drdance

***Mods please remove if this contravenes the acceptable use policy**** I am running the London Marathon in April to raise money for Parkinson's UK (a disease which sadly affects my Mum). If anyone would like to sponsor me I would be extremely grateful as I am still a long way off my target. http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/emily-twitchett

Sarahw that's why a dance conditioning specialist is the best to have - someone who has a good knowledge of strength and conditioning, and dance (and if that person also has the knowledge to work specifically with under 18s then even better! - wink wink!). However I second my colleagues post above and wholeheartedly agree that just because something doesn't look like dance or ballet doesn't mean that it isn't beneficial. Indeed, training functional movement, in normal ways of moving (parallel) is more beneficial sometimes because it works to address muscle imbalances that may develop if a dancer is solely concerned with working in turnout.

It certainly does seem to be expensive - but then there are classes and rehearsals every week, pretty much. The teaching staff are good, and it's a great opportunity to take class and rehearse with other young dancers week in, week out, in lovely facilities with a pianist. I have heard that the classes are big, and for some students they spend a lot of time sitting around in rehearsals depending on their role (but that can happen in any rehearsal situation - and I personally think students can learn a lot from watching, but they get bored I suppose, and if I was a parent paying a lot of money I'm not sure I'd be too happy about that....). Doing a performance is great, especially if the students don't have exposure to that through festivals or other shows. Like any performance-based programme, there are going to be costs, commitment, benefits, pitfalls etc - parents should make up their own minds on balancing these out.

Conditioning in dance usually means additional strengthening to supplement the 'technique' class. Think of it this way - a footballer doesn't spend every minute at training playing football. They will do aerobic conditioning (usually running/rowing/cycling), agility drills, stretching, strength training in a gym etc all of this to make them better at playing football. Conditioning for dancers essentially needs to be the same kind of thing - working on all elements of fitness to make them better at dancing (and less likely to get injured). Due to the hypermobile or flexible nature of young dancers, there is an emphasis usually on strengthening work (to protect and support this flexibility) but it might be that a stiffer young dancer needs to work more on flexibility, or if might be that a dancer is getting tired quickly in longer dances so needs to develop their aerobic fitness. When lecturing teachers on this topic, I recommend the golden rule that conditioning classes should work to address areas of the dancers fitness that need addressing, therefore different students in a class might need to be given different tasks/exercises. The exercises should also directly link to dancing. Pilates is lovely for injury rehabilitation (what it was designed for) but in my opinion, unless very specifically tailored and taught by a specialist, it doesn't translate very well to actually dancing (most dance teachers teach pilates exercises using a mat; lying down and moving slowly does not use the same muscles as standing up and turning/jumping). There are some super dance conditioning programmes coming out now and thankfully lots of teachers are adding conditioning classes to their schedules - but I do wonder about the training/knowledge/understanding of paediatric exercise physiology that teachers have when lifting/copying exercises from Youtube/Facebook/Instagram etc and adding them into a class.

Ask you teacher first and foremost, but otherwise, assuming your technique is correct and secure, the best exercise that all dancers should be doing, daily, regardless of where they're at in their training, is rises. The Australian Ballet (school or company, I can't remember which) added this in at the end of barre work, I believe, and their ankle injury rate dropped dramatically. I was told students should aim for 15 on each leg ideally.

Hi, I've shared this on the MIDAS Facebook and also my own facebook page... hope it helps!

Janet - Basically it means that if schools or individual teachers are identifiable by details discussed, and unfavourable statements are made, then there could be legal implications in terms of defamation (or slander, libel etc). Furthermore, online speculation can damage how well evidence might stand up in court (in the event of any issue being investigated through legal systems)

Hi Danceforfun, please have a look at www.saferchildrensdance.co.uk or PM me or Annaliesey. If there are significant concerns regarding schools there is a whistleblowing process available via that website.

Hi Mummy Twinkle Toes - probably on a Monday evening.

It was an interesting article to read, however I was slightly concerned by the way that the topic of physical abuse was in the same article as "whether it is ok to touch as part of teaching". I think that it is ok to use appropriate touch as a teacher and am fairly hands on, especially with younger students (I am more wary of intruding on teenagers' personal space). But in no way do I condone abusive teaching, either physical or emotional. The two things are very different and I don't understand how one can ever be misconstrued as the other. The implication that teachers could ever hit students as part of 'normal' teaching is astounding.

After Easter, I will also be running a range of open classes in Warwick - including a general dance conditioning class (in addition to a jump training class, a turns class and ballet technique classes). Teachers permission must be obtained by students wishing to attend.

FAO Mods: If this contravenes the 'acceptable use' policy please delete immediately with my apologies. Dance teachers, parents and students... I have put together a series of workshops that I can deliver at your dance school. The workshops are: - Classical ballet – technique focus (including basic conditioning exercises to aid technique) - Skills workshop (turns, leaps, kicks - including some basic conditioning work) - ‘Jump start’ (a session designed to develop strength and power as well as learn some fun new jumps) - Dance conditioning class (a whole body, dance specific fitness class) - Flexibility Focus (Learning safe techniques to develop flexibility) - Private lessons (to work on any aspect of dance technique, performance, conditioning or injury prevention/rehabilitation) These can be one-offs, regular bookings or part of your school holiday courses. If you'd like the class information in more detail, including prices, please PM me with the email address to send the details to, and I'll send it straight over! Looking forward to working with you all Also - if there's anything else you think young dancers would benefit from please comment below. Many thanks for your support! Emily aka DrDance

My candidate didn't bother!

I currently really like following SHIFT movement science on Facebook. He shares some great advice on active flexibility. But I second the advice that others have already said above.

Taxi... it did make total sense! (I'll be out of a job soon!)

Be aware that pain can be referred from nearby - so groin pain may related to buttock pain and could be caused by a myriad of things, (you don't say if it's on the same side?). Have you tried using a small ball such as a tennis ball or lacrosse ball to 'roll' the buttocks? That might help relieve some tightness.

Hi, there are no photo requirements for the application. There will not be an Easter School as such but there may be some more 1-day workshops dotted through the year. Summer intensive is still being organised!

As a teacher, I always recommend a plain camisole/sleeveless leotard that the student feels comfortable in - usual RAD uniform colours are black, navy, purple or royal blue. With shoes, I tend to recommend a happy medium between the satin shoe with ribbons and split soles by suggesting the student wear satin, split sole shoes with pointe shoe ribbons. These shoes can be pancaked/calamined or left (up to the student). It does depend on the fit of the shoe though as some brands of satin shoes don't fit wide feet well and not many brands do split sole satins. But that's what I'd like to see students in.

I've just seen a post by Nicholson School of Dance about RAD classes so check if you can do grades there.

SwaybackSapphire no student is excluded from auditioning! In fact, the admissions policy has been amended in order to ALLOW MORE students who are not associates elsewhere to have a chance at accessing additional training. The message being sent out to prospective parents here is that if your son or daughter is a keen young dancer who wishes to apply for additional dance (not just ballet) training then please do apply!

PM sent. Thank you for your query.

That is correct, Bluebird. We were inundated last year and ended up making this decision. I can explain further via PM if you'd like.

Happy New Year to you all! The online application for MIDAS auditions for 2017 (September start) is now live again via www.midas-dance.org.uk. Students must be year 4 or above (going into year 5 in September). Pupils who are associates of the Royal Ballet School do not need to audition to join MIDAS, but due to a large demand for places all other prospective students must audition. Auditions will be held on a Sunday, towards the end of May/beginning of June. Audition dates will only be allocated after the closing date of April 30th. If you have any questions about the scheme that you cannot find the answer to via a forum search, or on the website then please feel free to PM me.

Nicholson School of Dance, Digbeth. Collins-McCarthy Academy, Harbourne. Both excellent classical ballet focus.

Have a look for dance pilates exercises or theraband strengthening exercises (progressing ballet technique might have some) and then adapt them for use with this. Basically it provides resistance for you to work against to develop strength. The loops can be around feet, barres, hands, arms etc. Be creative! Just avoid using it for passive stretching!