Sheila Beelam

18 minutes ago, TYR said:

RAD. Like "KGB".

Love that analogy 😂

Good luck to all! X

Same as Pictures x

I take private classes with Karis Scarlette (En Avant Ballet) at Danceworks and would recommend her as outstanding 💖

I would second SD69 in a B width fitting for narrow feet x

1 hour ago, cavycapers said:

I got my results on 1st August,  was only little old Grade 3, but I am 60 and only started ballet three or so years ago.  I passed with a merit!   Did a little dance and had a little cry (relief I think), so lucky to have a teacher who was willing to risk her 100% pass rate by putting in this old person!   Can't say what it means to me..... Good luck to all of you still waiting! 

Congratulations! 🤗

Such sad news, I remember Johns input was kind and considered, always thinking about other people. I’m sure he was a wonderful person and will be missed by many. Condolences to his family and friends x

Wishing you a speedy recovery Michelle  knees are tricky things, take care of them xxx

Thank you for sharing and congrats to all! 

I’ll speak to So Danca and see if we can get a pair for you

I’ll also check with Grishko on Monday as they do a pink full sole leather shoe without drawstring, so may do white too!

5 minutes ago, Aurora3 said:

I didn´t mean the SD 16, I meant the Grishko Dream Stretch?! Thank you for replying, Sheila Beelam, maybe you can tell me that

Sorry I didn’t mean to confuse, I meant that when fitting we find people go up one size in the dream stretch, a size 41 is tight, but comfortable in this style on me and I’m a UK 7. I was just saying as a comparison between styles I like a UK8 in the SD16  

On 22/07/2019 at 21:00, Aurora3 said:

Sheila Beelam, which size do you recommend for Groshko dream stretch? Normal street shoe size?

Depends how tight you like them...but generally I go up a size. I’m a UK 7 and the 41 is tight, but comfortable. I wear an 8 in the SO Danca SD16.

I would say 37=size 3 street shoe, 38=size 4, 39/size 5 etc

A little off topic, but when pointe shoe drawstrings are elasticated, sometimes they grip the cotton casing to such an extent that you can’t then slacken it off it you pull them too tight. I advise dancers to do what you say with the drawstring Anna, when sewing ribbons on. 👏🏻

I find the Capezio hanamis and Russian pointe vivante are good for wider feet. The Hanami suits a wider foot across the toes, the Rp suits a foot with a wide mid section.

The So danca SD16 is generally good for most foot shapes and comes in a regular width (C) and a narrower B width. The So danca SD 120 is  based on the SD16, but is a shoe with tapered toes (it has a right and a left), so is good for people with a long big toe. 

The Grishko dream stretch is also good for narrow feet - we have this in a B width in “regular” shoes and in a standard C width as a vegan shoe. 

On the subject of vegan shoes, we also stock the Tempo (non stretch- used to be called model 6) and the So Danca SD16 as a vegan shoe. We also have children’s vegan shoes in satin or canvas  

Hope this helps somebody! 

7 hours ago, Anna C said:

I used to get them from Just Ballet - @Sheila Beelam will know if they’re still available! 

Thank you  The distributor has stopped supplying them to the UK as they say it’s no longer economically viable

HOWEVER after some pleading, they have put an order in just for us  Should be here in a few weeks - keep an eye on our social media, or if you go on the tights on our website, you can sign up for an email notification when they come back in to stock x

We call these lyrical shoes  Having tried turning in foot thongs, I had the same problem with my little toe being left behind  

1 hour ago, anondancer_15 said:

 

 

thank you so much!! this is why i love this forum hahah

Let me know if you would like us to check our stock for you x

This is a CL-7.5W4SDH

Classic shape (Original) 7.5 wide, box 4, supple (pink bag) Deep vamp, high heel  

59 minutes ago, along for the ride mum said:

Thanks Sheila, that’s so kind. I actually decided to have a bit of a trial this afternoon. Can’t practice on the actual fabric as this is a pre loved dress but I found the closest possible match as far as I can tell and had a go, the tulle took the colour beautifully, just what we wanted but the chiffon, ( it turns out I may not know my chiffon from my organza 😂) much less so, the longer it was in there the less blue it got, it started off a lovely but pale blue but fairly quickly became much more of a lilac, a really lovely colour, reminded me of bluebells but not what was intended, I think I’m going to wimp out on this one and suggest we take a different tack, maybe with a good clean and a nice wide ribbon around the waist instead. 😀

Probably wise  Dyeing is always a journey of discovery for me and it’s stressful enough with uncut  fabric - making sure you’ve dyed enough to cater for any mistakes, omissions or spotting etc but I wouldn’t want to try a preloved item  

do share photos of what you decide to do! It’s amazing how much a simple ribbon or a few flowers can make to a dress 🌸

Darker/richer colours are harder to get right and dyeing synthetic fabrics is also trickier. Sometimes the dye colour can be misleading in the bottle/water, but rit do have a dyeing colour chart which is a useful resource  

What you need is the rit dye specifically for synthetics and lots of testing! I’ll check in the shop tomorrow and see if I have any. Just dyed sone silk bright orange this morning - so satisfying! 

5 hours ago, RuthE said:

This is a little off-topic, but I notice that Sheila's website now has a banner at the top with a prompt to add things up to the value of £60 in order to get free shipping.  Is this a new addition?  I don't recall seeing it before, and I'm sure I paid extra for shipping on the order I placed a couple of months ago (which was well over £60).  (Annoyingly, the skirt I fancy is back in stock, but even if I also succumb to the burgundy E10945 which I didn't end up buying the first time, I'm still a few pounds short of £60. I suppose I could get round it by ordering something to try on spec.)

Hi Ruth

Yes it is a new addition. We're trialling it to see how it works out, once you hit £60, the UK shipping is automatically reduced to nil at checkout. Maybe there are bits you can add like ribbons,  pins or hair nets? 

Shipping using anything other than the lower end couriers is so expensive. I find the lower priced couriers unreliable from a customer point of view - I've had cards left with no means of contacting the courier, parcels left in unsafe places and claims that parcels have been delivered when they haven't etc, so we want to make sure all our parcels get to their destination as quickly as possible. Our shipping system works, and 90%+ of items are there next day, but we do pay a premium for it.

One day we may be as big as others and be able to offer free next day delivery, but I honestly don't know how they do it - just sheer volumes I guess!
 

Bw

Sheila x

2 hours ago, LinMM said:

Ha ha Rebecca last time I was a size 8 must have been when I was about 10!! 

I'm trying to get hold of Michelle Richer as she knows where we ordered the larger leotards from ( apart from Tom at LAB!) 

Michelle if you read this was it Dance Direct!!? Perhaps it was So Danca? 

I would like to buy a nice leotard again (lacey topped ones I've looked at longingly in the shops look nice) for the Chelsea Ballet Summer School in August

Sheila will look at your website .....the XXL or size 7 might well do! 

Hi Lyn

we currently have several So danca leos in stock in size 7 and degas in XXL. 

This lacy one is in stock in Black and burgundy in size 7.

https://www.justballet.co.uk/products/so-danca-lace-top-leotard?key=fb967d898a2977dd33fecd44951f6a40fa5c397219f300b72285e85fc72fca94

And I’m pretty sure this one arrived in burgundy in size 7 on Friday, but not unpacked the box yet! https://www.justballet.co.uk/products/so-danca-lace-top-leotard?key=fb967d898a2977dd33fecd44951f6a40fa5c397219f300b72285e85fc72fca94

We can order any sizes in for you from So Danca  

sheila x

Where do the London Ballet Masterclasses normally take place please? Just trying to work out logistics of a trip down from Norfolk! X

How you tackle it depends on the fabric and decoration. It’s generally ok to dunk the pants section of a tutu in a washing up bowl to clean, avoiding getting the net wet.

For bodices if you clean sections (especially if you have to scrub) you can get water tide marks as it dries and the fabric can distort if it’s delicate. Sometimes it’s better to wet the whole bodice or if it’s panelled, then wet a complete panel. Use of an oxidising spray before gently hand washing is good for makeup/tan. With any process try on a hidden part if possible first - eg the internal basque, inside seams, the hook and eye under flap etc 

If water’s not an option then vodka sprayed on it can get rid of smells and hairspray is good for removing lipstick. 

Always allow to air dry slowly, never use a hairdryer etc

Our tutus are much more resilient than people think, but not sure what you’re dealing with! X

I find they run true to size, a 12y in BR and a 2A in So Danca are comparable. Sometimes particular styles can vary though, if you want to message me styles you’re comparing I can lay them on top of each other, if we have them