Anna C

Sounds like she needs Danskin girls sizes as opposed to adult then. I'd probably try Girls M/L but I'm not sure of Danskin girls' sizes?

Yes, theatrical pink is Danskin's version of RAD ballet pink. My dd wears adult size A/B but she's 13 and about 5'3 and a half. If your dd is small then she may want to try childrens' sizes. What size tights does she currently wear?

Well, my dd is 13 and this summer I have bought her one pair of 8.5cm heels for my parents' Golden Wedding. Until now she's only ever been allowed tiny, quite sturdy little heels for "occasions" but just for once she wanted real teenage, grown up, heels. I have only given in because she'll only be walking from the hotel to the car, into the dinner, sitting in them, and then walking back to the car - on the proviso that she takes my dh's arm and walks CAREFULLY in them! The rest of the time, she wears canvas lace-ups (Vans or Dunlop Flash) which fit her orthotics, Doc Marten type boots (which also fit her orthotics) and Birkenstocks on hot days. She has one pair of H&M ballet flats which she wears to birthday parties. She can't fit her orthotics in them but only wears them very occasionally. For school she wears Vans or Dunlops in black in the summer, black laceup boots in the winter. Shoe shopping is tricky for teenage dancers, particularly when they wear orthotics! Thankfully Vans/Dunlops/Converses and DMs are fashionable!

I can't tell you how glad I am that you can get hold of Danskin convertibles :-)) To answer the original question, my dd has been wearing convertibles for years now - I can't even remember the last time I bought footed tights for her. The "hole" means you can easily roll the tights up over your feet to dance barefoot, pop a pair of Ouch Pouches on for pointework, or even put socks on for other dance classes. They make life SO much easier!

DEFINITELY not too fussy. You wouldn't accept a brand new car with marks, dents or scratches, nor would you pay full price for clothing with marks, holes or frayed edges. Everything you wear gets marked BUT it should start off looking pristine and beautiful! You're definitely not being too fussy by wanting new goods in perfect condition.

Hi Pups_Mum, Sorry, been away all week so catching up now! Canvas pumps aren't officially allowed at dd's school but because they are the only type of spring/summer shoes which fit her orthotics, school allow them on medical grounds. I just make sure dd carries a note explaining why she wears them which she shows at uniform check. :-)

Hi Rowan, The physio suggested that dd see a consultant podiatrist when she kept having recurring bouts of achilles tendonitis in year 6. He could treat the tendonitis but suspected that the problem was caused by her overpronating her ankles, in other words, rolling in. We had never noticed it and it was only really visible when shown to us. The podiatrist prescribed orthotics which re-aligned the ankles and raised the heel slightly. Now she's been wearing them for almost 3 years she never gets achilles pain now except for if she wears "party" shoes for too long. Now the orthotist team at our local hospital just ask to review her every time she goes up more than 1.5 shoe sizes. I think plantar fascitis can also require orthotics, but that causes pain in the foot or heel rather than in the achilles (I think?)

My dd wants a pair of Floral DMs for Christmas - glad they fit orthotics! :-)

My 13 year old dd wears orthotics. You shouldn't need to size up; the main thing is to take the orthotics with you when shopping. Here's dd's list of shoes which fit her orthotics in without her feet being too high and falling out of the shoes: Vans Classic lace up canvas plimsoll thingies (her current summer school shoes - v fashionable apparently) - from Schuh Dunlop Flash canvas laceups (have a flat innersole and deep heel cup) - these come in an assortment of colours - from Sports Direct Birkenstocks for summer sandals (once you know what size, Amazon are usually a bit cheaper) - they've never hurt her but as Julie says, it depends what the problem is. If she doesn't have plantar fascitis but is overpronating, you should be fine with Birks as long as they're ones with good arch support. In the winter she wears black laceup boots which come a little way up the ankle - think Victorian - and her orthotics fit nicely in them. All her friends think that she's cool, apparently! If your dd is not allowed to wear plimsoll type things or boots to school, I'd write to her head of year explaining why she is wearing them, and pop a copy of the note into her schoolbag, so that if she gets questioned during uniform checks, she can just show a copy of the note. Converses would probably work, by the way. I only haven't tried them because dd has always been happy with Vans or Dunlop Flash. :-)

There must be good reason to get teaching qualifications because you hear about lots of retiring ballet dancers taking their teaching qualifications and then teaching. There is a big difference between actually doing something and being able to break things down in order to teach someone else. When I was looking for a new dance school 6 years ago, the first place I looked was the RAD website to find a registered teacher. It was important to me that I was entrusting my child to someone with a visible qualification, even for what was then an hour a week. It just gives you a baseline to go on.

Swe, don't forget Rambert at 18 - that might be an option?

All children develop at different paces; my dd certainly wasn't ready for a Year 7 place on a Dance course. She's only now coming into herself as a dancer and gradually gaining confidence, and she's 13. She wants to apply at 16 so as well as juggling homework, she dances 4 evenings a week and has Associates on a Saturday. She doesn't get performance opportunities except for a show every other year, so we make sure she gets to do EYB when they come near enough, and Easter and Summer courses. Hopefully we can keep her training up to a level where she has a good chance of getting a place at 16, but she's very academic too so hopefully will also get a good number of GCSEs. There are pros and cons to both systems. A child who's been away at school since 11 may burn out, lose their joy in dance, change their mind, get assessed out - OR have a wonderful time and do really well, and love every minute! :-). You just never know so all you can do is follow the path you're taking at the moment.

.....pair of Danskin convertible tights, pink, size A/B!!

Very difficult decision. I don't think any school is perfect - dd isn't always enamoured with the Modern teacher who seems only to praise one child (who rarely attends class) and doesn't think that the good dancers need praise (!) BUT Modern is only once a week and she loves learning from her ballet teacher. The ballet teacher and I have had some long conversations about dd which resulted in the teacher being completely hands on, which has made an unbelievable difference to their relationship and they now understand each other completely. Dd knows which "bits" the teacher means, and teacher knows now that dd really couldn't feel which bits to do what with. Sometimes teachers might be frightened to be hands on, in case a parent complains. Have you asked your dd's teacher to be more hands on, and actually said "you have my permission to be hands-on"? Personally I can't see how you can teach ballet without touching, but in this day and age you can see why teachers may be reticent about doing so. :-(

I must say that Tweeting and reading Tweets whilst watching Eurovision made the whole thing infinitely more entertaining! :-)

Good question! We moved dd to her current school at 7. The school she started at only did exams every other year and you had to wait until the whole class was ready before they would enter any children. Consequently, by the time dd was 7 she had only done Pre-Primary and Primary Ballet exams, and Primary tap, and wouldn't have done her Grade 1 until 9. The interim years between exams were spent learning material for a big show. The costume hire was really pricey, you had to attend extra classes approaching the show (at extra cost) and the dress rehearsals used to go on until ridiculously late. The year she was 5, the dress rehearsal ran until 10.45pm on a schoolnight! Then because they used to learn all the syllabus work in two terms, they used to demand extra classes coming up to the exams, on the basis that "you all need such a lot of work, none of you are good enough". The extra classes were pricey too. After almost 4 years of this we had had enough, so spoke to the Director of dd's current school. We took her along for a trial class and she loved it. 2 terms later she got a Distinction in her Grade 1 exam and was a very happy little girl indeed. She's still there 6 years later and it was her current teacher who suggested she try for Associates, and now works around Associates to ensure that dd gets the same amount of training. I was honest with the first school, paid them a term's notice, and explained exactly why I was moving dd.

Welcome to the forum, Ellington. :-)

I suspect the "Modern" Regattah is referring to is ISTD Modern Theatre (or Tring's non-Syllabus equivalent). There is certainly technique applied to it, just as there is for tap or ballet, but it's less technical than ballet, in that you don't have quite so much to think about! It's quite an odd syllabus in many ways, being a combination of exercises (foot warm up, leg kicks laying down, back relaxation exercises etc. presented in a dance-y way to music). Then you have amalgamations, a lyrical piece, a dance choreographed by the teacher, and travelling steps across the room. It has its own music, and Vocational exams as well as graded. So because it is a set syllabus and there are techniques to be learned, I assume that one can also pick up incorrect technique.

"Grink" - what a great word! :-)

Well oddly enough it used to happen to me all the time when I first joined, but I haven't had a limit for a couple of months now.

Don't you like coffee, bbb? I love it but I'm terribly fussy about how it's made; so much so that I just make my own when we visit family.

I'm on the waiting list too, so I haven't tried it yet....I wasn't going to join it but when looking at pictures of hairstyles today (for dd), one said "pin it" so I clicked to see what happened and it took me to pinterest. Janet, have you got off the waiting list yet?

Never seen any ballet on BGT, but to be fair they don't even show any classical ballet on "Got to Dance" - much to my dd's disgust. I'm sure there must be some classical ballet auditions but for some reason we are not allowed to see them..... I did think Pudsey was gorgeous, and Ashley has clearly put a lot of time and effort into training him, which is excellent. Although if there's any Border Collie in that dog, I'd be amazed. Bearded Collie, maybe!

Thanks - I'm not ignoring your follow request, I just can't approve followers on the ipad, so I must approve you from the real PC tomorrow! :-)

How lovely, Anjuli. :-). If you ever manage to snap photos of your winged visitors, I'd love to see them.