LinMM

Yes I can understand that attraction to get on pointe once you've started ballet ......whatever your age! There is something mystical/magical about it. And I suppose I too have already earlier in my life in my 20's and 30's dancing as an amateur done a fair bit of pointe work I must say in the end I got fed up with it ......sometimes very sore feet and in growing toe nails and the like etc ......and in the end it was a relief to say bye bye to my pointe shoes!! The problem is when starting as an adult (I had also first learnt this between 12-15 as well) .....is that to get any good at all on pointe it would take ages. And if you are trying to learn a really nice enchainement AND worrying about staying on pointe etc it's really hard to concentrate on dance quality at the same time. The Professionals can do it so easily because of the YEARS they have spent doing it. But for an amateur starting as an adult.......and especially if they did not do ballet as a child.....I would say the best thing once you are ready .......and a responsible teacher won't hurry this just because the pupil is in a hurry .......so find a teacher who is cautious (not against) about pointe work I would say......is to do a SEPARATE pointe work class ......which may start out as only 30 mins initially though.....so you can use other classes to concentrate on dancing and other aspects of ballet. (Sorry about this sentence structure!) I said in the earlier post that I'd rather see someone who is dancing with real style and conviction and I might add musicality .......well that is a big enough challenge as it is for an adult beginner or older returner to ballet!!

I also have an aesthetic thing where if someone is on pointe they've got to look good.......obviously as well as properly strong enough! To be honest who wants to see someone with knees all bent hobbling along in the centre(when they should still be at most on the barre still) just to say "I do pointe work" pointe work does look beautiful......but only if done correctly and with enough general training in ballet etc. I know I'm going to bore everyone who reads this thread regularly but there is just so much more to ballet for me at any rate it's NOT JUST ABOUT POINTEWORK!! I'd rather see someone actually dancing with real style and conviction NOT on pointe than someone hobbling around in the centre when they are not really strong enough or ready to on pointe. Sorry if this is not a very popular view but it's only my take on it all. This not to put you off. I hope you will make it one day but try to enjoy all the other aspects of classical ballet first.......Then you will look more beautiful on pointe eventually!!

Well it's cutting it fine for the last bus Alison that's all!! The 11.07 gets me back by midnight but the last bus will have gone by then. I can probably get a train from Victoria up till 12 and get back at 1 am but then it's the expensive taxi fare!!

I very much agree it is a very individual thing. You are still comparatively young at 31 but first things first. You have only been dancing a few months and even if you are very fit(sounds like you are though) you need to give it time before thinking about pointe work. In my opinion and actual experience it is not just the feet and ankles but the whole of the back muscles and core must be strong enough so as to prevent the body weight sinking into the feet when on pointe. I do see adult learners on pointe who in my opinion should NOT be!! However there are teachers who will teach you especially if you live anywhere near London UK or other major cities in the world which have some ballet tradition there. And you yourself could become proficient on pointe ........even just being able to do some bourrees correctly across the room will feel great.....but you may need to have some patience. Again every individual is different slightly but as a general rule I would advise doing ballet for a mimimum of two years before considering pointe work. If you're really hooked you'll still be doing it in two years time anyway!! But that's just a guide. When much younger people are learning (who because their feet are still growing so even more important to do safely) they usually have to get to an RAD grade say .... of grade 6 ....before pointe work is introduced so that means for most at least five or six years of ballet learning first!! I definitely think it could at least be a possibility for you though. It's just a case of "not running before you can walk" as the saying goes

I haven't seen the Two Pigeons for years so that would be very nice indeed. I'd have Dances at a Gathering every year if I could arrange it and again Anastasia would be great as another ballet haven't seen in ages. Also Enigma Variations hasn't been around for a bit.......wouldn't mind seeing that next year. Otherwise I'd be happy with anything else ........but perhaps even giving Swan Lake a rest for a year!

My friends DD from Oz did this in 2013 when she was 13. In Sydney at that time two years ago she was not a vocational student but coped well. At that time she had just passed her RAD Intermediate exam. They are divided into groups anyway and initially she was put in the younger age group but then changed to the older group. The older group level was certainly hard work and there were quite a few RBS and Elmhurst students there but some were like my friends DD just keen on ballet but attending normal schools and fitting their ballet in after school etc. The standard is high but if in the right set for ability she should be fine. I think if your daughter was with the younger age group set she would be able to cope in my opinion......though of course I don't know your daughter!! In the show at the end the younger group performed more of a national dance type dance but on the last day you could watch your child in class as well as the afternoon performance. Or it could be arranged if you had a problem to watch class on another day. Everyone seemed very helpful and friendly. My friends DD is now 15 and is wanting to do this course again this summer when she comes over from Oz for 2yearly visit so inspite of NOT being a vocational student and being one of the younger ones in the older group she loved it and wants another go!! This time she wants to board there as last time she went in daily while we stayed on a farm and whose delightful dogs she fell in love with!! Do keep us informed what your DD chooses in the end.

So do the Rambert down on the South Bank......run classes for kids of all ages.....mostly on Saturdays but can't remember if there are some in the week too........probably not. Their classes are more contemporary orientated and look fun. They also do workshops for kids of different ages too. Perhaps the South Bank is a bit far but it's just behind the National Theatre so well served by bus and tube....and even boat!

The good thing is we are all human The bad thing is we are all human!! I know how you feel ......you just can't win some days! And it's so annoying when 9/10 times you are well switched off before everything starts and then there's that one time in months when you get behind etc and somebody's having a go!! I must admit I do get annoyed with the instant shushers.......sometimes I didn't hear anybody making a noise but do hear the very loud shushing going on!!

Hmmm what about the jam in a Victoria sponge cake!!! Is that stretching things a bit far? Ive got a thing about M and S Victoria sponge slices at the mo ......yesterday I bought one which was a double slice .....delish!! Ive cut back on the alcohol but seem to be making it up in cakes!!

Well I'm very lucky indeed to be able to stay over in London if really necessary....... but otherwise the problem for me is linking with the last bus from Brighton Station to where I live about 5 miles out of Brighton. Otherwise I get into a very expensive taxi fare of £16 plus which is ridiculous when Ive paid only £3-50 both ways for an Advanced fare on the train from Brighton to Victoria. On the 9th April I'll be seeing Swan Lake and this usually finishes around 10.30 ish The last bus in Brighton for me is 11.40!! Well I'd be lucky to be on a train at Victoria by 11.30 that night( can't stay over then) so will not only have to dash at curtain call but will end up having to pay for a taxi......still much cheaper than a hotel in London......making it a very expensive Swan Lake!! I usually hate missing curtain calls etc and having to rush to the station .......for me it spoils the whole evening .....but luckily I can stay up 90 per cent of the time.......but do have sympathy with people having to rush for trains etc

I could normally do Cambridge but can't do that weekend unfortunately .......though think I would pass on that cygnet dance!!!

Another useful supplement I have found ......and for anyone a bit sporty I should think ......is by Optima. It's there Glucosamine complex which has glucosamine chondroitin calcium Vit C ....(another important part of the whole process which helps with Vit D absorption) ....selenium and Aloe Vera.

To come back for a minute to the idea that you can tell by looking at people what they may be deficient in .....one can give a good possible "guess" however that is just the notion that motivates you to check against evidence etc. If you looked at me you would never guess in a million years that I'm osteopaenic. I have large wide bones (large frame) and am taller than average height. So you would think I would be fine in the bone department! However I am below average for my age group in bone density! (Osteopaenic is not as bad as osteoporotic but means you have to be monitored in case it moves in that direction......which it doesn't always thank goodness. Doing Ballet has helped with this but of course recreational level is very different to professional level dancing. I managed to increase my vitamin D levels with a mixture of ordinary but very good multivitamin products eg Solgar Biocare Viridian Quest etc. It was the regularity of taking the multi rather than individual high doses which I think worked for me .....as for a year at least I was very focussed on this. Interestingly I took....or rather was given cod liver oil and malt extract all through my childhood so must have served well at one point but hasn't prevented the decline of bone density in my 60's. The balance of bone formation and bone destruction story going on in the body is a fascinating one which involves the thyroid and pituitary gland as well so is quite complex which is why I think it is important to check out any suspicians where bones are concerned with a doctor especially if involved in things like dance or running marathons and similar!

In terms of absorbing vitamin D from the sun the best time is when the rays are at their strongest between 12-3 pm. 45 mins to an hour between these times should give enough .....daily in the summer if possible. The big leg bones, the upper arm and ribs are apparently best to expose!! A good quality multivitamin should be okay for younger dancers though obviously if they are having breakages or bone pains this must be investigated by a doctor.

Love the pun!

I agree that many people in the Northern Hemisphere and probably especially dancers may have a deficiency of vitamin D However this cannot be "guessed" at or just by having a PNA's extra pale looking skin etc. You find out if you have a deficiency with a blood test and personally I wouldn't recommend additional vit D ONLY supplementation without having confirmed this via a doctor. I am slightly osteopaenic ....discovered after having five fractures in eight years!! I was also very slightly Vit D deficient but not much so have supplemented ever since but it's not a huge amount......not at medical levels etc as the doctor didn't think I needed massive supplementation of calcium or Vit D On retesting a year later Vit D within normal levels but still a bit low in calcium. Also since then in the summer I always have the first hour in the sun without protection......so as to let the skin absorb sunlight. This is best done between 12 and 3pm ......I know contrary to all advice about skin and avoiding cancer etc ......but if your skin were to burn in half an hour then obviously you don't go to burning levels......as that won't help the skin to absorb anything!! The problem is that sometimes when a deficiency shows it's not that there's a real shortage in the system there may be a problem with absorption (often connected to the Thyroid) so things are not always so simple. No matter how much Calcium or Vit D you take if there is an absorption problem your body won't be using it. Professional dancers probably should get tests every 2-3 years to see how things are.

I suppose Aileen it may depend on what your alternative to being a dancer is!! If you are on the Arts side and are good at Art etc then your alternative may be a career in design or film or you may even want to go to Art school as your second choice career so to speak ......so it's not always so easy to just give up Art if this is the case. Obviously if you have a career in mind which is more academic as second choice then yes probably drop the Art in that case.

That is a lot in a short time .....an old hand at it now then!!

An inspiration at 74! And heres me thinking I might have to stop around 70!! I really identify with what she says here ......about that moment you get into class something seems to happen and you find some energy from somewhere and come out full of life and ready for anything! I didnt know there were such things as Adult Associate classes are these RAD run or by the BRB themselves. I wish the Royal would do something like this!!( not that Id get in mind ;(

Are these auditions all between January and now?

Hope yours gets well soon VBee. Ive broken both my ankles.....not at the same time but had the traditional plaster cast treatment. I'd love to have had a removable boot thing so as to massage the leg muscles which were weak when came out of cast. However I think it a good idea for 2-3 weeks to bandage at night as sometimes one gets into strange positions and this might not be too beneficial to your foot Where weight bearing is concerned I'd double check this out if I were you.....they should have given you more advice in my opinion. Porthesia I had no idea this had all been going on with your daughter how very sad. Will PM you ...perhaps we could meet up for a chat?

Hmmm still not completely convinced this isn't some sort of hoax......just a month early!!

Sorry yes I was told the boy in the DVD is the one from Elmhurst now at the RBS........well that was happening in July 2013...whether he changed his mind of course have no idea.....perhaps he stayed at Elmhurst .....but was definitely wanted by the Royal anyway!!

Dance is Life that is a coincidence!! It was a brilliant session and Dowell was so lively and funny and wonderful with the boys I thought. Yes you are right about that boy I thought was very good being used on some DVD ......trying to remember it all now I know at the time someone told me what his name was (in a private post here on the forum) but have forgotten.....though I'd know if I saw it. Reece was a bit older than the other students there that evening ....which is why he has already graduated ....the others would all presumably graduate this year from the RBS or other schools they were attending. Marguerite Porter is amazing .....she has to be in her 60's now? My friends DD may be going to Yorkshire Ballet summer school again this year so may be there again this summer as I can only catch up with her every two years.

No sign of baby yet ......might need next weeks now!!!