annaliesey

I think there’s been some good suggestions but also a lot of jumping to conclusions! 

My dd is another girl who came from ‘the smacking school’, and muddledmama and I have supported our dds as best we can with different classes they do etc. If she sounds a bit neurotic, it’s probably something I’m guilty of too, but that comes from our past experiences with the abuse that’s made us both support our dds a bit more closely perhaps than the average parent, one that hasn’t had to try and recover from this. Once bitten, twice shy etc. Speaking from my own experience, my neurotic behaviour , if any, is probably born out of guilt for letting it happen in the first place. I’m guessing muddledmama has her own reasons for trying to guide her own dd and it’s not to do with her wanting her child to dance more than her dd does! 

But anyway, it took me a while to properly realise about ‘quality not quantity’ and it was my dds CAT scheme that talked for the first time about over training. Our old school didn’t think this was a thing unless physically too demanding but I honestly have realised that it’s mentally too demanding too. They need “little kid time” or will resent it later, feel like a failure, not have the strength if things don’t go to plan. My dd needs down time watching junk tv, socialising, rubbish YouTube, and she will tell me that what helps her most is thinking about it in her relaxing environment at home not just doing it at class and rushing about. I think there’s been some proof now that just thinking about things is just as beneficial as doing the activity when it comes to muscle memory.,

The CAT schemes we’ve attended have all generally said the same amount of hours per week training as your age. So at age 13, don’t go over that many hours per week. 

My dd too has “whizzed through the grades” doing grade 6, 7&8 in two terms, Distinctions and mostly one class a week with a few private lessons. 

however, what she says is 6,7&8 are different in that they are more actual dancing and performance. She said they are a lot more enjoyable. 

I think the idea about doing the grade below is a good one as hopefully the student and the teacher won’t focus on knowing the syllabus as she’s already done the exam so hopefully it would be a good environment for technical corrections. Quite often in syllabus schools I think both the students and the teachers have too much focus on completing syllabus work in a timeframe they have in mind and it becomes too much about knowing the work and not enough about the technique. It must be hard for teachers with all these different groups all working at syllabus levels to target exam dates, a tricky business to be in. Throw in a couple of pushy mums into the mix and hey presto, everyone pats themselves on the back according to how quickly they achieved a certificate! 

But it they shouldn’t be making inappropriate remarks about body image. They know that’s wrong. Or calling names such as lazy. If the student has some baggage it won’t take much for old feelings to pop back up to the surface. I think doing different classes with different teachers and different school cultures would be good idea too. 

I dont think technique will improve sadly if there’s a lack of receptiveness from the student and a lack of emphasis from the teacher. I feel they do need a break from each other or at least have the student hear things in a different way from a different teacher, such as RAD associates 

I do really sympathise with you MM as know you’ve tried your hardest to support your dd and I know how much she adores dancing 

I think some people prefer to wear a bit before darning if the satin is too stuck down as wearing kind of loosens it a bit to get needle in. However we've always darned straight away as dd doesn't want to do anything in pointes if slippery.

ive steamed the top of a pair gently over a kettle for a few seconds just to loosen by rubbing the satin and just get needle in a bit easier 

Dd has been wearing for flat ballet (if that's even a description but not pointe). They were recommended for occasional use as she's hypermobile in her feet. She was told not to wear too much so intrinsic muscles would strengthen by working more but to use occasionally to give the foot a variety, bit like wearing heels, then wearing flat shoes was how it was described to her

My dd always wear knee pads for training with this stuff, in fact teachers insist on it.

I hope this teacher is credible as sounds a bit irresponsible in this day and age to just throw that comment out there without teaching the correct technique  

I'm not sure but I think it's after they've seen everyone 

Recent one from EYB asking people to smile and perform more and "not look like axe murderers!" 

On 03/07/2017 at 22:22, BumbleBallerina said:

I'm starting at dance east CAT in September and was just wondering if anyone knew the average ages for the different levels. Thank you 

Hiya

its pretty mixed tbh. I would say level one it was from ages 10-13, maybe even 14 

level 2 ages around 12-14 but it's appropriate. 

Level 3 kind of overlaps a bit generally 13-15 bit there will be an 11yo in there in sept who will be the youngest I think

they are pretty good at levelling and it's only the technical modules they focus on so much for levels whereas Easter and summer intensives are kind of mixed with different levels with guest choreographers 

pm me if I can help if you prefer

Don't steam it as it will start to go soft. Get spray starch and use dry iron with linen or cotton cloth (net will melt onto iron directly) 

keep moving the iron rather than hold in one place. 

The capezio practise tutus are nice and shouldn't really need to be tacked or hooped unless you want a flatter look? 

I don't know about Birmingham but I can tell you about London the place and dance east CAT where my dd goes

i was horrified actually as they had a ten minute interview with her without me! I sat outside in the corridor thinking about what nonsense she might be talking haha  but actually it was all ok. They asked her about her favourite dance styles, what shows she had watched and enjoyed, why she liked contemporary (apparently she replied "because it's weird like me!") 

when they called me in, they basically explained they would go back to basics and encouraged us to be patient. They went through what lessons/hours she was currently doing and asked us to cut back on things due to risks of over-training. (I hadn't heard that term before then and it was all good advice). They spoke about dropping some competitions too. 

In hindsight they probably got an insight from her on what she enjoyed about contemporary and just really explained things with me

Hope that helps and good luck and pm if you wish

I can relate to that Sarah2203 as my dd was short for her age and only got considered for "shorty" parts and didn't get a chance to audition for other parts. It was made a little worse by a few girls who were a bit smug around her that they had better parts! But ... she still insisted she loved the actual training and the chance to understudy other dances/parts regardless of height! She came back to her local dance school so much stronger, aware of a lot more terminology and made loads of friends. 

shes now doing eyb as a senior and was extremely chuffed to be selected for scholarship round at last two auditions and is so looking forward to her pointe part now (3 years after first doing eyb)

I personally don't mind and agree with BlueLou about testing yourself a bit against the "best" dancers out there. When you consider quite a few dancers get offered places at voc school which are unfunded it can just sometimes be competing against those that can afford to go, not necessarily more talented if that makes sense. 

I've got a few things from www.everythingfivepound.com too - absolutely brilliant

I know a couple of people who have been at voc school for the past year or so who competed in regional finals. They didnt say anything about not being allowed. Also a couple of RB associates too. 

Thanks Taxi, still a bit difficult but on the whole DD doing brilliantly and very very happy and we've a lot to thank this forum for so far down the line 

x 

This has been very interesting but I should have been clearer, it was grievance regards RAD teachers 

I just wonder if anyone has ever heard of any instances where teachers have been suspended from professional membership either with RAD or other professional bodies

2 hours ago, alison said:

This is all very interesting, and useful, but I don't think it's actually what the OP was hoping to find out.  I hope people who have the information are contacting her by PM, as they may not want to discuss such things on a public forum.

Thank you  

Hi everyone 

has anyone ever had experience  of going through the RAD grievance procedure?

(it's the same long running issue, nothing new  )

Anyone doing EYB Stamford? 

No, it means the adjudicator had preferences and likes that they placed higher. 

Wait until you get your feedback sheet and see if you value the comments

have a look at adjudicators background too to see what aspect they are likely to look at this from ie; "west end/cruise performers" tend to award more for faces and theatricals than technique on its own (sorry, just my personal experiences) and just take the feedback and try and learn from it

adjudicators tend to work from some kind of scoring system (though these might be a bit ropey sometimes haha) and these will be Technique, Choreography, performance 

professional dancers won't be seeking to gain competition marks and there will be a different purpose/focus than competitive dance routines. 

My dd has one (it was a surprise birthday gift from a family friend) and not something we would have gone and purchased

The one she has is pink and fluffy and quite cushioned inside. She says she likes it. She used to stretch with her hands but now she has her hands free for Snapchat/Instagram!!!

She's pretty gentle and knows not to sickle but it's interesting the amount of people who ask to have a go who then sickle

I'm personally not a fan of all England but I think all festivals and comps can have their merits especially if the feedback is good and the standard of dance good enough to be inspired by.

Possibly it could just be a good day out and a lovely chance to dance but I wouldn't take it too seriously (from personal experience lots of people getting very wound up and competitive haha)

Agree with mnemo as we've heard a lot about versatility and contemporary being a popular genre

I guess it depends on time and money but otherwise I'd say do as much ballet as possible but fit in jazz and contemporary if you can

Oh and nothing wrong with starting late, I know some girls who've started much later and doing very well

Good luck

I'd say go for it as teacher must feel she has the technique but just needs to learn the syllabus. Using the app and dedicating a decent number of hours each week should get there in time, with a few private lessons

Good luck

Yeah, move her

We've been in dance schools that work by cohort or peer group and I'm sorry if this comment offends anyone but I've come to the conclusion it's just a lazy way of keeping pushy parents at bay and stopping the one-upmanship that can creep in between students. If the older students did genuinely say they didn't want her in there then that tells you something about the environment they are in and how even if she did move into that group, it might not be very friendly or supportive. If it's just the dance teacher saying it then that tells you something too that she doesn't want to challenge your child and is happy for her to coast with peer group.

At age 9 my dd was grade 3, also doing interfoundation which she absolutely loved so maybe that's an option for your dd if they do vocational grades?

She's 12 now and does grades above and below her actual grade just to get as much ballet as possible.

I don't understand why your dd couldn't go off and do the grade 3 exam at headquarters and have to wait for cohort instead for another 6 months. If it was just a month or two then fair enough but clearly she feels ready. The RAD syllabus is available online to view and it says the recommended hours also include practise hours (i.e.; at home) so there's usually a big difference between the amount students practise at home. All of this means that working by cohorts doesn't work.

But with all that said, maybe there's some other things you could look at too such as EYB (don't know how that would work time wise with RBS JA) or taking a contemporary class etc just to give a bit more of a challenge for her

Good luck ????

Dd did it last year and got through to auditions. Was great fun but they seemed to want a bit more on the acting and drama side than we estimated. Will be uploading a video in next few days