your various classes and rehearsals and find it useful so I will make more effort to reply, I do hope you will continue to post. Lin I haven't been up to much ballet wise, class finished for summer. I have vowed to try and stay fit (ish!) this year though and have got the cecchetti syllabus DVD to work on. Thought it would help to go back to basics as I've jumped back into ballet at a much higher level than I left! All the workshops and summer schools that people are doing sound amazing and I will definitely look forward to reading some write ups. I've already got loads of family things planned this year but with some forward planning reckon I might be able to squeeze one or two in next year :-) sorry to hear that your leg/ pelvis is playing up, I hope the osteopath gets you sorted out very soon x

It's very quiet on this thread, how is everyone? Michelle how did the rest of your performances go? Fiz are you pleased with your new leos? There are some gorgeous colours available but I need to wear black tights as my legs are 'large' and a bit wobbly so bit restricted with the leotard colours! Have you done your pirouette course now Lin?

She's amazing in that film. I wonder how many hours a week she was dancing

Sounds like you will be spending a lot of time at the dance studios! I'm sure the other mum will find something else to fret about, do you see much of the other mums? Can you go have a coffee or something whilst she dances to get away frOm there?

For istd exam it went above the bun, I suppose it can be seen more easily?

She sounds absolutely amazing, Long may her good health continue x

I agree that I would just presume a younger child was talented & doing more classes because they wanted to pursue their dancing beyond recreational level. I don't think many parents would be too bothered or even particularly notice tbh. Unless it was a competition I would think it totally unfair for one child doing the same class as another to be given 5 dances more to do. Understandable to put the better ones in the front but they should all be in the same dances, if parents are all paying for classes I just think its fair, nothing to do with jealousy x

I certainly wouldn't go elsewhere if you're happy with the teacher etc. perhaps say something to the teacher, no need to mention which mum is causing a fuss (for the sake of her daughter not the mum!) and she can address any reservations from parents. I shouldn't think most are worried by it though, you just get the odd person who likes to be unpleasant, if it wasn't about this it would be something else! Does the teacher offer extra lessons for quicker progression to all students or just those who she has identified as talented?

I can understand that the other mum may have concerns that a much younger child who has only just taken grade one is joining a grade 3 class. Is she aware that your daughter is doing lots of extra dancing? Totally out of order to speak to you or especially to your daughter about it though, that is just spiteful. I presume she's doing the grade 3 class because her teacher only offers one grade 2 class so not much you can do other than ignore her, I'm sure it will all blow over during the summer holidays.

I can understand that the other mum may have concerns that a much younger child who has only just taken grade one is joining a grade 3 class. Is she aware that your Da

I think there is a distinction between general rudeness (talking, messing about etc) and the general etiquette of ballet. The first I think is up to the teacher to manage as every adult knows that is rude behaviour and they will be disrupting those who want to learn. Pointers on the second would be very useful as many of us may be doing things unintentionally! To a certain degree I think expectations for punctuality and dress/ hair etc have to be relaxed for an adult class but most things probably the same as for children?

Definitely go back, it's good for the soul as well as the body! There are a few ladies in their 60s who are regulars at my classes and they are lovely dancers. When I started dancing again it really was like something had been missing from my life and I can't imagine ever giving up again, not the most musical or technically proficient person but hey what does that matter!

We saw Nancy in sleeping beauty last year (bluebird), she really shone, a fantastic dancer I thought. I was a little disappointed in ENB as a whole this time but might have to give them another go if she's dancing the lead!

I'd just like to take the opportunity to say thank you for the excellent advice given to me on here and especially to anjuli for her excellent pieces about pirouettes and adult ballet. I appreciate all the teachers (and others) have taken time out to do this as I am not a student of theirs and they are under no obligation to do so, nor are they receiving any recompense for their time.

I wonder how rbs can justify organising lessons where children will regularly have to miss an entire day of school. Surely they could organise it for weekends or evenings. Bizarre!

Not too keen on the shorter stiff ones either, I do like the old fashioned shorter but softer style, like in degas' paintings :-)

I like the romantic style tutus. Giselle is my favourite ballet so that would do me. Not sure what it would look like with a sports bra under though......

I've always been told that it's expected that you should do 10 minutes aerobic exercise before class to get the blood flowing to your muscles. I think it's useful to incorporate it into an adult class as most people have probably rushed there from work or other commitments and haven't had time to warm up. I've never stretched prior to class and wouldn't personally as it risks injury and the last thing I want is to be hobbling about in pain for weeks! Sometimes I will do a roll down through the spine but I can get fingertips to floor without stretching so it does depend on your body, although its also difficult for me to imagine that splits are not stretching for anybody!

I keep meaning to ask, does anyone else find that they really ache after their classes? I'm reasonably fit & only in my 30s but I don't remember feeling like this when I did ballet as a child!

There's a fine line between acceptable last minute changes because something has gone wrong or is not working and just poor organisational skills. For instance if there was a problem with the costumes that has caused them to be late, no-one minds but if it's just that they haven't been ordered on time that's annoying. There is a difference between a professional dancer in paid employment and a ballet student who is, after all, a paying customer. If a school want to be successful they do have to concentrate on the customers & reply to emails promptly etc. I have made enquiries at more than one place where they haven't even got back to me, it's no coincidence that the dance schools we use are those that are organised and efficient! when things do go wrong or things have to be changed its no problem because it's not a regular occurrence you know there must be a reason for it.

It probably comes down partly to different learning styles but I prefer demonstrations to verbal explanations. A lot of teachers seem reluctant to be 'hands on' but being 'moved' into the correct position also often helps more than being told something. I'm not sure what the reluctance is, when I go to Pilates/ yoga the teacher usually just asks everyone to let them know if they'd rather not be touched which seems to work well. I'm definitely a right turner too!

You could also write the name on with a sharpie pen or similar for a cheaper option!

You can get little rivets to attach name labels to clothes or I think stuck on you do stick on clothing labels if that helps. I would imagine the sewing would come in handy for shoe elastics and holes in tights as well though!

Perhaps there were circumstances behind the decision such as health problems or injuries? The career of a ballet dancer is fairly short and I'm sure it would be easier to retrain at 23 than at 33. I'm not likely to ever be in that situation but I think the thing that I would be most upset about is that my child had been a border (presumably) at elmhurst and I had missed out on all that time with them. I'm sure midwifery is more financially stable etc so in some ways I would be glad of the career change!