Farawaydancer

18 minutes ago, Pirouette21 said:

Does this rule include vocational schools as well?

I shouldn’t think so since they are educational establishments and as such they should be able to run their usual curriculum, in line with their own risk assessments of course. 

2 hours ago, Mum of unicorn dancer said:

I have emailed last week Thursday evening and did not hear too - but I do suspect that she will not pass the screening as she is only Tring CBA and Ballet Boost past 2.5 years and no competitions or festivals

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. 

1 hour ago, coniger said:

Of for goodness sake this is getting silly now!  It happens in every private school both academic and vocational. It is very transparent - always has been - this is no new revelation and like I have said before - this is a course that is taught by Didy Veldman and Emma Northmore - they are the main teachers - give them a break! 

Exactly this! The course will be amazing for those lucky dancers taking part. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

8 hours ago, Ljmk said:

I’m not sure to be honest. I know of other kids at my daughters dance school and they got passed the screening too. 
we went to the open day and my daughter fell in love with it 

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. 

1 hour ago, dancefanatic said:

Not without permission which, in my DD’s experience, was not granted. I think a number of students may attend other programmes without proper permission from their school!

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!). 

1 hour ago, Peony said:

No I’m not saying they are inferior at all. Just pointing out that some of the students being accepted by RBS from there have had significant amounts of additional input including RBS associates.  So it’s not totally straightforward. 
It may be the case that pupils of other vocational schools also take additional lessons?

It’s definitely the case that pupils at other schools also attend other associates and take private lessons. 

They have definitely had dancers move to RBS US in the last few years. 

They have definitely had dancers move to RBS US in the last few years. 

2 hours ago, MPatti said:

Does anybody have insight into Upper School final audition phases, and which schools might ask for actual medical records, dates of injuries etc?  My DD is concerned a recent injury, although not serious, may affect any acceptances next year due to how recent it is.

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. 

Yes, Elmhurst are back as normal. No PDD work as yet, but that’s the only thing that’s missing so far. 

Yes, after the assessment every year you’re given written feedback. 

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. 

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. 

29 minutes ago, balletbean said:

We too may have experienced the same school. My DD would have only turned 16, just 8 weeks before the start of term. The person in question brushed off our concerns stating ‘well if they were in a ballet company it’s the norm’. Eeerr, that may well be the case but girls & boys do not join a ballet company just after their 16th birthday. They require a safe and nurturing environment to allow them to mature both physically and mentally to prepare them for what the future holds. We went elsewhere. 

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! 

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.  

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. 

22 minutes ago, BalletMum2 said:

@taxi2ballet
Trust me it’s a lot easier said than done. As the PA World is very fickle. Not much Independant governance.  Positions of ppl do use their power. 
That’s were the need for change must be. 

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. 

44 minutes ago, Ellie said:

I would look at Pineapple (Emma Northmore or another Adv level teacher) if I were you. I'm sure that there are other options though. Good luck ! X

I would wholeheartedly recommend @Emma northmore too. 

57 minutes ago, NJH said:

"  forcing kids to repeat the same moves over and over without correction and expecting them to magically fix themselves"  ... 

 the ability to self correct  is an important part of  developing  physical skills , but the  basics have to be in place   for the self correction to be effective 

 

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. 

1 hour ago, NJH said:

 however for all too many people this means the 'graded exposure' they themselves recieved as young people - i.e. thrown in the deep end but without the  constantly analysis  and  ability  for even the simplest mistake to be replayed  again and again in glorious technicolour 

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. 

1 hour ago, SissonneDoublee said:

Perhaps it was more that the changes taking place at puberty were an indication that the body was growing into a shape that was not suited to ballet? One of DD’s RBS JA friends was told pretty much this when she didn’t reach WL finals. When DD started Year 7 the girls were all at different stages of development and several showed signs of puberty at that age. It wasn’t a problem for any of them. The Health and Wellbeing team treat the absence of periods beyond a certain age as an indicator that something may not be right. The weigh-ins are conducted in a way that is very low-key and the children don’t seem phased by them. Such frequent checks mean that any signs of eating distress are picked up on quickly and dealt with before they become serious, and having had DD home for an extended time the only worry about her eating is that she will eat us out of house and home! They get through huge amounts of energy each day, and are always reminded to fuel their body appropriately. The focus is on being strong as well as balletic, and you can’t achieve this on a minimal diet. I teach in a secondary school, and often see teenagers with signs of eating distress but I have no worries about how the matter is dealt with at Elmhurst.

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’. 

44 minutes ago, pointetheway said:

Hi everyone - quick update for you all

 

A big thank you to those brave people stepping up across the UK for justice and change. 
 

The gymnast helpline reviews are great and many are now getting the help and support they should have had a long time ago.  Also more of their cases are going into the independent review. 
 

If more people come forward for DANCING across the UK (and beyond) then we too could have the same.  So far the response has been very good.

 

Please spread the word.  No one needs to suffer in silence, we can get the support we need. 
 

Please contact me for details in the strictest confidence and remember to protect this forum by not discussing or making any allegations on here.  

Thanks

 

 

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.