All4dancers

My older dd always wears Primark big black knickers over black tights for dance. She rarely wears a leotard these days. Perhaps we should keep quiet about them otherwise they will introduce them as part of a dance range and charge double!!

Thank you Angel. I think our dds know each other. Do you know the finish time on Sunday?

Just wondered if anyone else is going to this next weekend. We have not received any details since payment.

Tring has a dance weekend.

Another option is to 'hide' posts, again by clicking on grey arrow.

It's ok, I have just seen how

Is it possible to order prints? I'm probably being stupid but I can't work out how!

My dd only started taking ballet lessons on her 9th birthday but after about a year, she was lucky enough to take a non - syllabus class with an excellent teacher who never lowered his expectations even though the other girls in the class were much older. When she was 11 she went to summer school on this teacher's recommendation and there we were advised to get her as many lessons as possible and at 13, she was accepted into vocational school. I must add that she had danced other styles since the age of 3.

I have 2 Hammond ballet leotards, for years 7-9, both size 3 to give away if anyone would like them. They were only worn last year and are in good condition.

It was so crowded at the end, I couldn't even find the link, so if anyone could send me it, I would be very grateful. Thank you x

I think this varies greatly! I send my dd with enough of everything to last until the next exeat/holiday, so any money she has is to spend. I normally give her about £4 to £5 a week, unless they are going on an outing or there is some activity on in the boarding house. She has managed well on this and has never complained.

Also, although MDS covers theatre trips to see ballets at Hammond, there have been 2 other theatre trips that we had to pay for. Also taxi fares for before school music theory lessons and a visit to the doctor's. I would very much over estimate expenses if I were you as they have certainly been more than I thought (though worth it).

Of course they go in the usual order. Obviously my posts weren't clear enough.

BATD definitely do Advanced as my elder dd is taking the exam in October! After that it's the first teaching grade.

My dds both studied ballet and jazz BATD syllabus and then younger dd also joined an RAD school and although there were variations in style I would say they were very much on a par ability wise. I think BATD intermediate was more difficult than RAD as there was a lot more pointe work, however I think RAD Adv 1 is more difficult than BATD. Hope this helps.

Dr Dance, I'm afraid the behaviour you describe seems to be very common in school staff rooms and I myself have also been a victim of it a number of times. I think it's probably because many teachers have not really been in the 'real world', coming straight from school, to uni, then school again, so haven't really had the chance to learn how to behave appropriately. The only up side is, I can try to teach my dd how not to behave herself and also how to handle situations where she feels that she is being targeted.

Soft Blocks only for RAD at dd's voc school and split soles the rest of the time.

And they are all really expensive!

Classical dancers have too be thin/slim/skinny/petite - however you want to describe it - these days. It may not be right and we may not like it or agree with it but that is how it is. There will always be exceptions but this is a general rule and my personal view is that some things just have to be accepted. Why then, is it such an issue when students are told that they do not have the required physique? Is it any different to not having the requires technique or being too tall or too short or not flexible enough? If it is a valid reason for not being selected then surely it is better to be told the truth? As has been said, it doesn't mean that a student cannot dance! I agree that one needs to be sympathetic when dealing which such issues but not that they should be swept under the carpet. My dd is thin and did not get a 6th form place this year. I don't know why but would feel better if I did - whatever the reason! Can't agree with this because your words imply that it is necessary to be very thin to be a classical dancer, whereas it is merely the fashion; the desire of most artistic directors. Unless this stereotype is challenged rather than accepted as you suggest, then things will never change. Thank goodness for dancers such as Misty Copeland is what I say. Personally it is how a person dances that I appreciate, not how thin/short/tall they may be.

There has been a previous thread on this subject but I don't know how to post the link. It is entitled 'clicking joints'.

But wouldn't the world be more fabulous if people did?

My dd studied both BATD and RAD and we felt they were comparable in terms of grade levels. One marked difference seems to be that there is more pointe work in BATD intermediate yet although Advanced is done exclusively in pointe shoes, there seems to be less actual pointe work and not too much new content. I can't really comment on IDTA as she only attended a school that followed that syllabus for a very short while and that was a few years ago, however it seemed then that IDTA grades had less content than BATD.

My dd has only ever had two pairs of soft blocks - Grishko and Bloch and the funny thing is, she loved her Grishkos from the moment she got them, whereas she found the Blochs uncomfortable and never really moulded to her feet! She now just wears de-shanked pointe shoes.

Hi anaballerina, my dd was also non voc when she danced with nyb. She was in fact given a part in another dance during the summer school, so they certainly don't discriminate. If I had a bottomless purse, she would definitely have auditioned again this year, it was such a lovely experience. I hope you have good news.

We were also told this at Hammond.