Anna C

I don't have a problem with Soap actors; many of them are very good actors indeed and if the programmes/storylines/scripts are dodgy you can't really blame the actors - it would be like blaming dancers for poor choreography. My young cousin has been fortunate enough to get a part in a soap recently and as you'll know Fiz, it won't have been handed to him on a plate. :-) I quite agree about pop "names"/celebs getting lead roles in big musicals over people that have grafted and trained for years though. Just take a listen to Nick Jonas singing through his nose in the 25th Anniversary concert of Les Mis. We also had the misfortune to see "H" from Steps playing Joseph when dd was little. *shudders* I never realised the difficulty of crossing from Musical Theatre to Drama though. Does your dd have an agent Fiz? What does he/she advise?

Brilliant, thank you so much! I will check but now I know they exist I'm sure we'll be able to get them in London one Saturday. Thank you Tippytoes. :-)

I've edited it for you Tulip. :-) I have frequent dreams where I'm en pointe - I stopped dancing aged 6 so it's not something I've ever experienced! Sometimes I know the steps, but more often than not I'm about to go onstage having had no rehearsal at all - SO scary! Edited to add that our posts crossed Anjuli, so should I have the same nightmare again I will try to take your advice and bourree! ;-)

My dd had some satin Sansha shoes that were wide - too wide for her, as it turned out. It's very tricky fitting ballet shoes; if your local shop doesn't stock a very big range, could they order some in for your dd to try?

I agree with asking your teacher, as it's very difficult for anyone to prescribe exercises for another person, particularly when trying to form an idea of someone's foot from a written post. I always thought that my dd was having trouble getting fully over onto pointe because the front of her ankle wasn't flexible enough (which seemed strange to me as laterally, her ankles are hypermobile). The problems - diagnosed by an excellent pointe shoe fitter and a highly experienced dance physio, were twofold - the wrong pointe shoes (vamp too high and platform too tapered) and a lack of strength in the foot muscles and muscles down the backs of her legs. The difference after changing pointe shoes and working hard doing her exercises twice a day every day for months is incredible. She's never going to have banana feet but they are getting much stronger and she's now getting fully over en pointe with no problem. The point I'm trying to make is that we thought the problem was the front of the ankle but actually it was something else entirely, so you can see the difficulty in even folks as knowledgeable as Anjuli and drdance trying to suggest exercises for you without being able to examine your foot and your pointe shoes! :-) I would suggest having a good talk to your teacher and asking her to look at your feet and your shoes.

Which part of your foot are you thinking is not flexible, swanprincess? The front of your foot at the ankle?

No, I believe she runs West London School of Dance on a Saturday.

My dd went to Anna's class yesterday at Danceworks with her friend who is at YDA. Apparently it is even more crowded than usual because the larger studio is being renovated so Anna is currently teaching downstairs. There seemed to be a lot of Anna's YDA crowd there who got a lot of corrections, but Anna did come and correct dd's "line" once or twice. Dd said Anna was very nice indeed and that the class was pitched between Inter Foundation and Intermediate level so she had no problems with it. :-)

Thank you! Eloise_please, she wants canvas as opposed to leather on the basis that all the others in Associates wear canvas split soles, so although she doesn't mind full soles, she doesn't want to stand out! :-)

Chuckling at the school bag issue! I insisted on a rucksack for years 7 and 8, despite moaning from dd! We found a lovely Roxy one on surfdome.com which was great quality AND acceptably fashionable. For year 9 she has a lovely Superdry alumni bag - I gave in on the backpack on the proviso that she leaves some books in her locker!

Ugh, school shoes for teenagers! If your teen doesn't need orthotics, then M&S or Next ladies shoes are reasonably acceptable to teenagers. Some of dd's friends wear flat shoes from New Look which tend to fall apart quite quickly and don't give any support. In one way I'm pleased that dd wears orthotics as she knows those shoes are a no-no. It does mean that she's limited to black Vans/Converses/Dunlop Black Flash (which are all very Fashionable at school!) for fine weather, and ankle boots - the Victorian style ones - for Winter. Last autumn we found her a pair of black boots in Clarks ladies dept. which I was sure someone would comment negatively upon - but amazingly they didn't! So for non-orthotic wearing teens, I'd go with a small heel, supportive shoe. Skechers do some nice ones: http://www.skechers.co.uk/style/21495/bikers-goldmine/bbk and my niece used to love Etnies but I have no experience of those!

Thanks folks. I completely forgot to ask in Freed yesterday - what a donut!

Morning all, Does anyone know if Freed or Bloch make canvas full sole ballet shoes? Dd can't wear her soft blocks for Associates and has been told by the physio to wear full-soles if soft blocks aren't feasible. She only likes satins for exams and finds leather a bit bulky, so wonders if there is such a thing as canvas full soles that we could buy in London. Anyone know? Thank you. :-)

No, my dd is 13 and these girls look 15 or 16 to me. :-)

Beautiful artistry; I agree that they are being encouraged to achieve high extensions but fortunately not in an overly gymnastic way in the sections I watched. I think they're much nearer 15 than 13 though!

My two favourites by miles: A Room with a View (Richard Robbins) and Sabrina (John Williams). Those two are permanently on my ipod. :-)

The chiropodist told us not to put any savlon - in fact any cream at all on dd's feet, just salt water bathing and then wiping with surgical spirit. She said you don't want to soften dancing skin, and that if you're inclined to slightly ingrowing nails, putting cream on them can almost clog them up and seal any underlying infection in. My dd tried ice cold water after EYB and then wiping with surgical spirit and amazingly she didn't have even one blister the whole time. :-)

Until I'm told otherwise, I'm still sticking to suede patches! ;-)

I do think the full-sole/split sole issue should be dictated by the foot of the individual in question. Luckily dd's associates don't dictate shoe make or type so each student wears their preferred style and make.

Dd calls it "getting it into the feet" but obviously there are other body parts involved. I suppose it's not that different to me "playing" a melody with my fingers while I listen to music. Looks funny but it works. :-)

Oh Primrose, what an absolute nuisance. :-( Really hope everything gets sorted out quickly. I echo the good wishes for your lovely dd's continuing training and everyone starting their training.

That's interesting; I wonder why they don't like canvas? My dd's local teacher doesn't like satin for classwork; seems all teachers have their own preference! :-)

I would always get ballet shoes fitted, even flat shoes, rather than buying them online. :-)

I have the most ridiculously eclectic collection of music going. The first piece of music I fell in love with was probably Dvorak's 9th, which (apparently) I used to demand over and over again as a toddler because it made me cry (!). Then Holst's Planets, Swan Lake, Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, anything I could get my hands on. Now I have a mixture of probably every music genre including rap, opera, and of course lots of Tchaikovsky. But I do have a particular love of both Pink Floyd and Genesis. :-)

I was a month old at the time of Apollo 11 but I've been fascinated by the Apollo missions ever since my first visit to Kennedy Space Centre as a teenager. What I find really sad is that in a few years, there will be nobody left alive who walked on the moon.