Anna C

Thanks Flowerdew, yes, in my opinion dd would be ready to take G5 in the summer. The school insists on the Vocational Grades following on from Grade 6 in ISTD, so they won't let her go from G5 Modern straight to Inter Foundation. Yes, in ballet she is studying RAD Intermediate (where she is the youngest by 3-5 years) and taking her Grade 6 at the end of June. Out of all her local classes, she is at her happiest in Intermediate because she stretches herself all the time to work at and try to exceed the level of the older girls. I think I need to have a proper chat with the school, particularly when the usual teacher comes back from Mat. Leave.

I like the smell! :-))

Sadly I don't think she does. :-( Dd isn't too young for the exam as far as the ISTD is concerned, just as far as the teacher is concerned. Need to have another chat with the school and see what they thought about my October idea. Fun and games! :-)

Ha! Good idea! :-)

Yes, it does. Thank you everyone. I will have another chat with them and explain the problem. There isn't anything else she can do on a Monday instead of the Modern class but we'll see what they say. :-)

I know if there was a choice my dd would take the lyrical route every time; that's what floats her boat, as it were. But no, having watched several G5 classes now there doesn't seem to be anything requiring a higher level of maturity. Honestly, I'm not trying to rush her through age-inappropriate exams in a hurry. :-). But conversely, she works best when engaged and stretched. I just don't want her to lose her love of Modern because she has to study the same exercises week in, week out for 2 years.

That's a good point Bankrupt Mum. I think that's what they are getting at and I can understand it. I think my problem is that I'm not sure that much maturity is necessary for the G5 work, so why not let her do that in the autumn and then take a bit longer over G6 and the Majors? It's not that I want to rush the process but I know from experience that if dd has to study the G5 syllabus for 2 years she will get bored and demotivated...which is counterproductive.

Mmm, could be. Thanks swe. All the others in her class are once-a-week dancers but even so, at least one other girl looks ready to take the exam. I understand that the cover teacher doesn't want to run an exam session this term as it's not really her class, but from a quick chat about it even the Director of the school thinks that the G5 and G6 work requires a more "sexy" approach. I've said that I'm not happy about dd studying the Grade 5 work for another year and in that case would they consider an autumn exam when the usual teacher will be back. No reply....

Morning all, Not so much ballet related but definitely "Doing Dance" related! My dd has been studying ISTD Modern since about Grade 2, if I remember rightly. She has been taking an exam almost every summer and getting high Distinction every time. She looks fairly "balletic" when she dances (as opposed to particularly "funky"!) but still does it so sharply and beautifully that it looks great. She's been studying Grade 5 and now only has the dance to learn, so I expected her to be taking her Grade 5 at the end of this term as usual. The class has a cover teacher though who is delighted with dd but announced the other day that because they "shouldn't really be taking their Grade 6 until about 18" that they are too young at 13 to take their G5 and that it would probably be at least another year before they take the exam. ISTD Guidelines say that the minimum age for Intermediate (which follows on from G6) of 13! Apparently one of the reasons is that the G6 work is more mature and "sexy", and therefore that the group is too young, but ok, spend longer teaching that! I'm just not keen for dd to be doing the same G5 work over and over again for 2 years. Thoughts? :-)

No, you might be better posting in the "Performances Seen" section. :-)

To PM a member you can click on their username or profile picture, and on the page which opens there is a link which reads "Send me a message". :-)

Some very valid comments there. Let's hope the message filters down through our schools!

I could only manage to make one, and she took 5 years of treatment! Things would undoubtedly have been different if we had other children to consider but we don't. I feel blessed just to have one. :-)

Ah, thought I'd check! :-)

I don't know if the teacher meant you had to get to finals for ALL the schools, or did she mean if you didn't get finals for ANY of them?

I would never say that just because a child doesn't get a place at 11, they will not have a career as a dancer. Likewise, it would be dangerous to say that someone will make it just because they are at Vocational School by 11. I disagree with Deborah Bull's statement. It may have been the case when she was at WL, but times change.

We scrimp and save like nobody's business to fund ballet training, EYB, Easter Schools, piano and singing lessons, trips to the theatre etc. If my dd doesn't achieve her dream of dancing as a career, I will be able to look back with a clear conscience and say "we gave her every opportunity we could afford to". If she's still dancing at this intensity at 14, she won't be made to take a paper round to contribute, as she's already tired enough as it is with homework etc. If nothing comes of it, will I think it's all been a waste of money? No, I will not. The friends she's made, the experiences she's had, the discipline it's given her, the fitness and beautiful posture, and the confidence she's gradually gaining - plus the fact that it keeps her off the streets - will have all been worth it, because she's chosen to do it.

Yes, don't change the padding now as the shoes will have been fitted with that padding. My dd hasn't found ouch pouches too sweaty as long as she dries them and the pointe shoes out afterwards. They are all kept in a mesh pointe shoe bag which helps. She has now progressed to "Ouch Pouch Pro" which are only gel on top, but thin fabric underneath. They help her feel the floor better. :-)

Congrats on your dd's first pointe shoes, how lovely. :-) In no particular order: Get your dd to wear her shoes around the house with one thick or two thin pairs of socks over the top. The socks will help keep the shoes clean and wearing them just to walk around the house in will soften the shoes ad help start the breaking in process. BUT: be careful going up and down stairs; you don't want her to trip or slip in them and injure herself. ALSO: it will be horribly tempting for her to go up on pointe in them; you will have to guard against this on pain of death!!! Depending on the make and model of shoe, the break in process can be very different. Check with your dd's teacher what, if anything, you should do to break the shoes in. We were always advised against elastic, despite the fact that to start off with, the shoe may slip down off the heel when rising. If the ribbons are sewn on correctly and at the right angle, once the shoe is broken in you will probably find that you don't need elastic. We do use suede pads as they are less slippery en pointe than bare satin. The best anti-slip deterrent is darning, but to be honest your dd will probably outgrow this first pair of shoes way before she's doing pointe on one foot on in centre. From a personal point of view, I don't think it's worth the time and effort of darning the first few pairs of pointes. Suede pads work fine to start with but make sure you stick them on with fabric glue. I can't think of anything else at the moment except prepare for your dd's feet to change as she progresses en pointe - you may have to change to a different model and even a different manufacturer. But most importantly, if you think your dd may be tempted to go up en pointe supervised, keep an eye on her and keep hold of the shoes when she's not wearing them! Oh, and keep this precious first pair once she outgrows them. :-)

Don't think so; she didn't start at WL until 13 but if I remember rightly she was training elsewhere up until that point. Melissa Hamilton is the one whose story inspires me. I think if my dd doesn't get a place to study dance by 18 or so, and either doesn't want to apply for Musical Theatre or can't get a place, she would then decide for herself to take a different path. But it would be her decision, not mine.

I'm a bit of a cruise addict, although a childhood spent sailing competitively probably accounts for my love of being out on the water. When money next allows (probably at least 5 years' time!) I'll be there Anjuli!

At dd's Associate class they started pointe after 5 months of class and all the girls were 12. I know some girls had been put on pointe before that by their local teacher, but my dd hadn't. For the remainder of that year, they only did 10-15 minutes of pointework following on from the 1hr ballet class. If I remember rightly there were lots of rises at the barre, then releves - that was pretty much it. It was another few months after that when my dd first did any centre work en pointe and then it was very basic, just the exercises for the old RAD Inter Foundation. The whole process has been taken very slowly and steadily by both the Associate and local teachers, which I'm very glad about. I know some teachers are happy to put children en pointe at 10 but as a parent I would have balked at that.

Doing what my body allows, which is not much! So a lot of Facebooking, Tweeting, Modding on here (!) reading (anything and everything from chick lit, through Jane Austen, to my most bizarre love of London Underground History), talking to the dog, talking on the phone, doing our local dance school's website and facebook page, and watching "Inspector Morse" and "Lewis". When the body is willing I love to go anywhere that isn't my bedroom. When I was able to work I loved travelling, particularly cruising with Royal Caribbean. Skint now though so it's North Wales or Derbyshire if we're lucky!

It does, and it makes sense. I'll show this to my dd. Thank you Anjuli. :-))

The thing is, losing flexibility during rapid growth spurts is not unusual! My dd is hypermobile but her teacher asked me to get the physio to check her lumbar spine as it seemed not to be very flexible. After a thorough examination the physio pronounced it to be a temporary problem resulting from such a rapid growth spurt. Nothing to worry about! I wish Vocational schools all took the view that although puberty isn't a short term thing, most dancers could in fact be guided through it with patience and care, and emerge on the other side as wonderful dancers!