aileen

I'm always amused by how quickly the orchestra players disappear. They really don't hang around. I think that they're down the pub before the curtain call is over!

Pups_mum, doesn't it make you wonder what your husband was getting up to when he was your daughter's age?!

I think that we've identified a business opportunity here: well-made, attractive leotards (which are acceptable to ballet schools and examination boards) for girls and women who have a larger bust (or any bust at all, it seems from previous posts). Who's going to get in touch with Lord Sugar!

Perhaps the schools aren't worried about same sex relationships because they can't result in (the scandal of) a teenage pregnancy!

I find it ridiculous that regulation ballet leotards (other than those for the younger girls) don't have built in support. My daughter made me laugh when she came out of a class one day. One of the other girls had asked why the leotard for the new class had stitching on the front and the teacher had said, rather mysteriously, "it's for something to grow". My daughter found this very amusing. .

Sheilabee, if you're not reading it, the thread "Another body size question" highlights the shortage of well-fitting and attractive leotards for young women who have a bust.

I also felt that too much was expected of Polunin. As I said before, he was scheduled to dance in almost every programme this season. Having said what she has said, I hope that Tamara will be careful with Vadim who is a few months younger than Polunin and is in a similar position at ENB. She also needs to be careful not to upset Daria to whom Vadim is very loyal (and rightly so).

I hope that this comment is not getting too personal, but in the Agony and Ecstasy programme last year there was a photograph of Polina in a modern, flesh/orangey-coloured pants and vest type combo and, having seen other photographs of her, I did wonder how she managed with the top (I feel that she must have worn something underneath or the top must have had some built in support or something). It was a sideways view and she had a very arched back so you couldn't see her chest clearly.

Actually, I should have said pants AND VESTS. Wayne McGregor take note (and one of the choreographers who did something for ENB at Tate Britain).

Good luck to your DD for tomorrow, afab. Is there more than one audition for POB?

I wonder whether the more modern choreography and the wearing of leotards or other very figure-hugging costumes in performances has accentuated the trend for a rather androgynous appearance on the part of the ballerinas. Sometimes when I have watched performances I've wanted to scream "Don't make grown women go on stage in their pants. It's just not respectful!" Somehow, a tutu is a flattering piece of clothing and a ballerina with a fuller bust would look well-proportioned (and elegant) in it. She would not look top-heavy. In the past ballerinas were expected to look feminine rather than androgynous and super-skinny and a fuller bust would I think have been more accepted.

That's good news, swe. I think that it's really easy for all teenagers, not just DCs, to get run down. I have a non-dancing teenager and he is much less healthy than he was when he was younger. I think that it's very important that teenagers get enough iron, calcium and protein in their diets - which can be difficult if the child is a fussy eater, vegetarian or not keen on red meat or weight-conscious. I've started giving my teenager eggs for breakfast several days a week. I don't think that there's a problem with cholesterol at this age and I think that protein fills you up for longer than carbohydrates. Most of us give our children cereal for breakfast but I personally think that the health benefits are very limited (but perhaps I'm biased because I really don't like cereal myself).

Megan, it's quite a lot to read through, but in the "British students training abroad" thread parents talk about their children attending the Bolshoi School in Russia and the Harrid and Vaganova Schools in the US. Afab can also tell you about schools in France. Apparently there are a couple of students training in Hamburg. You could also send a pm to the parents concerned.

Is anyone on this forum an expert on the bust sizes of ballerinas (speaking from a professional perspective!)?

I hope that we're not frightening Marieve off! We're making ballet-goers sound a scary, intolerant buch!

Most of the ballerinas look as if they wouldn't be larger than a B-cup, but I'm no expert on the bust size of ballerinas!

When I use my opera glasses I keep my arms close to my body. If opera glasses really are a problem then perhaps they should be banned! What other people find unacceptably distracting, annoying or inconvenient may not be the same as what you or I do. I would probably have found Alison's fanning irritating (she felt that she had a good reason for doing it but that didn't alter the fact that it was distracting to the other person) but I would just have put up with it and not said anything. When you're out and about there are dozens of things that other people do that irritate you which you could complain about but I choose to let things go. It's not pleasant, as an adult, to be tapped on the shoulder and told off in front of other people in a public space such as a theatre. Next time (if there is one) someone complains to me I plan to say something in return.

It wasn't you at Streetcar, was it, Janet? I'd never realised that leaning forward would block someone's view. I would have thought that leaning forward (in your seat) would make you "smaller" if anything. Where does being considerate end though? If a very tall person is sitting in front of you should s/he be requested to slide down in his/her seat a bit because s/he is blocking my view for the WHOLE of the performance! In both of the cases I mentioned above the complainant was a woman of mature years who wasn't particularly polite when she made her request/complaint. I'm afraid that it isn't only the young who are rude. Some people of a certain age and class (usually older middle-class women) seem to think that they have the right to complain the minute that something is not to their liking. I suspect that if my husband had been with me at the time they may not have said anything.

I bought some opera glasses a few months ago and really enjoy using them. However, on one occasion a woman behind me complained that my use of them was blocking her view and this has made me uncomfortable about using them since. I have been wondering whether there is some kind of opera glasses etiquette of which I am unaware. A few weeks later another woman complained when I leaned forward for a minute forward to see who was in the orchestra pit. I immediately sat back and so I never found out which instruments were being played at Streetcar.

On another thread someone who is close to ENB said, if I remember correctly, that dancers up to and including soloist level can be called upon to do corps work eg as swans in Swan Lake. I've no idea what the more senior dancers feel about this but the demands and discipline of corps work are probably a good thing for those dancers and it keeps them grounded and the audience benefits from seeing some really good dancers in the corps. I think that the corps, except perhaps in a really large company such as the Royal, must certainly dance more than the principals but I don't know if they would dance more than those below principal level if they are the dancers that you are referring to.

Afab, oh dear, I fear that I've said something rude. If so, apologies. I'm going to look the word up in my French dictionary. Yes, I mean "Flanby". I know that the nickname means something like creme caramel. Well done to DD1 and Bonne Chance (I'm trying out my school-girl French again!) to DD2.

Anjuli_Bai, I like this article. For me, it is the swan corps in Swan Lake that makes the ballet so appealing. La Bayadere is not one of my favourite ballets but I love the Shades scene. I also love the corps in Suite en Blanc, Giselle and Serenade if you can call it that. To be honest, I'm not so keen on the peasant and courtier dancing that you get in so many tradition ballets.

Afab, do you mind me asking where you live in France? And what's the latest prediction on the French Presidential election? There's been quite a lot of coverage of it here in the UK. Is Le Flaneur (hope I've got this right) still expected to win comfortably?

Afab, to clarify, no schools offer termly boarding for any age group?

Afab, I think that you may have provided the answer to my question. In the UK most international students enter the schools at 16 whereas in France it is very difficult to enter the POB School after 13. Is it not the case that there's no boarding provision for younger children? The only way that a foreign national could go to the School is if the family was already living in France (like you) or moved to France or found someone for the child to board with.