Anna C

May I just draw everyone’s attention to this part of our Acceptable Use Policy that refers to discussion of schools:

“1.  Posts about schools or courses should report personal experiences only (posted by the student, members of a student’s family, or the student’s teacher with permission). ”

Many thanks,

Anna C

on behalf of Balletcoforum Moderators

Hi Arielle and welcome. ☺️ If you are referring to RAD exams, it’s absolutely possible to do grades 6-8 alongside vocational exams - as Pups_mum says, the grades are less technical and much more dancey than Intermediate and above, so are a nice change if you study both at the same time.  

You might well be able to do grades 7 and 8 before starting college; my daughter did a grade each year (obviously the vocational exams take longer).

41 minutes ago, Fiz said:

My youngest dd said she felt Rose’s show dance had been tailored to pull at the heart strings. I wish both sets of dancers could have won. I do feel as if John and Johannes had the edge last night. A gay friend of mine who loves Strictly said that no gay couple in any of the Strictly franchises has ever won. 

No different to 99% of Couple’s Choice dances though, to be fair - and although I thought Rose’s show dance was beautiful (and played to her strengths, which is the point of the show dance), it was what Rose said afterwards about starting out as a seed that really moved me.  I don’t think Rose needed to “tug at the heartstrings” to clinch the win; for me she has been the best dancer and performer overall throughout the whole series, simple as that.

Given the number of complaints that the BBC and OFCOM received after Johaness & Graziano’s same sex dance, then about Nicola and Katya dancing together, the fact that two gay men dancing together got to the final in the first year is groundbreaking and pleasantly surprising.  I think John accepted that as a major win.  If we have another same sex couple in future who are as talented and entertaining as John and Johannes, I really think they will win.  

Rose winning does start to even up the gap between men and women winners, which is good - it’s now 11 men, 8 women since the show began.

Whether or not we wanted John or Rose (or both) to win, I think we can all agree how much this series has done for diversity and representation for everyone, the disabled or deaf community included.  What an inspiration John and Rose have been. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Such a close call, wasn’t it, and I too wished it could be a dead heat with two glitterball winners.  John and Johannes danced their socks off last night, and how wonderful to see John grow in confidence so much that he could really let himself go and perform.  I can’t help thinking that in any other year, John and Johannes would have walked it. 

However, for me, Rose has been the better dancer all series, both technically and in terms of expression and musicality.  I think Jason Gilkison was spot on when he said Rose was probably the most “musical” dancer he’d seen (or words to that effect), which is high praise indeed but even more extraordinary when you remember that Rose is deaf.  

Kudos to Giovanni too, as he’s had to change and adapt his teaching style completely, within the same timeframe that the other couples have had, and working with Rose seems to have really brought out the best in him.  What a very special partnership theirs has been, certainly one of the most moving and joyous ones I can remember.  

So sad for AJ, the final would have been even more exciting with her dancing, but I think the end result would have been the same.

1 hour ago, Belle said:

Thanks for your replies @Anna C&@Dancing Kitty  - much appreciated

Pleasure, Belle, and a belated welcome to the forum. ☺️

27 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Rather bittersweet to come across  this ROH video prequel  for the  Nutcracker cinema screening, given that Akane was unable to perform in the end.  It would have been wonderful  to have seen her interpretation of dancing on top of the cake!   Akane and Cesar's mutual admiration is just so lovely. 

 

 

I wish they’d stream this cast for those of us who couldn’t get to the cinema - I loved the Giselle stream and am looking forward to the Dante Project but it’s not exactly Christmassy! 

When dd was at CBA, the numbers went from Group 1 (youngest/least experienced) to Group 6 (oldest/most experienced).  Groups 1, 2 and 3 were in the morning, Groups 4, 5 and 6 were in the afternoon.

As others have said, prioritising Associates over EYB is advisable, except for Dress/Technical rehearsals and shows.  If you’re upfront with both schemes, it shouldn’t cause too much of a problem.  Unlike Central, at least CBA is only every other Sunday so you shouldn’t miss too much.

44 minutes ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

Thanks Anna!  Still looks white to me.  Maybe I need a trip to the optician!

 

☺️ I think it’s the lighting, to be fair!

2 minutes ago, Anna C said:

 

Perhaps you could watch/rewatch Act 2 of the stream? ☺️

…or here is a nice clip where you can see the varying shades of ivory dresses, depending upon the lighting:  

34 minutes ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

I've been under an illusion all my life then!  To me the whole outfit looked white (as you say, ivory not bright white).  I guess I'll have a long while to wait before seeing Giselle again and correcting my view

Perhaps you could watch/rewatch Act 2 of the stream? ☺️

1 hour ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

Do they not?  The dresses, and tights, looked white to me.  Maybe my eyes are failing!

I’d say the dresses are ivory? They’re definitely not bright/pure white.

Tights and pointe shoes for most of the Wilis are standard pale “ballet pink”.“Pink” ballet tights vary a lot in shade from pale peach to very pale pink, depending on make.

Hi busydancemum, the best exercises will be what the Physio prescribes, which probably include glute strengthening exercises.  Using a  foam roller along the IT bands should also help.  

Pilates is always helpful but if your dd hasn’t done it before, a supervised session to show her which muscles to engage and how to do that would be vital.  A Physio should be able to show her. 

9 hours ago, Ivy Lin said:

I purchased the Royal Ballet stream with Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball and have to say I was a bit disappointed with Naghdi. She danced beautifully, but I don't think she's a "natural" Giselle the way, say, Alina Cojocaru was. There's something very strong and almost queenly about her. I also didn't like that her hair was down the entire first act. 

Fully down, or half up and half down?  I’ve seen lots of Giselles with the latter, including - if I am remembering rightly - Cojocaru.

15 hours ago, capybara said:

At ENB, Precious Adam’s has, for some time, worn tights and shoes which match her skin tone when she has a soloist role or each member of the corps can appear as an individual. For corps sequences where a unified look is thought to be more appropriate, she has donned the same whitish tights and pink shoes as her colleagues.

I think that would work better if the Wilis all wore white/ivory/pale grey tights and shoes, but - correct me if I’m wrong - they wear pale pink tights and pointe shoes, don’t they? Pink tights in particular can look more “distracting” on dark skin (a sort of greyish pink) than brown tights.

And yes, I know white dancers don’t have ballet pink skin, but pale pink is at least pale.

I just think it’s been such a long, hard fight for black dancers/dancers of colour to *finally* have ballet tights and pointe shoes that tone with their skin and extend the leg line, is it acceptable for me, as a white person, to complain when they wear them?  Personally, I don’t think so, but perhaps I’m fortunate that it genuinely doesn’t distract or bother me, or take anything away from the unity of the Corps’s beautiful dancing. 

10 hours ago, cotes du rhone ! said:

I sometimes on a this forum feel like the dementor of ballet. Sucking all the happiness out of the room 😢 But parents need to know what they are signing up for and not just get sweep away with it all. We don’t have a chip on our shoulders,we aren’t angry…

You’re a better person than I am, cdr - I *was* angry.  Really angry.  Angry with the people who spun a great yarn, talked the talk, but who turned out to be nothing more than good salespeople.  

But why would we not be angry, when our beloved children come home broken in all senses of the word?  It’s completely understandable.  It does ease in time, especially when we’re able to express it safely. 

We need to hear stories from both sides; hearing the positives and the negatives helps us make a choice.  Don’t think of yourself as a Dementor; you’re giving us your honest personal experience and that can only be helpful to new people or people just starting the ballet journey.  

I’ve said before that perhaps we as parents need to think of ballet as we would horseriding, piano, or swimming - a wonderful hobby that benefits our children in all sorts of ways, but without any expectation that they will become the next Pippa Funnell/Lang Lang/Becky Adlington.  If opportunities to take it further arise then great, as long as everyone involved realises that the likelihood of becoming the next Naghdi or Cuthbertson - or, let’s face it, even getting a paid contract in a good ballet company - is slim to none.

If I had a pound for every time I beat myself up about my parenting, especially decisions made around ballet, I would be a millionaire, joyofdance.  But we can’t go back in time, and at the time we’re doing the best we can with the knowledge we have - plus we don’t want to be the one to deny our child the chance to follow her dreams.  Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and there are things I regret now, like behaviour I tolerated from teachers, a full time “school” I wish I’d never let my dd attend, and so on.  Ballet has taken its toll on her, physically and mentally.  The saddest thing was that the choice to go down the academic route was only partially dd’s, mostly it was made for her by her body, and the injury she sustained.  Whatever made your daughter choose academics, if it was her *choice*, that’s positive.

BUT - and it’s a big but - there were many many positives, joyous moments, performance opportunities, lovely friends made (for both dd and me), lovely summer schools, some absolutely wonderful teachers, transferable skills, even the independence to take herself up to London on the train every Saturday and navigate buses and tubes alone - so many benefits that I’m sure I’m forgetting some.  Certainly her “journey” back from a serious injury, having a year out and a long, painful recovery, going back to school for A Levels, getting her RAD Adv 2 just for personal satisfaction, all clearly made her an interesting (and successful) candidate for Oxbridge where she’s now studying (and dancing for fun on the Uni’s competition team).  

Once she stepped off the audition/full-time ballet roller coaster, she suddenly found dance fun again with no pressure.  She loves having “Dance friends” from her own and other Colleges and “subject/College friends.  There are dance social events, competitions, it keeps her fitness up, and is a welcome break from academic work.  I can definitely recommend it, even if your dd wants to steer clear of ballet and switch to jazz, tap, or even hip-hop! 

It’s probably all very raw for you right now, and I completely understand that.  When we see our beloved children hurt, grieving, injured, and we see the lasting effects the ballet world has had on them, it’s natural to feel sad, angry, and even bitter.  It can be a brutal, toxic environment, but it’s what they wanted to do at the time, and none of us have a crystal ball.  With time, with support - with counselling, if necessary - the grief lessens and the love of dance often returns.  “Was it worth it?” is the million dollar question, and one you may never have the answer to, but it is what it is.  

Who knows, ballet and all its downsides may be partly what’s helped to give your dd the resilience and determination to get into her first choice of uni - no mean feat - and hopefully she will continue to dance there, with all the fun and benefits to enjoy, and friends to make.  I hope she’ll have such a happy time. 

1 hour ago, art_enthusiast said:

I must say, as a newcomer to this forum, I'm unpleasantly surprised by the amount of content policing which seems to occur in response to what seem like natural topics of conversation. It certainly does not create a welcoming atmosphere for newcomers to the forum.

Well, I’m sorry to hear that, art_enthusiast; we welcome all newcomers and their opinions are equally as interesting and valid as our longstanding and very knowledgeable forum members.  

However, in order for there to be a Balletcoforum, there must be rules - and these rules don’t just benefit the Forum and help the very small team of volunteers who run the Forum to run it smoothly, but they also protect its members.  Everybody who joins the Forum agrees to these rules, and unfortunately, keeping a thread on track and stopping it from descending into a flame war might be construed as “content policing” (we call it Moderating) but that’s surely better than the alternative, wouldn’t you say?

I have never joined an online forum that doesn’t have rules about what can and can’t be said, “content policing”, and so on - it wouldn’t last long, would be a nightmare from a legal point of view, and would be a platform for trolling and abuse.  None of which are likely to create a welcoming atmosphere.

Both Alix and Marianna are Aud Jebsen Young Dancers; Marianna is in her second year (last year’s AUYD contracts were extended), so in theory it could have been Alix if she has been dancing in Giselle (we know Marianna has, with great success):  

3 hours ago, Rob S said:

 

I'm afraid my last Giselle was yesterday.

😢😢

Wonderful, and so well deserved.  Hope you and/or @Rob S are able to take some photos!

48 minutes ago, prs59 said:

Was Wednesday his finest hour? not in my opinion.

Which is the whole point of this Forum, isn’t it? - to offer - respectfully - our own *opinions*; for this is Art we’re discussing, which is of course subjective.  It’s not a Fan Site and nobody’s opinions are facts, or “the truth” for everybody else. 

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

 

Yes, generally I would agree with that.  Which is why I was so impressed with Morera's performance yesterday.  I knew she was good in Act 1, she is such a brilliant dramatic dancer.  However, I was so impressed with her in Act 2, I was moved to tears at the end. 
 

I thought Bonelli was magnificent in the role.   I suppose it isn't fair to make comparisons with Sambe, who was making his debut, but I loved the way this experienced pair took care to match each other's elevation and line when dancing together.  They looked terrific, especially as he was a last minute replacement for her original partner.

  I couldn't help wondering if this might possibly be the last season that Morera gets to dance Giselle, which made the occasion even more poignant.  The heaps of flowers she received at the end added to this feeling.  If it was, then I saw something very special that I shall remember for a long time.  

 

 

I love the Morera/Bonelli partnership (although, to be fair, Bonelli seems to be a wonderful partner to whomever he’s partnering).  One of the standouts of their “Manon” was the way they anticipated each other, so seamlessly that there was no visible preparation to the jumps and throws in the final pdd.  They just happened, as if the two were thinking with one mind. 

2 hours ago, theorist said:

She is listed as Moyna on the cast sheet for the Schools Matinee, but not subsequently as far as I can see.

🙁 Thanks, theorist - I wonder why? Hope she’s not injured.

10 hours ago, alison said:

And that in turn reminds me just how short the company appears to be at the moment on "senior Wilis".  I suppose Kaneko and O'Sullivan are no longer available, having been promoted to Principal, but didn't Yuhui Choe use to dance Moyna/Zulme?  Tierney Heap's presumably not sufficiently recovered to do Myrtha as yet.  More junior dancers may of course be required in the corps.

Apologies if I’ve missed it but has Romany Pajdak not danced Moyna or Zulme this run?  I can imagine her being rather wonderful.

@Sheila Beelamat Just Ballet used to stock Russian Pointe; she may be able to order them in for you?