tomuchtallent

When i started dance at 16 there were girls with great feet,turnout and legs to their ears but they couldnt dance to save their lives!!

Whoever would like to share.xxx

Also is there any short clips of your dd on youtube,it would be lovely to see.

I know i might sound silly but what are soft bolcks for?I have an idea but have never been told.

I saw on tv the other day the 1st year students at WL,a very short clip though and i didnt notice any of them with hypermobile feet!They all had the same body shape which was very petit,and it looked like they had good turnout.

CeliB What lovely photos!!You must be very proud.Good luck to him for the future xxx

HaHa, I have 1 in music,1 in football and 1 in ballet!!!!STRESSSSSSSSSSSS

I dont think there is any problem with the british dancers.Its the best students from all over the world who are auditioning for schools and companies.The Uk is tiny!! Its exactly the same if you look at football teams!Your competing with the world.If the UK students are not good enough how could they get into the schools,are they only taking them because of mds funding?i dont think so.If the training was not good why do the best of the world want to train here! Primrose,regards to what you said earlier about successful foriegn neighbours, I live with a very big international community from all over.I am british,and my kids were born in the UK.It was a big shock to me when i saw how parents from other parts of the world are with thier children.I have never heard of this extream in the UK.Most of the parents i know push their kids so much.If thier child is good at something then that child must sacrifice everything else and put hours and hours of practice in.I havent seen this with ballet here but definatly with sport and music.Some of the kids are now home schooled and some put in 2 hours of training in before school starts and straight after school they continue! I dont think this is fair at all but their kids are so fantastic in their field.Also most of them are the only child and the parent/s dont work so they dedicate thier time only to the child. I think in the UK we support our children, but i have seen with my own eyes what parents expect from their children and push them to the extream.But as i said their kids are outstanding at what they do. Is it right or wrong? i dont know,

Just saw on my friends fb page that tomorrow the 23rd of march the Royal Ballet will be live from the ROH on their youtube channel from 10.30 am.There will be interviews,rehersals ect.

How many places are available for white lodge and the upper school?

wish i lived in the Uk so we could go and see some great ballets!!

I dont know anything about these exams.If you complete all the grades,what does it mean?can you then go on to take a teachers qualification?

Oh ,and in my car we have a great collection of classical ballet music,even by 2 boys enjoy listening to them!

My little dd loves watching ballet.She has a big collection of dvds..When her friend come around she wants to share it with them but they are not impressed! Also our local dance school has a libary of dvds,you can take them whenever you want. We recently watched Orpheus and Eurydice and she loved it even though she didnt understand it. At school recently the children had to pick a famous person and do a project on them.She picked Anna Pavalova.She made a presentation and then danced part of the dying swan,well her own version!

Hi Bankruptmum, I said my dd started at 5.Of course she couldnt control her legs and feet.But the work she has done over the 4 years have very much helped her feet and turnout even though she was very young.xxx

Rowan i think you right about the age,but saying that when my dd started at the age of 5 they worked very hard on turnout,flexability,and feet.Im sure the younger you start the easier it would be to achieve these.My daughter has just turned 9 and if she started now it would be so difficult for her to catch up to where she is now.

Primrose,i love my daughters Russian teachers.Exactly what you said is exactly the same experience we have had.My daughter respects them so much.

how many hour a day do they do ballet for at WL?If its only 1 class a day then maybe thats the problem.I think 11 is a good age for WL to take children as most of them already started ballet at a young age before and you can see that in the childs body shape

Aileen, Well the sun is shining here today There are 3 ballet schools,so we dont have much choice.All of them have Russian teachers who teach vaganova style.They only do classes at the weekend because the children get so much homework so there is no time in the week.But you can take private classes.They are very strict and expect the children to work extreamly hard. There are vocational government schools for ballet in most major cities.They are free, full time,from age 6 up to uni.They also have Russian teachers as the Turkish ones are not so good.These vocational schools are quite new.As my son attends the music department i always see the ballet students.One of the guest choreographer is in her 50s and trained at the RBS.Alot of them have started training abroad in France,Russia and Germany.The ballet company in Antalya is not so good at the momment,but with the new system i think it will be great in the future. We wont be moving just yet but my other children want to study in the UK.My 9 year old dd wants to audition for the 4 big ones!!So it is very difficult for us to decide when the right time to leave!!If we want a chance for a mds we should move now!!!I think we have to be in the Uk for 2 years to qualify.I am English,we left a few years ago for the lovely sunshine.xxxxx

I know for most of us it is impossible.I also have 3 kids.1 pianist,1 footballer and 1 dancer.It is so difficult.Everyday they all have lessons!Im not saying its right or wrong, just unfortunatly to be the best we are not competing nationally anymore,we are competing with the whole world.

Aileen you are right,its not enough just to be tallented.And the more tallented you are the more hard work you should put in!!

To be the best you must sacrifice alot.Look at the no 1s in the world in sport and music.They practiced 5,6 or 7 hours aday from a very young age!

Rowan, Yes your right, the more you practice the better you get!! it has been said that you have to put in ten thousand hours to achieve well in your field. It takes less time to study to become a doctor!!!

glowlight i think your right! When we moved abroad we entered my son into a state conservatory for piano.Not realizing how much time,dicipline and very hard work would be involved.They are so strict and give major amounts of work.So much time was dedicated 7 days aweek to keep up!His teacher is Russian.Well after 4 years he achieved a very high standard and auditioned in the UK boarding school and gained a scholarship.Even though he achieved more than i could ever imagine it also came at a price!it sort of took over our lives without realizing it. Thats why i think in the Uk there is much more of a ballence,and happier children.I cant wait for my son to start in September and enjoy his time there.

Here in Turkey the kids fight for everything!!! they are so hard working in all aspects!