primrose

The training in our country does need a shake up. If a child has been awarded a place into a school then they are considered good enough to be there. They deserve the right to have the same attention and opportunities as the more talented dancers. I have seen time again children who dont pick up exercises given a withering look by the teacher and then ignored. The student then loses confidence and it seems to me the respect of other dancers in the class who are all equally wanting the teachers attention. Parents also play a part here. So many are quick to defend the training here whilst calling the advanced abilities of foreign dancers tricks and acrobats. Turning more and faster with perfect tecnique is not a trick. Being able to balance en pointe with leg held higher is ability not a trick. The dancers in our country want and are able to take the training our foreign nationals receive, I dont believe they are receiving it. I would also like to add that Asian and Russian students have generally a lighter bone density than us Brits which I am sure helps them with their ballet. I am not saying that the training in England is in any way bad just that it is not enough. The students need to be given more teacher time and pushed harder. Students in turn need to respect the teachers more. This is just general talk as not all teachers or students are the same.

I found this on wordpress. It is an extract of what my dd wrote about a class she did after Christmas holidays and then about her first duet class when she went into first form. Our first year upper school equivalent She seems so full of excitement. As with most good teachers here, the first month or so you go right back to basics.. which means that yes we did 2 hours of 16 count tendus for the first week. Everything is really hands on, which was a shock at first but now I see that it is the only way that she can get us into the position we want and so that we can feel what she means. Duet has been interesting, in a good way. I have an awesome teacher, Ilya Rusharkov, who does kind of scare the life out of me! Today I have my 5th class (this is the first year that all of us have done duet.. ever!) and don’t be deceived to think that we do little basic things.. no way! From the 1st class we were doing lifts, pirouettes -everything.

At the Bolshoi our experience was that every student in the class was valued by the teacher. Everybody knew who the best students were but every person had the same amount of individual teachers time. Students knew exactly what was expected of them. Students who worked hard were highly praised irrespective of ability. If a student couldnt achieve an exercise then it was broken right down by the teacher and they would both go over and over it until it was achieved. The teacher was always full of praise when this happened. Laziness was not tolerated nor was other students disrespecting each other. Students do not start pointe work until they are 11 years of age. Academic lessons are taught at the Bolshoi just like in England. I am sorry to say that it must come down to the training in England. My dd spent 18 months at the Bolshoi and the improvements in her dancing were more than huge. I could see the ballerina in her. I do believe that the English students are very motivated. Sadly I do not think they are praised enough. When they get things wrong it is seen as a failure rather than something to learn. They see themselves as a failure when compared to the best or favourites in the class as this is how the teachers make them feel. Every child at the Bolshoi gets the same opportunities to audition to perform not the selected few as in our schools in England. I believe it is the schools that knock the confidence out of our students. There is clearly something not quite right with the training here. England does possess some very talented children who want to work hard but are not given the opportunities.

Those students on very low incomes who gain MDS awards dont have to pay any fees and sometimes get help with dance uniform. I am not too sure how much help they would get with dada funding. RBS associates offer a scaled bursary to talented students on low incomes. Good teaching at a local school regardless of dance equipment or studio will be an asset to any student.

Some children may show a great deal of talent from a young aged and are seen as the ones to watch. However quite often these children can peak in their teens. You can have the child who always seemed to be in the background, picked last for shows not doing so well at festivals blossoming at around 15/16 years of age. I have seen this happen time and time again. Children should be encouraged in whatever they are doing but as parents we need to be careful that it doesnt take over the childs life.

Can I ask how many students gained contracts after graduating from the course.

I would say that being successful would be being happy and content with what you are doing, what you have achieved and knowing where you are going next.

A dance exam result does not say how good you are as a dancer just how good you are on that day and that syllabus. Many schools do not follow exams and produce some of the most talented dancers. Submit your ss applications and continue to work on your tecnique. Enjoy what you are doing and try not to compare yourself to others and where you should be.If you feel you have more to give and are not reaching your potential then seek training elsewhere. Good luck.

The Hammond School used to offer very generous bursaries to some students. My dd was given one of these which was greater than what she would have had through MDS. They also backed it up by saying if the grant became unavailable or hubby left the Royal Air Force she would be given a MDS award. I still have that letter.

Always do what is in the best interest of your child. Clearly its time to move onwards and hopefully upwards. Good luck to you and your daughter.

My son has had two episodes of bacterial meningitis. Suffered a stroke as a consequence of his brain swelling and now has several disabilities. Everybody should vaccinate against men C. People still dont believe it can happen to them until its too late.

I would agree with Tulip in that Northern Ballet has a very good reputation. Good teaching is far more important than an exam class. Vocational schools and companies are not interested in what grades your child has done. If you are asked what level your child is at you could then mention JAs etc.

A huge hug to you and your daughters. I am so glad that the operation went well. Fingers crossed for a quick smooth recovery xxx

They are not specifically ballet schools.

Lower school vocational students do an average two classes per day not 3 or 4. There simply would not be enough hours in the day to do academics as well as 4 classes.

Unfortunately I cant look at the you tube clips any more as we have had to block you tube due to my asd son being obsessed with it. I have enjoyed looking at these clips they do give us an insight to the amount of talent around the world.

Goodness me she is beautiful to watch. Quite incredible. I think these youngsters do dance with expression and I also think that they must enjoy it to be able to dance to that standard. I think if they werent happy it would surely show in their performance.

The thing is so many youngsters decide that they dont want to dance any more and that is absolutely their right and should be respected. This youngster might not be being pushed to the limits or of course she could be. I think teachers can only train the child in front of them and nurture that talent however they should not hold it back. Non of us can control the future and we must not fear it should things not go to plan, but we can prepare our youngsters as best we can and then when old and mature enough to let them take control of their own destiny. Not sure if I have made sense or just come out with a load of waffle lol.

It is a possibility as I have said my dd was offered a audition after the Christmas holidays with a view to starting straight away if she had have been what they were looking for.

The best thing to do would be if possible for your teachers to make contact with RBS. This way you will get your answers rather than lots of people second guessing what the answers might be. Edited to add that they do offer to see students privately as my own dd was given that invitation when she arrived home from Russia which sadly she declined. ENBS and Elmhurst will offer the same.

Sorry I know I am getting carried away (waiting for the teens to get out of bed) but wanted to post this clip of our very own UK talent Anna Rose O Sullivan who is now dancing with the Royal Ballet company. She is aged 10 in this clip. I think it is ok to post this as it is very much in the public domain. To my mind children like these are naturally gifted and with the correct training they are sensational.

Being a westerner I would say not to go en point until 12 years of age and if this little girl was mine I would have held her back until about 11 years of age. I am just admiring the child dancing without looking at what her future holds as nobody can predict that.

Here she is again at aged 10 years and pleased to see she is on demi pointe. Wow she is a natural turner and her leg extensions.

I agree that in most children going onto pointe is silly and there is nothing to be gained by it. Then again I look at this child and think she has the strenght and control of an adult professional dancer. If you look at other clips of her dancing you can see the progression she is making as she gets older. I wonder what we would honestly do if we had a daughter as talented as this, would we hold her back if medics and professionals were in agreement that her body and mind could withstand the training. I bet there is not many that would. I suppose it brings up the old argument of western training versus training around the world and why these children are so much more advanced and dare I say it better than most (not all) of our children. Edited to add that can we keep this a light hearted debate without people taking things personally. Its really interesting to have different opinions even if we dont agree with them.

I suppose we wont ever know the full story. Maybe she is one of those kids who wont stop training. Maybe she only puts in the same amount of hours as children at RBS. To me she is gifted if not a prodigy.