Moomin

They seem fairly pricey. Anyone know how they compare to the enb ones? Are they based on rad technique? to be fair I'd only generally tell my friends of my whereabouts too!

I would also highly recommend dancique. Glad she got sorted!

The cecchetti syllabus is very balanced in that all of the centre work will incorporate under/over, devant/ derrière etc. Either within the same exercise (e.g. Jete derriere going straight into devant half way through) or the exercise is repeated. Free enchainement from all steps learnt from grade 1 too so it's less of a big deal!

How about you have her put both toe pads on one foot and then try pointe on that foot? If her foot has grown it's likely to make the pain worse, if it's an ingrown nail the pain is unlikely to subside but if she's sinking it will probably feel better? Box liners are much better to dance in than trying to wear 2 sets of toe pads though imo. Sounds like your best bet is to go to the shop and hopefully they can adjust the shoes that she has otherwise I guess your only option is new shoes ☹️

Yes I love Russian pointes but they always stretch and I end up sinking too. Same as your daughter it's a sudden thing and they're not soft just a little worn in. I definitely wouldn't want new shoes just before an exam either, I would ask to try a box liner if possible. I've had shoes that have got soft enough on the platform for my toes to start hurting but at that point it was obvious that they were soft and flexible. Russian pointe platforms are really hard though, I've never had them go soft, they always soften in the wings & shank well before then!

I was wondering if they'd widened too as this happens to me! I put a box liner in which isn't an ideal fit but would certainly save them this time. I find some brands worse than others for this. If you get her to put them on see how much material you can pinch at the back. If there's none she's probably grown out of them, if there's more than a small pinch she's probably sinking

Have you felt them, do they feel soft? How much has she worn them? What brand are they?

Fabulous, he deserves it!

I meant other styles of classical- Russian, cecchetti, Balanchine, French, danish etc. Whatever you can find really! They are all really quite different and it's great to try them and compare once you've got to a certain point in a syllabus. The world is your oyster so to speak!

Grade 6 is a level 3 qualification too. You may like to try some different styles of ballet although I understand why you would want to stick with your teacher if she's very supportive

I watched some of it back and there are some differences in head position, epaulement etc at times. I don't know enough about vaganova to know which is the 'correct' technique or whether there is room for interpretation within the technique.

He was amazing! I loved his line and musicality but did feel that maybe one or two of the others struggled a little with the tempo in places but if their earlier training was at a slower tempo that's understandable. I'm not a professional but I'd tend to agree that it didn't look like the usual vaganova style to me. However I thought it was much more enjoyable to watch and sometimes small changes are for the good! The mariinsky isn't a particularly exciting company for me at the moment(just a personal opinion), maybe this is what's needed?

Sophie you come across very well in your interviews. I am certainly glad that nobody is analysing my dance ability on the internet! I've watched some of the syllabus films with kids in them and people are similarly cruel. It says a lot about them as a person, there are many people on the internet I would not wish to know in real life! I can imagine that it's a very difficult time with the hormone treatment. You may gain some flexibility but the strength to control it will be more difficult! You have a lifetime, no need to speed through the grades. It is frustrating but you will get there. Have you only been learning ballet for 3 years?

Yes, I don't think they did you justice in the news clip! 57 is an amazing mark, you should be very proud, congratulations! On to intermediate now?

Surely it wasn't IF taken? Or did I miss that part? I feel the transgender thing is nothing to do with ballet really. Nobody would change gender just because they wanted to dance but a transgender person may well happen to like ballet! It's great that adults take exams but the marking should be exactly the same as for a young person, this is my experience and sorry don't wish to offend but that didn't look like vocational or higher grade standard.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/balletclassroom.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/ballet-positions-of-the-body/amp/

If you've had a word and it doesn't happen again I'd let it go. It may not have been said exactly how reported or maybe it was just a lapse in judgement but if you're otherwise happy maybe see how it goes?

No, I'd say it's definitely not standard but I'm not trying to imply there's anything wrong with it either! I think the 'norm' would be 2x 45min- 1 hour for lower grades and the more talented ones could be associates or joining youth ballets etc. If your daughter wants to join lots of youth ballets it's also worth baring in mind that the rehearsal schedules themselves are quite punishing and will give her a lot of extra dance hours. If a long class suits you and her no problem but I think it is more usual to do shorter classes more frequently and you may find the progress is better doing 2 shorter lessons than 1 long one.

Didn't realise she was that young, no she won't have done it yet. I don't think it's taught until about grade 5 or 6. It's tricky to get right with the head as shown in the pic! Perhaps they are looking for a squarer 4 th position. It's difficult to know without pictures isn't it!

Does she go somewhere very competitive? I bet it is quite upsetting for her, at 8 it's not even like she has any control over how many classes she does! I think most schools would have the younger ones doing 2x 45 minute classes rather than 90 minutes, any child would find that a long time to fully concentrate and keep the energy levels up after a day at school!

Google told me (is which may or may not be based on reality!) that 3% of the uk is made up of 'black' minorities and 8% Asian/ oriental. So maybe the percentages in companies are not out of kilter? Particularly for the Asian/ oriental category there may be a higher percentage in ballet companies than in the general population?

The key point for me is that she doesn't particularly enjoy tap! It make her more versatile (but I don't think many ballet opportunities require tap) but the same could be said for other dance types, gymnastics, singing, drama....etc, and she may even enjoy one of those!

Has your daughter covered efface yet? The 2nd pic is very similar to a cecchetti efface arm position. A 4th en haut with back arm in second would look very wrong to me but I'm sure if it's vaugely the position shown you wouldn't be penalised!

Dance is all about an expression of music to me, if the whole class is filled with Muzak that belongs in a lift it's not likely to be a good class for me regardless of whether the tempo is correct! An occasional burst of blackadder or flintstones played on a real piano sounds fab, an entire class of a cd of synthesised pop 'classics' not so much!

Ballet class is an escape from the children, there should definitely be no Frozen played. Ever!