Flit and float

Not really associates but RCS have RAD classes (all the grades) in their lovely studios....I'm sure they do various courses & things too.

Bloch tights are lighter than Capezio and more comfy - they feel like ballet tights rather than the thick support tights of Capezio! The light tan are fairly light. Light tan fishnets might be an option but you'd need to cut the feet off.

A boy I trained with did a bit of pointe work - he was training full time so was a bit older than you but I think it was to get an idea of what the girls were doing, what it felt like & maybe just for the general challenge/strengthening. He was very strong & accomplished dancer but think he found pointe quite hard. I guess it's harder to find shoes to for guys too. Les Ballet Trocadero (The Trocks) is a male ballet company who dance en pointe as females (drag ballet?!) it's a comedy thing but they are all properly accomplished dancers & can do all the pointe properly.

Bloch tights seem to be slightly bigger made & more stretchy than Capezio ones (& softer) Try cutting the waistband off Capezios maybe too? Agree Danskin are weirdly short, I got fishnets with bizarrely short legs! They used to be the best tights ????

I learned them similar to the way Dr Dance describes and also down the barre - we were allowed to push off it a bit to begin with to help get the "up" feeling - it helped! Defo think of a good push off on the hop, to get right up to give time to change legs. My teacher used to go mad if we did a dainty little gallop into them, need to do the three good steps! The steps are the travelling bit more than the actual jump really.

Yeah there are a few but pretty spread out & will involve a bit of travel. Only one in my (big) city! ISTD not as common here. I have Inter (& beyond) & many years teaching experience, just not ISTD. It's just not entirely clear from ISTD website if there are parts you can do yourself (eg anatomy)or if it's all through the approved dance centre. I'm thinking I might have to do it through private lessons with them, at least for the actual practical part) so if I can study bits by myself it'll save time & money!

I think you start off on a common course then specialise? I know a girl who trained in ballet there, defo a full ballet course & she was ballet focused before she went.

The flex Bloch ones are gorgeous though! (& expensive!)

Capezio I'd say! Defo narrow whereas So Danca I find more suitable if you've wide feet. Dance direct (& loads other places online) sell Capezio & you just order your UK size & they work it out.

Look on eBay for second hand! Quite often you might get barely worn ones! Capezio don't have reinforced heel but are ok, but when mine finally died it was the heel that broke. Might take a bit of getting used to dance in if you haven't worn them before but they don't hurt my feet to break in or anything (& my feet are bad for that). So Danca & Bloch similar tbh. I always worry about slipping so you can scuff up the soles or get them soled. Depends on your stage!

Capezio 3" heel are the ones I use, they are quite narrow made & I usually get one size bigger. You can get 2" heel too but Capezio 3" are the nicest looking in my opinion. The 2" heel seem to not be quite so small made so maybe a half size bigger. So Danca are a bit wider & a bit cheaper, Bloch also quite good. Capezios last forever in my experience, I had a pair that lasted ten years and took a good battering! All of them have leather soles so depending on the stage you might need to get the shoes soled.

It looks great but it's not suitable really (I live in Scotland). There are hardly any places here that are approved, there aren't as many ISTD schools as in England but there are several thst aren't approved. You'd think the Dance School of Scotland would have something....

Thanks both - that's really helpful! Looks not too difficult

Wondering if anyone can help with info on becoming ISTD qualified (tap & maybe modern) Website gives info but I'm not entirely clear what's involved in reality. I have the relevant exams up to Adv1 (experience of Adv2 but didn't do the exams) so that's fine, I find an appropriate approved dance centre school to do DDI? How much experience of the syllabus are you meant to do? You sit the exam when ready and are an ISTD qualified teacher? Then there are the other units such as health & safety, are they separate to the rest? Just trying to work out how feasible it would be to do as my nearest approved dance centre is quite a journey away (not so many in Scotland). I already teach & have lots of experience, not sure if that would count. Thanks for any info!

I usually write mine out with little drawings to show an arm position or whatever...if it's a group number then crosses for each person's spacing. Sometimes "map out" a piece of music into sections and choreograph those bits, I get inspiration for certain sections & not always chronologically. It can be good if messing around with a bit to leave a camera running, stops any "what did I do???" worry!!

I took a while to learn to drive & pass, I find spacial awareness difficult generally although I'm certain dance has helped me a bit! I know lots of dancers who took many attempts to pass....I'm not naturally co-ordinated either so maybe I would've never managed without dancing! I did have good clutch control from the start, all that going through the feet business surely helped?!

Oh and Dance For All is a college but I think they might have younger classes too. Check the RAD Scotland page for news about RAD Schools. Scottish Ballet have junior, mid & senior associates from P6 (so around age 9/10) and you can audition for Dance School of Scotland for S1 entry (& it's fully funded!) Might be a bit premature but sonething to consider. Scottish Ballet associates are weekly in Glasgow (not too difficult to get to from Edinburgh) and they used to have monthly data for children travelling from outside Glasgow, not sure if they still do.

Edinburgh Dance Academy is a good RAD (& jazz, tap etc) school. Morningside Dance Academy is another one & Elite Studio Centre is great, my friend went there for extra training before she went pro.

I've got similar compressible feet & the box liners helped, & also a big tip on my big toe to take the pressure off. I found that the box liners seem to be made from almost the same materials as craft foam - if you get a sheet of the thin enough kind maybe you could create something to extend up the wings? I found shellac not great for wings either but superglue better (actual jet glue probably works even better!)

Amateur companies will probably hire from a professional costume company, who will no doubt have a full set of the costumes you need, supply, fit, alter etc...google for your area?

Scottish ballet drop ins I think are now £8 (haven't been for a bit) 1 1/2 hours with pianist, proper studio etc. Other drop ins range from about £5-£8 an hour

The London uni halls are great value, I've stayed there before, lots of room options. Lots of kitchens in your room/on the floor too, some have B&B which is really good value.

Great idea! I'll add what I know: GLASGOW Lots of dance through Dancehouse, but it can be hard to find hard enough classes. Dancehouse has a few ballet classes, tend to be lower level although intermediate is reasonably challenging (well it was, haven't been for a while & different teacher now). Termly blocks booked in advance although you can do drop in but only if space & a bit of a complicated system now. They do have quite a lot of pro contemporary classes & things going on. Scottish Ballet have adult drop in classes (but you book weekly on the website now, used to be simpler) nice but small studio at SB HQ, pianist, 1 1/2 hour class. Intermediate on Mondays, Advanced/Pro on Tuesdays (inter quite advanced) all free classes each week. They used to have beginners & floor barre, there are various daytime groups for eg over 50s. They tend to do a few more classes during the summer with ballet students etc filling up the classes. There are also private dance studios - Dance HQ, Dance Glasgow etc but limited amounts of ballet & variable standards. RCS did a series of classes for a while (beautiful studios that the ballet students train in, Dancehouse also use) but they were a bit basic & short. There's a new set of open/pro Jazz & tap classes taught by Jenny Dobbie in RCS main studios, they are very good. EDINBURGH DANCEBASE has lots of classes for most levels including up to pro ballet I think. Again booked term ly in advance but some drop in. Annoyingly, there's hardly anything over the summer, Dancehouse & DANCEBASE pretty much stop early June till September!

At Scottish Ballet Friends events, they've sometimes mentioned this, the artistic director maybe had the idea he wants a new full length ballet & thinks who he'd like to get to do it, based on work they've seen/someone they've worked with. And the artistic director choreographs things, not sure how he would decide which ones he'd do, I'm sure there's complicated business decisions around that! Several of the dancers in SB start choreographing on their colleagues for small scale events/shows/competitions - I think they've had pieces used now & again for mixed Bill shows.

That's what I was thinking....unless you just use a bit to fill up the hole a bit? I've used PVA glue then screwed the screw in, so they're still a bit loose but not likely to fall out.