petipacat

Fantastic news LB I hope your journey with ENB is fantastic and that you love every minute x

Yes good luck ,unfortunately it looks like rain yuck yuck .

Yeh well done , please keep us posted as to how you get on x

Being qualified as a teacher is important ,not only do you learn about anatomy but also the different life span of dancers and their development from age to age ,children develop at different phases in their life and it is vital that teachers know how to teach safely and correctly at these various times . Childrens bodies are very precious and no one wants to do them damage . Working with people you also have to learn how to get the best out of them , some children you can joke with ,some its a soft word etc each child is an individual within the class. Qualifications are always changing to be brought in line with the AQA and I find myself going on new courses to be kept up to date (which some times is a pain ) but at last dance has become a recognised qualification within the academic world and children can use these as accredited points towards uni. I would not be able to enter children for exams if I were not qualified . What does annoy the hell out of me is the fact so many people are setting up drama and dance clubs around local schools ,charging a fortune for them, very few are qualified yet because they have glossy adverts and charge a lot some parents think it must be good ! sorry rant over .

My students are most precious to me I see teaching ballet as a vocation wanting to pass my knowledge of the art on to them and bring out the best. If they want extra lessons I am thrilled that they are prepared to work harder so I dont charge them if they want to come to extra classes . if they want a private lesson they pay for the hire of the hall but i give my time free. This is probably the reason my social live is DOA and why i am not rich lol.but i went into teaching for the love of it and not to make money .

So beautifully said Anjuli you are so right about the ballon

Loved watching it ,dd laughed at the hair styles they must have used a lot of hair spray ! Thanks for posting pups_mum

Sugerplumsmum,(sorry i cant work out how to do the quote thing ) DDI and DDE are diplomas in dance instruction and dance education ,once you have achieved these you are qualified as a teacher to enter pupils for exams ,I do feel that it is something good to have just incase my DD doesnt make a career in the dance world . Pupils of Ks dance have gone on to english national ballet ,northern ballet, k-ballet ,adventures in motion pictures ,vienna festival ,phoenix dance company , cats and cruises to name a few . I must admit I have been so impressed by the contact with the school ,they sent every bit of information that you could want ,i.e break down of the costs over the term ,then the year ,then the 3 year course ,also a list of uniform and where to get it . All those little things that as parents we want to know lol Doesn't seem to long till september best make the most of having my dd here with me lol (I shall not moan about the cups in the bedroom !!)

The cecchetti associates are held at rambert in twickenham on sundays . the closing date was the 8th of may . The classes are wonderful and the children get a variety of guest teachers they do a ballet class followed by anything from mime , contemporary ,jazz ,to repertoire . Hope this helps

I have to admit dd has turned down tring in favour of Ksdance ,she has a great graduate record and is really passionate about dance and her pupils ,It may not be as pretty as tring but my dd thought the standard was fantastic .They have fabulous guest teachers and miss simmons has a great resume . My dd friend is in the 2nd year and was a Cecchetti scholar she has blossomed there .You can see one of her shows (west end to broadway) on you tube. The other thing that swayed my daughter was the fact you did your DDI or DDE teaching qualification ,this is usually taken in the first year ,and in these days of few company ballet jobs she thought it would be wise to have something to fall back onto just in case . As well as contemporary and ballet they also do spanish with mrs hurst who holds the highest accolade . DD goes in september I will keep you posted as to how she gets on lol .

My family always laugh at me if i bend down to get something out of a cupboard as my leg goes up into an arabesque ,I never knew i did it until i kicked my hubbys coffee out of his hands lol

My dd fell in love at secondary school 3 years on and they are still as close ( hopefully not that close wink wink )he has always understood that her dancing comes first and supports her wholeheartedly ,what will be interesting is how it will pan out when she goes to vocational school and he to college They reckon they are soul mates ,who knows ?

Hi taxi4ballet, Don,t worry if your dd has not done Cecchetti before it wont be a problem , My DD has been for many years and has made some lovely life long friends . This year she is doing the cecchetti vocational summer school (also held at tring at the same time ) .The teachers are fantastic . Every one usually takes a picnic on arriving and sit on the lovely lawn before the children go in . As for the Greek classes a leotard and chiffon skirt is fine .They usually do a choreography comp as well which is great fun . You never know we may all bump into each other when we drop off children , I shall where a flower in my hair lol

Good Luck Hope your DD enjoys the auditions x

LOL Kitschqueen I am so with you on that,it's weirdly satisfying to see the ends melt.

Thanks I haven't seen the link before ,such a shame .

Good grief ,I would never put a child on pointe at aged 8.The whole body is involved in going on pointe and not just how strong your feet are ,one must take into consideration whether the pupil can hold their turn out on demi point . One thing that makes me so sad is when you have a pupil that is a beautiful dancer and finally gets to the age and capability of being able to get their first shoes yet alas the anatomical design of their ankle and foot means they just cannot get onto pointe ,my heart really goes out to them x

I must admit I do not like the stick on suede things they can become unstuck and cause problems ,I usually ask the children to darn their shoes,its a bit of a right of passage lol , If you use a lighter and run it over the end of the ribbons this makes them melt and stops them fraying also , Personally I would advise against the all gel toe pads as the feet sweat the moisture does not escape and toes become very soft (a bit like being in a bath for too long ) The one thing you don't want on pointe is very soft feet .

I Totally agree Aurora ,watched the programme this morning and thought about time too,I think far to many people forget how the arts keep people sane and give them beauty in their lives

Hope your evening was fab and you wore water proof mascara x

mine is cooking and that old remark "what shall we have for tea tonight " How I would love a chef to be there when I get in late from work

I Have a fear of hurdles ever since i was at secondary school . I had just been accepted into RBS , jumped over the hurdles for sports day landed very badly and sustained a very bad injury, 7 months in and out of hospital for a pioneering op ,had to give up my place ( things did turn out well in the long run ) So when DD askes me to write a note for PE I always oblige lol

I have always found So Danca pretty good for sizing especially the ballet shoes,alas the last time I placed an order I was told that So Danca were going into liquidation so am unable to get them any more boo hoo.

Thank you taxi4ballet I wish i had a crystal ball lol but i hope its the right path .

Well done to all those who got a DADA, My DD was on the reserve list and offered a boarding place for the 6th for dance ,I sent off the deposit last week. This week after much angst she told me something inside her was not happy with her choice and that she really really did not want to do A levels.Funny because I was feeling uneasy too but didn't say anything .I am a great believer in following your gut feeling so after more discussions she has decided to take up a place elsewhere ,part of me is sad but mainly because the train journey to tring was only 2 hours away ,now she is going up north . Now I need to write to the school and see if there is any chance of a part refund lol . Hope someone who is waiting for a boarding place will receive good news soon xx