Anna C

My jaw just hit the floor!

In the past, when my dd has been injured or felt too ill to dance, she has begged to go to her local class just to watch. I always check with her teacher who is happy for dd to do this. That way she doesn't feel that she's missing out on anything. Can be a good compromise if it's nothing infectious. :-)

I thought that RAD character started as Russian based folk and then introduced Polish as the grades went higher? I know in Grade 6 there's an awful lot of Polish; dd has been practising the Krakoviac (sp?) :-)

I've said that dd can try a pair when her feet stop growing and when they are stronger, just to see what they're like. Fortunately she still loves her Blochs though, which are easy to sew!

Do they feel a lot different to dance in, afab? One of the girls at dd's Associate class had a pair and said that she felt as if the shoe was doing all the work, if that makes sense.

Yes, I have thank you. :-)

Coo! No wonder she's getting through shoes! :-)

Agreed. Relatively easy to do and looks so unprofessional if it doesn't work properly.

I'm not surprised; the amount of pointe shoes professional dancers get through is amazing. Are Gaynors or Bloch B-Morphs any tougher than traditionally made shoes? Can you even break the shank?

Yes, found that Janet, thank you. :-) One of my bugbears is websites/links that don't work - people will try to find info up to a point but then give up.

I still can't find a link to the website which actually works, despite googling the school. Anyone got one which works? :-(

Yep - that's what I meant! :-). I meant that for a person with strong feet, they might want a harder shank than the 2007 proflex, which - if I remember rightly, come in supersoft, soft or medium shank from Dancia.

Glad she enjoyed it! Best of luck. :-)

I definitely agree re. seeing a dance physio once you are sure that there's no break. They will know what it's safe to do in terms of dance, and what should be avoided. Fingers crossed that by the end of June all will be well (and at least in Inter Foundation there's no lifting!). Guessing you have already tried ice and rest?

The problem we had with dd's Inter Foundation was that she was attending the last exam session for the old syllabus, so retaking wasn't an option. She was taking it at HQ already so an alternative venue wasn't possible. I didn't know about the special consideration until afterwards, and by then it didn't really seem worth it. Fortunately she still got a Merit and it was "only" Inter Foundation. If it had been any of the Advanced exams or there had been the option to postpone then I definitely would have done so, but as it was, it was just jolly bad luck. We thought it best to be pleased with the Merit given how ill she was, and move onwards and upwards. :-)

My dd had a couple of pairs of Grishko 2007 proflex; they are traditionally made but are quite supple in the shank, especially for someone with strong feet. It may be that your dd needs a harder shank.

Morning Swe, To start with, you need to know what make and model the shoes are, because this will determine how you break them in. I.e. are they new technology, like Gaynors or Bloch thermomorph? Or are they traditionally made using cardboard and leather, and with hessian and glue in the box? Bloch have two different recommended break-in techniques depending on the shoe. Personally, I wouldn't start bashing the box of pointe shoes or shutting them in the door - bad for the doorframe! I only ever needed to squash the box when I was converting an old pair of pointes into soft blocks. I know professionals bash the box but as far as I know this is purely to deaden the noise on stage for performance purposes. All we do with my dd's traditionally made Blochs is: Wear them around the house with 2 pairs of thick socks over the top of the shoes, Go up and down through quarter, demi, and three quarter pointe, And follow Lisa Howell's tip for gently breaking in the shank and at the demi-pointe: http://m.youtube.com/?reload=2&rdm=m45tih53q#/watch?v=pX-PNqJr9z4 Hope that link works! If it doesn't, search youtube for "Lisa Howell breaking in pointe shoes". Does your dd's teacher approve her pointe shoes when she gets a new pair?

I don't know that I agree with that, because to be honest you could wait for two years or more, be on course for a distinction, and then be ill on the exam day! The mark is only a reflection of how you danced on one particular day. I also think that doing the same syllabus work over and over again can make you stale, and you can almost over-train. My dd was supposed to take her Inter Foundation last summer, but the exam session clashed with our holiday abroad. So she had to take it at Christmas and of course was very poorly. So now she has to put that she got a Merit, which she hates. :-) My point is that if you wait until you're sure of a Distinction, then anything can still happen on the day! Better to take the exam when you and your teacher both agree that you're ready. Then - que sera, sera. :-). Whatever the result, a good selection panel at audition will be able to see past it if necessary.

Thanks El Ingles. I still can't get the website link to work though - is it just me?

Sounds good dancemad! Thanks for posting. :-)

Hello balletshoes, a warm welcome to you and congrats to your dd! :-)

Yes, my dd is the youngest by between 3 and 5 years in her Intermediate class, but to be fair she is the only one of her age in her local school who intends to try for Upper Schools. Like David's class there is an Adv2 student using the Inter class as extra class time.

I think it's less important at Year 7 auditions because they are looking for physique and potential in order to begin full time training. I think in a lot of cases you are taken back to basics in year 7 so a certain level of vocabulary isn't AS important. By 16 you are expected to have a certain level of vocabulary as the training is continuing rather than starting from scratch.

They're about 4 months old taxi, and they only started creaking last week. She's been wearing them for 3 classes a week so they're definitely not "newish" now! :-)

I don't think there is a required grade to audition, more important for auditioning would be the right physique, secure technique, secure pointework, musicality, artistry and obviously a certain level of vocabulary so that you know the steps they want you to demonstrate. We're a couple of years off auditioning but do the schools ask what level you're currently studying and which exam you've taken most recently? If it helps, my dd is 13, taking her RAD Grade 6 this term and has been studying RAD Intermediate for 6 months.