Pas de Quatre

The original school was founded by Marika Bessobrasava a Russian dancer. At first it was in her own name and later became the Princess Grace Academy. For over 50 years it has been one of the foremost ballet schools, and as has been said previously extremely hard to get into. When I worked in France, one of my friends was Japanese and had trained there, and the AD of our company was a great friend and admirer of Marika. I fear the ballet training in UK simply does not have enough hours. My nephew is a promising young adult swimmer (competes at a National level) and the hours he has put in are phenomenal. Poolside 6 am 3 weekdays before school. After school some evenings too, with dry land and pool training at weekends. Likewise, gymnastics training involves many more hours than ballet/dance.

Yes, Francesca Hayward may may have been born in Kenya, but she was brought up in England by her paternal grandparents. She and the other principals Kerfuffle mentions, Yasmine and Anna-Rose were trained when Gailene Stock headed RBS. Things have changed in the intervening years.

There is a certain kudos to being a JA of RBS. Also, the classes are aimed to prepare dancers for RBS auditions.

Good idea re feminine items balletbean. The excitement and stress can bring it on, whether the first time or periods are established. As a teacher I always had a supplementary "first aid" kit for exams and performances.

Notepad/exercise book/drawing paper with pens, pencils and crayons. Small sewing kit. Favourite cuddly toy or mascot.

There were some major problems at Tring a few years ago, a search on this board should find the discussions. The Director of Dance at the time was effictively relieved of her duties after a snap Ofsted inspection prompted by parental complaints. The new Co-Directors of Dance who are currently in post are excellent and the standards are high. Just checked Tring's website and will update this. Antony Dowson and Lorraine Jones were originially Co-Directors of Dance but their functions have now been separated. Antony Dowson is Artistic Director of the Encore and Graduate programmes, and Lorraine Jones is Director of the Dance Course, Head of Dance.

Maybe they time it to coincide with company and academic years in the northern hemisphere, to make life easier for everyone.

Contemporary isn't necessary at such a young age. It would be better to spread out to four sessions rather than do two long ones. All bodies, but in particular growing children need recovery time after exercise - less really is more!

I think it is the sheer logistics of travel, so RB limit it to people who don't live too far away. Years ago one of my boy JAs was invited to audition to be a page in Sleeping Beauty or Swan Lake (not sure which). His JA teacher warned it was quite a commitment and when the parents saw the schedule of rehearsals and performances they decided it would be too much.

I am another who recommends Kings, as a fellow teacher rather than because I have a DC or pupil there.

I imagine that like every organisation there are budget constraints. It is not unknown for dancers to step down a level and take a pay cut to be able to join a particular company. Was writing at the same time as you Sabine.

One pupil attending one class is OK, it is when there are too many, lots of whom aren't serious. With regard to Associates and Intensives, a good rule of thumb is whether they are a well known and/or only take pupils after a rigorous audition process. Not those spurious ones that are just trawling in their local area.

No LinMM, poaching is when teachers actively encourage pupils from other schools to switch, by starting Associate schemes, performance clubs, and even contacting direct on social media. What doesn't seem to be understood is how disruptive trial classes can be for existing pupils.

Surely if you have a borderline abusive teacher you would be handing in your notice anyway! It is not possessive just professional, to expect parents to respect notice periods. Dance teachers are usually planning months ahead, for associate auditions, exam sessions, for shows, masterclasses etc, and they really don't want to be mucked around.

How many schools have you trialled? The sort of commitment is giving notice at the current school. Many schools used to give free trials, but don't anymore and some even charge a higher rate than a single class which will be set against the fees if the pupil enrols. If it is just a case of seeing if the grass is greener then it can be annoying. I have now retired from full time teaching, but I could usually tell within a minute or two on the initial telephone enquiry whether it was likely to work!

Alison, you are right it is a matter of professional courtesy. Many schools continue for decades and the relationship between them is important and can last a very long time. Word soon gets round if a teacher behaves unprofessionally, and it seems "poaching" is more common these days. On the other hand, teachers all suffer from time-wasters too. People who want to come for a trial class but don't turn up, or take the class with little intention of continuing. So do not be surprised if teachers want some sign of commitment before offering a trial.

If the school doesn't do any exams, are they affiliated to, or validated by, any reputable organisation? What qualifications do the teachers hold. Are insurance and safeguarding such as DBS in place?

It rather depends on what you and your daughter are looking for. This sounds like a school that is more interested in short term goals, prizes and social media acclaim, rather than the slow and methodical training needed to produce good technique and a possible future career.

When you say 'weight bearing exercises' do you actually mean working with weights? There is a lot of confusion about this term which basically means you are on your feet - as in running, dancing, playing most sports on a court or field etc. Non-weight bearing means activities such as cycling, swimming, rowing, sitting in the various gym machines. The former are essential for bone maintenance and to avoid osteoporosis, the latter are good for cardio and targeting specific muscle groups, or for when recovering from injury.

Do you have a branch of Cook near you? They may have something suitable.

Thanks Bluebird. Yes it was the trailer in the email.

Sorry Emeralds, I disagree. Rudolph Nureyev was only 5' 8". One of his first partners in the West was Svetlana Beriosova who was exactly the same height, so taller when on pointe. They danced beautifully together and coped with the height issue. However, it was felt he was a better match with Margot Fonteyn who was 5' 3", so would have been nearly as tall as him when on pointe. He went on to forge a great working partnership with Patricia Ruanne and she was Juliet to his Romeo in his version of the ballet for ENB. I don't know her height, but would have put her as fairly tall, not tiny. Baryshnikov was an inch or two smaller, but partnered a variety of ballerinas. My own feeling is that both of these famous male dancers had a strong muscular physique which is perhaps enabled them to be such good partners as well as having wonderful technique. I have just been watching the trailer for the Australian's ballet's live stream, and noticed that in the couple who are dancing Diamonds (not named) she is taller than him on pointe. The finger turn issue doesn't arise as both dancers have their arms raised above their heads and it is easy to adjust the curve at the elbow.

Going back to the question of Lauretta's height, I asked my DD who did various courses with her (although DD was in younger groups). She thought around 5' 6" - 5' 8" which agrees with my estimate.

I have very much enjoyed ENB's dancing for years. Individual dancers at RB may be amazing, and some productions are too, but I don't much care for any of RB's productions of the major classics. They often feel very turgid. BRB and ENB seem much better. Will I be burnt at the stake now for heresy?

The use of apprentices, stagiaires in France, has been normal for decades. When I first auditioned for professional jobs, my teacher warned me that as a first employment I might only be offered an apprentice position, but to accept if I liked the company. In fact I got a full contract in a smaller company and moved to a full contract in a larger company the following year, where there were indeed two apprentices. They were paid less, but gained full contracts the following year. Of course some places are abusing the system now and exploiting the dancers, but not all.