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Farawaydancer

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  1. Farawaydancer
    Neither of my dcs did any competitions or festivals, just associates, and they both got y7 places with mds. The screening is very much just checking that they haven’t got complete novices rocking up, and that they seem to have the physical attributes they’re looking for.
  2. Farawaydancer
    Exactly this! The course will be amazing for those lucky dancers taking part.
  3. Farawaydancer
    I don’t know about the RAD, but I know for certain that there are teachers who tutor students at their own schools (not their own students) in academics, and whether it is prohibited or not is up to the schools management to decide. I also know the judging ‘conflicts of interest’ happens at dance competitions. My point isn’t that any of this is right, it’s more the assumption that this is all news to anyone. Neither of my dc are under any illusion that the ‘best’ dancer always gets the role or the contract. It’s not hidden at all and therefore hardly needs ‘bringing into the light’. It’s just how it is in lots and lots of careers.
  4. Farawaydancer
    But education of any sort isn’t a level playing field. In any school there are kids being tutored, sometimes by staff who work at the school. Neither is entry to any career a level playing field. In many it’s all about who you know. All you can be concerned about is what you and your family do; leave everyone else to make their own decisions about what they’re prepared to accept, in the ballet world or any other.
  5. Farawaydancer
    There are many, many teachers at vocational schools who have associations with other dance institutions and teach at various places, sometimes their own students, sometimes students from other schools. It’s quite clear in the promotion materials that this is nothing to do with RBS as such. As far as the premises go, the school will have rigorous RAs in place with regard outside lettings. The resident students are on exeat on those weekends.
  6. Farawaydancer
    My dd loved it too and would have chosen it over her current school if she had been awarded the funding for it. The numbers auditioning seem to be comparable to the other schools. The same kids tend to turn up everywhere.
  7. Farawaydancer
    I think the schools know that it happens and ask people to ask permission, but clearly know not everyone does. I didn’t ask permission for my DS to attend anything, and the need hasn’t arisen with my DD yet (thanks once more to stupid covid!).
  8. Farawaydancer
    It’s definitely the case that pupils at other schools also attend other associates and take private lessons.
  9. Farawaydancer
    They have definitely had dancers move to RBS US in the last few years.
  10. Farawaydancer
    They have definitely had dancers move to RBS US in the last few years.
  11. Farawaydancer
    Most of the schools ask you to have a ‘physio’ type check as part of the process. I know lots who have been accepted into schools after having quite serious injuries. She just needs to apply and declare it and see what happens. If she’s fully recovered it’s unlikely to affect anything.
  12. Farawaydancer
    Yes, Elmhurst are back as normal. No PDD work as yet, but that’s the only thing that’s missing so far.
  13. Farawaydancer
    Yes, after the assessment every year you’re given written feedback.
  14. Farawaydancer
    1. Yes 2. Both my kids schools now allow them to have their phones ‘on site’ but only to be used as ‘learning tools‘ when directed by staff. In reality all the kids ignore this and get away with what they can.
  15. Farawaydancer
    The walk from Richmond is easy enough but we found the difficulty with the district line last year was that it was often closed on Sundays for engineering! DS got the train to St Margaret’s instead.
  16. Farawaydancer
    I had that said to me about my 12 year old!! Thankfully the member of senior management who was also at the meeting stepped in before I could, reprimanded the teacher and pointed out we were talking about a child!
  17. Farawaydancer
    I’ve always said to mine not to worry about their height, it’s probably just about the only thing they can’t control at all! There are lots of taller girls in American companies, which seem to be a bit more diverse in body types generally than European companies, but things seem to be changing even in Europe now with most companies having quite a range of heights.
  18. Farawaydancer
    Generally men in ballet are getting taller, especially in Europe, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Matthew Ball is 6ft, although lots of the Royal dancers are shorter. If he’s only 14 it’s unlikely he’s going to stop growing any time soon! My ds is 5’9 now at 16 and is one of the shorter ones in his year group.
  19. Farawaydancer
    People use their positions to bully, manipulate and abuse in all professions; sadly it’s the way of the world, and lots of adults have their lives ruined because of these abusers. The difference here of course is that our children are entering the profession as children and obviously need additional protections because of that, but it would be disingenuous to imply that it’s an issue which affects PA in particular.
  20. Farawaydancer
    I would wholeheartedly recommend @Emma northmore too.
  21. Farawaydancer
    As someone whose ds has been on the end of this particular torture, expecting someone to fix something but not being told what the something is, is extremely difficult for an 11/12yr old!! They’re at school to be taught, ballet isn’t a voyage of self-discovery. You can’t self-correct if you don’t know what you’re aiming for. And in this particular context, not being given corrections was definitely used by the teacher as a way of bullying and excluding.
  22. Farawaydancer
    Exactly this. The world our children are growing up in is a million miles from our childhood. They see images of perfection all around them 24 hours a day. I absolutely believe that they can’t learn to cope with anxiety without being exposed to it; however some understanding from the adults around them that they are constantly bombarded with reminders of what they are anxious about, would go a long way to helping them.
  23. Farawaydancer
    I agree. They normalise growth and maturity and the changes that it brings. The nutritionist talks to them about the fuel that they need and making sure they eat enough of the right foods, not what not to eat! The range of shapes across the school is a good indicator that they’re looking for the ballet facility, not an ideal ‘ballet body’.
  24. Farawaydancer
    The difficulty is that strictest confidence will simply not be possible in lots of cases, because the specifics of each case will be immediately recognisable, especially if parents/students have already tried to raise issues in school. The ones who you might get will be those who have left school/dancing; others will continue to fear the repercussions of speaking out.
  25. Farawaydancer
    My dc is about to go into y8 and my experience couldn’t be any more different - communication has been very difficult, they’ve simply ignored emails and phone messages all year round, not just since March. I agree that the provision for the students has been amazing though and we’ve eventually been able to get in touch with who we needed to by sending messages via dc!
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