Melody

Isn't she in a relationship with one of the ENB dancers? That's going to be one heck of a long-distance relationship if she goes back to Australia and he stays in London.

Honestly, they keep on about having a strong password with so many numbers and symbols that you don't have a hope of ever remembering your own password, but it's getting like a sick joke when you're congratulated on having chosen a strong password. Because five minutes later, hackers can break into the company database and help themselves to encrypted passwords and break the encryption with great ease. So really, what does "strong password" mean any more?

Just looking on the Victoria's Secret website and there are some backless bras although I think they're all underwire bras (which seem to be more popular over here than in the UK). One of them is a bit weird - seems to be backless with adhesive cups, but it has a front closure. Why on earth would you need a front closure in a bra without a back? http://www.victoriassecret.com/bras/strapless-and-multi-way/seamless-front-close-demi-bra-style-secrets?ProductID=112731&CatalogueType=OLS

That was me causing trouble... I've had experience of the guardianship thingy both for British kids wanting to come over here and overseas kids wanting to get into British boarding schools, so I assumed it was more common than it apparently is. However, it's still required by some, although apparently not across the board.

Reminds me of something I read or heard somewhere - ask a male ballet dancer how he got into ballet, and the answer will almost always start with "Well, my sister..." Makes you wonder how many potentially great male dancers we're missing out on because they don't have sisters.

As others have said, excellence has a degree of subjectivity to it, especially in the context of children who are in the middle of physical, mental, and emotional growth. When a school accepts someone at 11 and assesses that child out a few months or a couple of years later, and then accepts a child at 13 who was rejected at 11, then you don't have an entirely objective measure of excellence, there's a degree of educated guesswork and prediction in the mix too. Also as already pointed out, if White Lodge accepts pupils who, in the same year, are rejected by other schools, then again you don't really just have the difference between excellent and very good. There seem to be slightly different definitions of excellent (I've often wondered if Balanchine would have accepted Margot Fonteyn into his school, with her height, physique, and dancing style being rather different from what he seemed to prefer), you have the issue of how well a kid performs in an audition (and if that kid is an associate who is known by the school, maybe a bad day will be treated more understandingly than a bad day by a kid who's being seen for the first time by the panel), and you also have the limit set by the number of available places regardless of how many near-perfect candidates there are. We're watching reruns of Inspector Lewis on TV at the moment, and we had to laugh at this comment from Sergeant Hathaway DS James Hathaway: [Hathaway, the Cambridge graduate, holds an Oxford student's essay] You know sometimes you couldn't believe that this was England's second best university. DI Robert Lewis: You're speaking objectively, of course. especially when my husband, having been accepted to study physics and astronomy at University College London (his first choice), was cut dead by his headmaster after it was explained that, no, it wasn't University College Oxford. Never mind that (at least at the time) Oxford didn't offer astronomy as a subject so wasn't of interest to my husband - this guy just had the idea that you only went to "other" universities if you weren't good enough for Oxbridge. Which may be true sometimes but certainly not all the time.

Margot Fonteyn, June Brae, and Pamela May were all born in May. I've had a Facebook group called Today in Royal History for a while, and it's interesting how some days are dominated by births while others are dominated by deaths, and there doesn't seem to be that much of an overall trend across the year, although it's not exactly a statistically significant sample. I've just started an equivalent group called Today in Ballet History and have been trawling through websites and databases looking for dates of births, deaths, premieres, and whatnot, so keep it coming with the May birthdays! Very useful...

It may have something to do with the US system of private health insurance - that if the family doesn't pay up, they've got someone on the spot to go after. I seem to remember that that was one of the most detailed parts of the papers we were sent. I was just looking at the UK site that gives accreditation to guardians, and it says that "It is recommended" that children have them, and that "the majority of independent schools" make guardianship a condition for overseas admissions, so it sounds like something that's done on a case-by-case basis in the UK and Tring isn't one of the schools requiring it. I've had a look at some American sites too and found this information on one of them "American schools require international students to appoint a guardian within the metropolitan region. This person will act as “in loco parentis” while your son or daughter attends school in the United States to ensure they have a support system close by." So actually the guardian does have to be in the same geographic area as the child, which probably makes sense in the USA since it's such a big country. In any case, it's something worth bearing in mind and checking into. It's been a while since we went through it, but in the USA these legal things tend to get more rather than less strict as time passes.

Another thing to bear in mind with overseas schools, although I think it's been mentioned earlier in this thread, is that a minor at a school in another country will need a designated guardian in that country. I know that's the case in the USA because the son of some friends of ours from the UK was going to be over here for a year and they asked us if we'd be prepared to act as a guardian for him. From what I remember of the papers we were sent, it's not just a formality but you have to be responsible for some financial as well as welfare issues if the family doesn't come through on them. If you don't have a close friend or relative in the country (pretty sure it doesn't have to be in the same local area as where the youngster will be studying but that's worth checking), you can probably find an outfit that provides guardians on a professional basis, but that's another item that would add (probably significantly) to the expense of sending your child abroad to study.

I read the play (the closest I get to seeing British theatre these days) a couple of years ago and found it very interesting. It gives Anne Boleyn more dimensions than she's usually given credit for. Hope you have a good run, and I hope the weather behaves for the outdoor performances!

That seems a rather cruel thing to do, but I'm glad it worked out for her in the end.

Spiders! (as in, there was a bloody great big wolf spider in our bed last night)

After Black Swan, I assume they wouldn't care if they were doing Swan Lake, since obviously after a short time of training, anyone can dance Odette-Odile.

San Francisco Ballet School has a residence but it doesn't accommodate all the students. The school doesn't offer academic tuition, just dance, so students will need to find a school or some sort of homeschooling setup. http://school.sfballet.org/school/residence Hopefully the school has some sort of scheme for helping students find accommodation, especially younger ones. There isn't much information on the website about what students are supposed to do if they don't get into the residence; I hope the older students aren't expected to just go out and find apartments to share because accommodation in and around San Francisco extremely expensive.

I agree about facial expressions. I remember a couple of years when the San Francisco Ballet had a corps member who sported a huge grin the whole time, regardless of the ballet or the atmosphere being created, and it was really distracting. I remember hearing comments by other audience members during intervals and after performances along the lines of "did you see that girl grinning her head off?" Someone should have told her to tone it down.

It's bucketing down with rain here, and will be doing so for several hours. Wish I could send some of it out west where it's needed.

Not sure why I torture myself this way, but I'm reading "Real England: The Battle Against The Bland" by Paul Kingsnorth. He's putting some facts and history and numbers behind the depressingly familiar phenomenon of how globalisation of trade is destroying the individual character of many parts of Britain, urban and rural. Every time we visit home, there seem to be fewer independent stores and more chains - and lately more American chains - in shopping centres, and less real choice of goods. This book is explaining why it's happening. Not all that sure I really wanted to know, but it does have a certain train-wreck fascination.

Footage of a fire tornado from one of the fires. This really looks like a depiction of hell. http://youtu.be/mVSbJOHkoCw

Of course there have been powerful hurricanes in the Atlantic for many years. The problem, for people living along the coast, is that the damage done by a given hurricane is worse when sea level is higher, because you're starting from a higher baseline. Areas will flood that wouldn't have flooded a decade or two earlier. Equally, in the west, when droughts go on for longer and the baseline temperature is higher, that tends to make for worse fires. Then the soot from the fires gets into the atmosphere and some of it travels toward the polar regions, where it's darkening the snow, reducing the albedo, helping to encourage snow melt, and contributing to sea level rise. Which then helps make the effects of hurricanes worse. Just one of the feedback loops that's making things so worrying. I think it's a simplistic if comforting view to say that we can't be definitive about science because things change. People who claim to believe that will still entrust their lives to devices based on scientific discoveries. I think Richard Dawkins, the ever-eloquent populariser of science, said it very well when he said “Show me a cultural relativist at 30,000 feet and I'll show you a hypocrite ... If you are flying to an international congress of anthropologists or literary critics, the reason you will probably get there - the reason you don't plummet into a ploughed field - is that a lot of Western scientifically trained engineers have got their sums right.” You can quibble all you like about how unsettled things have become because of the discovery of relativity or horizontal gene transfer, but it remains a fact that if something is increasing, it's increasing. At some level it isn't realistic to ignore confirmed measurements (which in science is what we mean when we refer to facts) by saying that at the far extent of space-time, things behave a differently. That isn't where we live. We live in the real world where surfaces appear solid even though at the quantum level they aren't, and where increasing temperatures are actually increasing. In the meantime, global warming - like evolution - is an accepted state of affairs scientifically. At this point - again scientifically and again regarding both global warming and evolution - the arguments among the practitioners are about the details. The "controversy" in both cases is ideological - political and economic in one case and religious in the other - and that isn't an appropriate topic for this forum (fortunately, because I get enough of it elsewhere). And as for the fires, which really do look awful, I hope they get some relief soon, but this is the front end of the dry season so it might be a rough year. I noticed while we were eating out today that in the TV over the bar in the restaurant, CNN was covering the fires for practically the whole time we were there, and at one point the headline was saying something about a fairly large number of fires burning out of control. That really doesn't sound good. In the meantime we're expecting a major rainstorm tomorrow; several inches are supposed to fall in the Appalachians but we're under all sorts of watches and warnings here. At least the system is fairly localised to the mid-Atlantic so Florida won't get another hammering with any luck. Couple of weeks ago they got between 10 and 24 inches of rain in the southeast in a 24-hour period, and they're still recovering.

At her 2012 Ballet Association interview there was this: David said the last time Zen had talked to us, she mentioned type-casting and her height being an issue in some roles. In Las Hermanas it’s clearly not an issue as Alina is in her role in the other cast. Zen said one of the greatest things she admires in Kevin is that height and shape are not an issue, it is more about how you are as an artist, what you can do and what you can bring to the audience. When she was researching the role she wondered about being too tall and mentioned it to Ray who said it didn’t matter at all – he just wanted to see the character coming through. Being given the role by Kevin gave her confidence, and she thinks he has cast the whole year in such a way as to bring on people whom he values for what they can bring to the Opera House stage. Asked when she felt she broke through the height barrier, Zen said it was hard to say. With Anthony Dowell she felt it wasn’t such an enormous issue as she felt it later became when she was even taken out of ballets she’d previously danced. Certain roles remained in her rep which was great, but some tall ballerina roles became small ballerina roles. Now she doesn’t get that feeling which is good as it unconsciously stops you being at your best. What next? Lots of lovely dancing as Zen feels she’s enjoying an Indian summer and it’s great to be back and she’s very happy to be part of the company and being valued. In their profession they are constantly judged by themselves and others and there are mirrors to remind them, physically and emotionally, of constant judgement. It’s a tough job so recognition is wonderful. http://www.balletassociation.co.uk/Reports/2012/Yanowsky12.html At the 2004 Ballet Association interview mentioned above, there was this: Although many choreographers choose to work with Zenaida and this means that she has had the opportunity to create several new roles, she clearly feels that she is typecast within the company. She is the type of dancer that is often asked to create contemporary roles in works such as Afsked (Kim Brandstrup) and Proverb (William Tuckett) but there are many roles that she would like to have the opportunity to dance but has not yet been cast in. At the top of her wish-list of title roles that she would like is Manon, followed closely by Cinderella and Roland Petit’s Carmen. She has wanted to dance Manon for many years but feels now that it is not achievable because of the perception that she is too tall for such roles. (Please note, that since this report was written, Zenaida has been cast as Manon.) She had asked to dance Cinderella, but the idea was dismissed. ‘Where in the book does it say that Cinderella is under five foot!’ Zenaida felt that these perceptions are related to the Royal Ballet’s history and the ballerinas who have been celebrated in these roles in the past, which in a sense has laid down the specification for future policy. However, this was sometimes confusing. Only later did she discover that Svetlana Beriosova had been a notable Cinderella in the 1950s when she was the tallest ballerina in the company. Some surprise was expressed at her belief that Manon is not now achievable. Asked about what redress there was in the Company for such issues, she said that Monica was always available and always listened, but she had to balance the wishes of all in the Company. In the end you did what you were told, or left. Building a freelance career was very difficult, although Roberto Bolle has managed it. http://www.balletassociation.co.uk/Reports/2004/Yanowsky04.html And this Ballerina Guru interview has several references that indicate she thinks she's been handed the short end of the stick a few times too often: "At times, however, I have wished that I were more assertive. I think its true to say that unless you do fight/struggle for what you want, then there's every chance that you will not get even the opportunity to achieve what you are trying for." "Yes, I do wish that someone had helped me to negotiate for certain roles, even for parts of a choreography." And in response to a question about inspirational words for new dancers and students, she gave an answer that, while realistic, struck me as very sad: "Do a business and management course. It will come in handy when meeting with the sharks." http://ballerinaguru.blogspot.com/2014/01/i-was-fortunate-enough-meet-zenaida.html

There are, of course, many reasons for the drought and the heat, and I agree that heavy rain in the west coast climate is a double-edged sword for many reasons (I remember the time during the 1982 El Nino when Highway 1 fell into the sea at Devil's Slide because of landslides after an unusually wet season). But a prolonged drought is always a worry for fire because more than the usual amount of vegetation is dead and ready to burn than would be the case after normal winter rainfall. There didn't used to be these fires in winter out there the way there is now. We'll just have to hope for a moderate El Nino rather than a strong one this year, because deluges after fires are a recipe for landslides, especially in seismically active areas, but I'm told things are shaping up for what looks like a pretty strong El Nino, so we'll have to see. Part of the problem is that people have been migrating up to areas that used not to be developed, because they want to get away from the cities and live closer to nature (and find something more affordable, at least in northern California), and nature has the unfortunate tendency to bite back sometimes. Those semi-rural communities are always most in danger of being damaged by fire, and that's just going to get worse as more building goes on. As for "it was warm in the past and nothing to do with human beings," there's no explanation for the pattern and extent of the current warming that doesn't include the greenhouse effect, and I think we're all aware of how the greenhouse gases are getting into the atmosphere these days. It's way past time to be denying that global warming is a serious problem, the Daily Mail (and equivalent American media outlets) notwithstanding. Looking at the fires on the west coast and the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and hearing some of the very people affected by them denying that global warming is even happening, is so very, very frustrating for scientists who are familiar with the data.

I have looked, and it is true, and Ms Yanowsky has come very close to saying as much in interviews.

I think they're pretty clear already - they do publish the final destinations of their graduating class, and most people can do the maths about how many get into the Royal Ballet and how many don't. I'm not sure if they're so upfront with their number of WL graduates getting into the Upper School, though. One thing that does surprise me is how easily graduates seem to get jobs in companies in other countries. It seems that just about everywhere worldwide is turning out more vocational school graduates than they have places in their companies, so I'm wondering how new graduates get visas to go to companies in other countries that are presumably turning out their own graduates by the ton every year. I know with scientists, you have to prove that there aren't any natives who could do the job a foreigner is applying for, which isn't an easy process. I assume the same is true of performing artists, especially ones who aren't major stars. Now that ballet schools seem to be turning out graduates who are more homogeneous these days, so that they fit more easily into companies in other countries, I'm wondering how companies can justify taking foreign corps members when there must be parades of native graduates wanting the positions.

All the best, Swanprincess! Get out there and knock 'em dead. Figuratively, of course.

My husband was saying that it's unseasonably hot in northern California at the moment so I hope they don't start getting fires there. That huge fire in the East Bay hills in 1991 happened while we were living just across the bay and I still remember the black sky in the middle of the afternoon. Really awful. If it's any consolation, it looks as though El Nino is starting up again which means the west coast may be in for some relief from the drought over the next year or two. Then again, I don't know if you're watching Years of Living Dangerously - the Showtime series about global warming - but there was one segment with Arnold Schwarzenegger spending time with a firefighting crew in California, and he said that these days there isn't a fire season any more, it's happening year-round. http://yearsoflivingdangerously.com/story/fire-line/ Really sad, however you look at it, but this is one of the expected effects of global warming.