taxi4ballet

2 hours ago, Anniedancemum said:

Can I ask what it is you don’t like about dance schools that do competitions? Genuinely interested, not having a go at all. Thank you. 

I don't think there is anything necessarily wrong with schools which enter their students into competitions per se. But (and it is a big but) as long as it isn't the be-all and end-all. Some of them concentrate so much on the competition aspect that there really isn't enough time in their schedule to pay attention to a solid grounding in technique, which is particularly important in ballet. That classical ballet technique also feeds into their modern, jazz, lyrical and contemporary dance too.

5 minutes ago, Anna C said:

The Senior Girls being *teaching assistants* don’t cause me a problem personally (probably because my daughter used to do it; she’d be asked on occasion by the Teacher to teach an exercise/variation, and it was good for her confidence), but teaching the whole class on a regular basis is not the same thing.

Yes I agree, occasionally assisting and teaching something in a class at the request of the teacher is fine, but senior students regularly teaching a full class of younger kids at the dance school is a very long way from ideal. 

2 hours ago, Anniedancemum said:

It’s very shouty at times and my daughter is terrified of being told off. She never is though. She doesn’t like the shouting, but I think this is probably pretty standard. 

No, that is absolutely not standard, and it shouldn't be happening. Nobody should be terrified of being told off in a dance class. 

Point 4 in your OP is also concerning. Just what is the point in learning something if it isn't done properly or with correctly trained technique? Ingrained bad habits are incredibly difficult to get rid of. You're not paying for her to receive training from unqualified seniors, aside from everything else, they will not have a knowledge and understanding of anatomy and physiology, and what is or is not appropriate for each individual dancer at their age and level.

Point 6 is outright bullying. What would you do if this was happening at your dd's academic school? 

How about buying, say, 4 frozen individual vegetable lasagnes and decanting them into a large oven dish so you end up with one big one?

Not all that many of them come within striking distance of us very often either! Milton Keynes and Aylesbury are our 'locals' so to speak, so we do occasionally get to see ENB and Northern, and I think we saw Ballet Cymru in Stevenage once.

Marvellous though it is for the company to be in Japan, I do sometimes wish they would tour the UK on occasion...

I'm on a certain large well-known parenting forum under this name, but if you see it anywhere else, it ain't me.

Ah. One might be a complete coincidence, but two? Somewhat less so. Are you going to keep an eye on it?

With the school holidays coming up fairly soon, I wonder whether a visit to an osteopath might be worthwhile, just to make sure there's nothing out of alignment in the neck, back or hip areas. 

It could just be a growth spurt - we were told that the bones grow quicker than the muscles and tendons, and you have to wait for them to catch up. Meanwhile, flexibility is reduced considerably. Another reason to avoid stretching I suppose. Leg bones also have a tendency to grow one leg at a time for some odd reason, so if that's the case, that will throw everything out of kilter.

People who assume that 'sinister forces' must be at play when they don't get the job they have been angling for.

There is a school of thought which says that inappropriate stretching does more harm than good, and I'm inclined to agree with that. 

12 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

I'm struggling to understand exactly what the www.emergingballet.com propsoition is....

What/where/when/who for/taught by who/how much etc.....

Me neither.

This is something that needs to be discussed with the young person's dance teacher, because it will depend entirely on their age, physique and level of training.

17 hours ago, Sunflower said:

Thank you @taxi4ballet that is very reassuring. A very apt username too!

Honestly, the miles I clocked up... !

My dd did two lots of associates simultaneously, fortunately they were different days. No issue with it at all.

2 hours ago, Sim said:

‘Carmen Herrera’s work it’s often just labelled “untitled”... She strips away the meaning and you have to find it for yourself.' 

 

Oh gawd.  🤦🏻‍♀️

Life's too short for all that nonsense.

Once again our local cinema put the house lights up immediately the curtain fell, so we had to try and watch the curtain calls through a sea of people all getting up, fumbling round for bags & cardigans and making their way out, before the broadcast had finished. I'm going to have words, I think. It ain't over till it's over!

Brilliant, thank you!

Is there a link to the full cast sheet for this evening yet, I can only find the one that has the principals on it.

I'd be disappointed in a dance school that insisted on payment for a half-term when the student was unable to dance for medical reasons.

Following this thread with interest. As a youngster in the 1970's, my parents sent me to ballet classes. I wasn't very good at it, being far too tall, round-shouldered, and with no turnout to speak of whatsoever. Despite these inadequacies, my teacher imposed such training on me as I was capable of absorbing. He must have despaired, really!

I only recently discovered that I had been trained in the Cecchetti method when I remembered his name. I googled 'Leo Kersley' and found out just who my teacher had been.

High class training for talented young dancers in fantastic studios, with a pianist, at one of the best dance schools in the country. That would sum it up really.

Brilliant!

That's interesting to know about Hammond, it is a few years ago since we were on the audition merry-go-round, and for some reason Hammond was one that slipped through dd's net and she never auditioned there. Can't remember why now, but I don't recall them offering all the courses then as they do now. 

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

Very sorry to hear that Alison.

 

Back to room 101.  I would like to put in it Tall People.  Particularly those that end up sitting RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME IN THE OPERA HOUSE!  I vote for height restricted performances for those of us who are on the shorter side.  

Perhaps they could be offered discounted ticket prices if they sit in the back row?

As an aside, I can't believe I started this thread ELEVEN years ago!