Kate_N

Your feet look good in those shoes, but "perfect ballet feet" are feet AND ankles which have the strength in arch & ankles to fully straighten when on pointe - that's how you get over the box, particularly in second position. I can see that you have the high arched "banana feet" but they are no use to you if you don't have the foot strength and ankle strength & mobility to use them. I'd say from your photos that you might look at developing strength & flexibility in your ankles - ask your teacher about theraband exercises, and other ankle strengthening & flexibility work. Simple rises in parallel at the barre are good. Also just rolling up and down through your feet in pointe shoes in parallel at the barre. It's about developing the strength to mould those shanks to your instep.

Alexander, if you're already travelling in to London to do Baroque dancing etc, could you add on a ballet class or two? Most good ballet classes are 90 minutes long (although Pineapple studios do 60 minute classes - they're not really long enough in my view). Classes in London I'd recommend for a beginner would be Hannah Frost's Beginner classes at Danceworks, and her Friday night class (7-8:30pm) at Central School of Ballet (google Central Nights). These are drop in classes and attract dancers at various levels of experience & competence. Hannah is an excellent teacher for someone who is just beginning - she takes the barre slowly, explains in detail, and gives really good coaching and visual tips or cues. The centre is quite simple, and you really get to break down complex steps such as pirouettes. She has an eagle eye & gives hands-on corrections - which for me, is the best way to learn about correct placement. I'm a pretty experienced dancer (not necessarily always competent though!) and I take her class at Danceworks when I'm in London, as it's a great tune up & boot camp for my bad habits. Apparently, her Friday class at Central is a real "Absolute Beginner" class - these are hard to find as drop in classes. https://danceworks.com/london/classes/timetable/ https://www.centralschoolofballet.co.uk/aeccourseoutline.php PS and thanks @Jan McNulty for moving these posts out of the other interminable thread!

@Alexander could I suggest that you post a new separate thread on this, and add some tags, such as 'adult ballet' and maybe 'basingstoke' so that your request is seen by more people? It's rather buried in this very long thread, which tends to be more of a blog from one of Balletco's adult ballet students. Your request won't be seen by many posters who may have information, but don't read this thread because of its focus.

Splits are not needed for correct ballet technique. Really.

Yes. I think the thing I enjoy about repertoire classes & workshops is that you learn a lot about technique as well as learning the choreography. It's what we do class for - to put the technique into practice. I've been lucky in my home studio in that my teacher - an ex-professional and really well-trained as a dancer and dance pedagogue - knows much of the great classical repertoire, and gives us bits in class as part of our centre work. We spent most of 2019, for example, in doing centre practice derived from Giselle. This wasn't repertoire as such, but integrated into the barre and centre practice of regular class.

At my place, we offer quite a lot! We have "Employability" sessions within the Department about every 3 weeks or so (so about 8-10 over the year). They are VERY poorly attended. Sometimes embarrassingly so when we have external experts. We spend quite a bit of money overall - now coming from the tuition fee. And still our students say they get no advice or help <sigh>

Have you used the UCAS website to search? It may help.

I'm sure @Anna C can speak for herself, but reading her post, and your response, I don't think anyone is saying you are "stealing." That is strong language to use. But it's important to point out that in the professional ballet world (as I've experienced it, anyway) there is a concern about unqualified people teaching/coaching in a very specialised field, which generally takes a lifetime of training and performing to be recognised as a qualified teacher. That's why the RAD requires those who teach its material to be qualified in a way that they recognise (and indeed, have some control over). In my life as a perpetual ballet student (I was totting it up - it's been about 40 years!), I have been very fortunate to be taught by master teachers, who teach adult beginners and working professionals. And I don't think adult dancers, of whatever age, should be offered anything less. And those who have this combination of training, experience, and ability as pedagogues should be respected - I am so lucky that I've had several extraordinary master teachers, including my current regular teacher. We should respect these people.

Realistically, what support or help would you want from a ballet-focused Upper School? Is it on a par with help for UCAS applications for example, where there are a range of practices? Would it be useful to start listing here the concrete things that any school could do to assist graduates in finding work. As Rowan says upthread >>I’m not sure that anyone should be optimistic about chances of getting a job in ballet. In fact, realistically, it’s downright idiotic to aim for it.<< With that realistic view in mind, what could US do to maximise the chances for their graduates?

Don't most schools advertise this? I know my university department does, as it looks good and is reassuring to current applicants. Maybe ask the schools when you'r there for the auditions? I've seen posts here in BalletCo listing where RBS graduates are going, for example.

I also hope you'll stay a wee bit longer @Picturesinthefirelight - your experience, and that of your family, is really interesting to read about. I hope you can find a way to negotiate between the necessary confidentiality, and sharing your (and your DD's) hard-won experience.

Oh thank you for this @Pas de Quatre I saw Bruce's Dracula and loved it - I don't usually ike "story" or narrative ballets, but his melding of story and choreography was extraordinary.

If your DD is thinking about wanting to have a crack at professional training in dance at degree level, she should do whatever auditions are still available. I agree about trying to banish the "What if ...?" lingering question. And as an academic, I actually think that the brain will wait, but the body doesn't. And I (or my colleagues!) don't want to be teaching undergrads who don't really want to be there. It's hard work, when students behave as though what they're doing is second-best. It's hard work for them as well! And some advice re Birmingham English - it's an in-demand course, and the general rule of thumb in such courses is that if a student doesn't make the offer, but they are admitted anyway (and there could be many reasons for that - they impressed at interview, it's a "contextual" offer, etc etc - not an inevitable "standards lowering" decision) Admissions Tutors can be reluctant to allow a deferral. This is simply because we can usually be pretty sure that in the next year's round, we will have suitably qualified applicants to admit. So if they agreed to your DD's deferral for a year, then they are pretty sure they want her on the course. SO I'd email the Admissions Tutor - or rather have your daughter email - and ask about a further year's deferral. They may say 'No' and so your DD will know where she stands. But I think the main thing is that she should try to see whether she can cut it in the competition by auditioning for some conservatoire/professional dance degrees. That seems the best way she'll quell the "What if ..." doubts. And if they're before September, she has nothing to lose - as long as she's prepared for not getting offers after auditions. But then she'll know where she stands.

Spot on, @Picturesinthefirelight

Wouldn't get through any quality assurance I've been involved with at UK universities! I don't think you can combine the high level of intense technical study of dance in the studio with a high level of intense technical study of literature (an English degree isn't just a matter of reading a couple of novels in your spare time ....)

Would it be feasible to do some industry auditions now, for her to see how she compares? Things like cruise ships, adverts, theme parks etc. That said, there is excellent training available for adults in Birmingham - have a look at the programme for DanceXchange - she could probably do two classes each day of the week there, and a ballet class early Saturday morning at the beautiful studios of Annette Nicholson in the Digbeth cultural quarter. It's one of the (few) things I miss about living in Birmingham. Also have a My knowledge of the Birmingham Students Guild/Union is now a few years old, but my main problem with the student dance society there (and at the university I work at now) is that they tend to have students teaching students. I've seen some awful ballet & people on pointe who really shouldn't be! So a serious dancer would need to find other teachers/studio with serious professional teaching.

Alternatively .... You could look at the 'Russian Ballet Workshop' run by Isabella Mackay-McGuire. She trained at the Vaganova Institute and now teaches at Danceworks, London, but also runs these workshops. They're for vocational students, but maybe inviting her or her colleagues would be easier (and cheaper)?

The other thing to remember is that the so-called 'banana' feet are developed in part by training - a lot of the way the foot develops that shape is through muscle, and muscle training and development. It doesn't just happen!

This was circulated on a list I'm part of. I know nothing about it, other than this notice.Enquiries should be directed to: cambridgeunidancesociety@gmail.com The Cambridge University Dance Society (CUDS) proudly presents our first “Dance x Science” Panel Event to explore collaborations between dance and science, not as separately bounded fields but as different ways of knowing, working (with), and making knowledge and bodies.Date: 10 Feb 2020Time: 6.00-8.00pmVenue: McCrum Lecture Theatre (next to the Eagle pub)We have invited 5 esteemed dance and science professionals to join us in an interactive panel discussion. Information about our panellists is included in the poster attached.

I wonder whether a concerted attempt my registered dance educators - maybe bringing together RAD, ISTD, BBO headquarters organisations, plus the Heads of the ENBS, RBS, and other top vocational schools, could complain about the standard of bodily safety on a programme such as The Greatest Dancer ? (the most inaccurately named programme on television at the moment, except perhaps for Love Island). And maybe the organisations who run the competitions in which child dancers are rewarded for doing acrobatics etc could start to impose limits and penalties in points, to dissuade - or even stop - tricks which involve moves we know are bad for most young bodies. I think that, unless the rewards are removed, we will see more & more young bodies damaged. Problem is, we don't know at 11 whether the extreme moves that a young child seems able to do, will leave her/him with a damaged body at 40. And thank you DrDance for raising the issue. If you have any position or influence in any registering or awarding body, this might be something to set up a strategy/policy group for.

Good to hear @York UK beginner I think a regular class with the same teacher, is probably one of the best ways to build your confidence and knowledge as well as technique. Hope it keeps working for you!

I really enjoy Adam's class if I have a chance to take it at Danceworks (I don't really ever get to Pineapple - their classes are often only an hour). At Danceworks, it's labelled "Improvers" but I would class it as an Advanced Beginners (and certainly at a level below Advanced Beginners in New York!) - it's not for beginners definitely, but the centre work isn't hugely challenging in terms of complexity of choreography or length of combinations. But Adam is an energetic teacher who will push and challenge yo, if you're up for it. I really love te energy of his class, and he's particularly good on petit allegro. And a really kind and nurturing teacher. I wish I could get to his classes more often!

And I agree with every word Ms Stewart writes in that article.

I always advise people to dig into university websites to get beyond the (generally awful) UCAS-directed publicity bumf on the landing pages. Go to the Departments of the disciplines/subjects your daughter is possibly interested in studying and you should get a sense of what it’s like to be a student in a degree. It’s also often quite informative to look at the student union (or student guild) web pages to see the for-students, by-students experiences. and if you can cope with the Wild West of the internet, you can read “real student” experiences on The Student Room. I know my university’s PR people keep an eye on fora on TSR. The trick is to try to get past the PR, and find where students are talking about their experiences.

Thing as that what 'life might look like' is going to be as varied as the individuals living those lives! There is a lot of development, learning and growing between 14 and 18/19, the age young people generally start university. There is also - as other posters have said - a lot of gathered experience and a LOT of wisdom in this forum, from parents and dancers, about what decisions they made, and why, and how it's worked out. It's probably worth following some of the tags that Alison has kindly included to see if other people's experiences and questions chime with your own. What are your DD's interests? What does she enjoy studying at school at the moment? What ideas for a career does she have? If dance is going to be a "serious hobby" then these other questions are going to be the ones she needs to explore. Again, these are questions that your DD, you, and her teachers can explore. And as other posters have said, there are lots of university students who've studied dance to a relatively high level, but go on to do degrees in other areas, and keep dancing through university and beyond. There is a thriving adult ballet world, with some pretty major teachers developing wonderful teaching for adults via regular classes and workshops and intensives.