Moomin

If she's nearly 10 she could have been doing it for nearly 8 years as there are a lot of classes that start at 2. Although I probably wouldn't have reacted the same there is some truth that ballet requires certain attributes and there are a few children just not cut out for it. Hobbies are meant to be fun!

If your primary school is purely a ballet school you have no option but to enrol in a second school to do other styles though! If they do multiple classes in anything (gymnastics, swimming, tennis, football etc!) there may be clashes in commitments, especially if there are siblings involved. If you want to change schools anyway it probably would be easier logistically to opt for a school which teaches all though

You sound like a great teacher hfbrew, do you mind me asking what area of the country you teach in?

I agree with you rosy, that's what marks out an excellent teacher from a good one to me. If you want a more systematic approach a graded syllabus may be more suitable though

Perhaps her current teacher is being a little harder on her because she knows she wants to do associates etc rather than just Dance recreationally? A class of 4 sounds fantastic and you wouldnt get so much individual attention at lots of other schools with classes of over 10. What do you think about the teacher? I think it's totally reasonable to do different subjects at different schools & my daughter does this, I wouldn't be willing to take her out of an established class but I'm not so sure about doing two exam classes for ballet. If your daughter is good & gets good marks I can see that the second school wouldn't be keen as they would want her to do exams with them. I also think that it could potentially be a little confusing at this early stage. If it were me I would start her doing a different dance style & if she doesn't get associates speak to her current teacher about her joining in an additional grade 1 or 3 class for extra ballet. If you feel that there really is a problem with her current teacher of course you should look for another school but I would be a little nervous about a school that so openly states that students mustn't do other classes, it suggests a certain attitude to me and what about associates? I think you need to speak to them about it, I can see it may be a problem in the future

The weighing in schools started purely as a public health measure and parents complained because the results were not fed back to them which is why a letter is sent out to parents now. Children themselves are not informed of results and it should be height, weight & bmi centile (bmi is not the same range as for adults & has to be plotted according to age). There will always be exceptions to any rule but bmi is pretty accurate as children and adult females generally do not have enough muscle mass to make any difference, they would have to be training for hours and hours each week. Personally if my child came back as obese (or underweight) I'd want to know about it, little changes in activity level etc can make all the difference. Certainly in junior school I was regularly weighed & measured and thought nothing of it. Even extremely young children notice differences in bodies, it can't only be me who's been red faced having had a toddler exclaim "why is that lady so fat"?!

That sounds great Lin, I was just thinking the other day how lovely it would be to go back a step and do some of the higher grades in sequence, it does make everything much easier to master. Sadly I don't think it's an option for me though. I agree that it's much easier to learn as an adult. I admire Michelle's energy, I am pretty tired and achey after one hour and a half class!

I agree at that age you do naturally begin to compare body shape as girls enter puberty some become a little plumper etc, its nothin to do with ballet although any activity where you're scantily clad you will notice other people's a shape etc. If she wasn't bothered about ballet then as pups_mum said try a different activity but I would have thought it better to confront the issue rather than sweep it under the carpet. It would be different if it was someone external telling her that she was too large. I vividly remember a day in PE at junior school when I realised that I had chunky legs, it's nothing new!

I agree with Lin that given the choice the majority would naturally gravitate towards a class of the right level as that is where they will feel most comfortable. Unless you are in a big city though there is usually no option but to join a 'general' class. Most people going to ballet have done at least a couple of years in the past and so the classes are not set up for complete beginners. I did a few years of ballet as a child and the basic technique is still there. I also think the needs of adults are rather different than those of children, the aim of dancing is not to become a professional or usually to take exams but just to enjoy and do the best that you can. I take one class which is about the right level and one which is far higher than my level purely because I love it and look forward to it all week!

With regards to health care professionals, certain professions are restricted by law and require a set educational standard and registration with a professional body (doctor, dentist, pharmacist, physiotherapist, dietician etc). Nutritionist, chiropractor, osteopath are not restricted titles and you can call yourself this with little or no training and there is no required regulation. Lots of people work in the 'medical' sector the most important thing is to recognise when to refer to someone with more expertise.

I don't think it's that similar but I'm sure she'll adapt! She may want to look at the names and positions of the arms on the Internet before she goes. I did rad ballet as a child & now do cecchetti & much prefer it, she'll have a great time x

Best of luck to your daughter, hope she gets a place. Mine also has random nosebleeds (on my cream carpet at the weekend! ) I'm sure that even flexible kids can't always do box splits without practising, they must surely be able to tell in other ways? Whatever the outcome she's done so well just to go into the audition smiling and happy

Our recent istd exams were distinction, merit etc rather than a-c.

Sorry to hear it wasn't better news, will she try elsewhere? Personally I would take artistry over ultra flexibility any day but pob are particularly known for it I guess. I'm sure that there are wonderful things for her just around the corner x

Does she have dancing friends that she can borrow them from?

Best of luck to her :-)

Perhaps you could ask the teacher to do some center work? Or at least hover your hand off the barre? It's definitely not the norm here to work purely at the barre, my daughter has been doing ballet for 3 years & is only just now starting to use the barre!

That makes sense if its not the whole back length x

I'm not sure I understand all the physique stuff as my understanding of 'long back' would be that your body is slightly longer than average and your legs slightly shorter and you couldn't have long back and long legs? I once had a ballet exercise video (yes video, it was that long ago!) made by marguerite porter and she has an extremely long back but I believe was a principal at the royal ballet. Have you auditioned at lots of different places? A lot of us love ballet but are not quite right to make it as a dancer, have you considered other avenues or dance styles? Would it be worth continuing the ballet but looking into other avenues as a back up; teaching, choreography, contemporary? X

Sorry don't know anyone but I think it's a fab idea. It might be worth thinking through the practicalities beforehand: will babies come to sessions? What will happen if mum is feeding? (you could think about having some exercises to give them whilst feeding) will there be any social aspect included eg coffee & chat afterwards(IMO quite important!). I did pregnancy yoga & postnatal buggy fit, also attempted ballet class when baby was 3 months old- not a success! If I can help send me a pm x

My Bloch shoes had pre-sewn elastics :-)

My capezios were a canvas split sole and quite wide. I didn't like them as there was absolutely no padding in the sole but depends on your preference. My Bloch ones are much nicer shoes & fit well, they do different widths too. I find freed shoes narrower than other makes even in the standard width but not sure about the mens. Somebody said grishko have more padding in the sole so I think I may try those next!

I have some capezio flats & they are very wide. I have narrow feet & have got Bloch narrow ones which fit quite well. Like the sound of the padding on grishko ones though, anyone know whether they are the same size as normal shoes?

Thanks Lin, have seen some that there are some great classes in London but its too far for me to go on a regular basis. I have young children to fit around so am a bit limited. I do one adult class and one inter/ advanced class. The teacher for that class is fab (the class is above my level really but I really like the teacher), I may see whether I can do another of her classes. I've only been back at ballet for a year so i think I will probably leave it another year and then see, definitely not strong enough atm but its an itch that needs scratching! I wonder why your teacher was so dismissive fiz? I would have thought the potential for damage must be less as an adult. Hope your new teacher is more supportive, you must let me know if you make it en pointe!

Loving all the advice :-) I think my arms are part of the problem as I can control the turn better without them. I feel much more enthusiastic to try now that I know some of what I may be doing wrong. Anjuli have you thought about compiling your articles into a book? You should if you haven't already. Could we possibly have the article on spotting next? X