balletla

Let's face it, it's a really tough life as well. Getting through 6th form is tough enough but the prospect of doing nothing else but 12 hours of ballet a day when you graduate must be daunting, even for those with the deepest passion.

Well repeated or persistent injury is really difficult to deal with and the schools don't tend to be good at dealing with it. Also sometimes it's the realisation that you are not as good as your peers (either real or perceived) and lack of confidence sets in. However as has been said, sometimes those not perceived as outstanding at the start of their career can develop, Equally, it can happen where the school favourites don't do so well. I have seen quite a few 'give up' in all 3 years of 6th form over the years and it seems quite common for students to decide to follow a different route.

So sorry GBUK, if she is an associate, you should be able to get some feedback from her associate teacher.

My DD also took part a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. I also wish there had been a few more awards in addition to the main £1000 prize.

Sorry to hear your news Cara but your DD is young and there are many other posts about children trying several times before they get in as they change and grow at different rates. Vonrothbart - it can be a disadvantage being the oldest in the year as well as often will look more physically developed compared to the younger ones which can definitely work against them sometimes.

Primrose, your comments about British training ring true. Someone mentioned the Belinda Hatley interview and to quote her directly: "What is ‘wrong’ with the British dancers? Lack of self belief. It’s like everything else in Britain; we always think that others are better than we are at anything. It’s lack of confidence. It’s the Tim Henman syndrome, I really believe that." The link to the full interview is here: http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_08/nov08/interview_belinda_hatley.htm

I don't think it is understandable that the head of a training institution would interpret lack of confidence for a sense of entitlement. Surely anyone in that position should understand the issues that their students face? It is a fundamental requisite of the job. And to blame a whole cohort of students for their lack of motivation, rather than examining potential root causes and the institution's culture and system of training is naive at best. It is soul-destroying for even the most motivated of students to be ignored and passed over again and again in favour of a small handful of star students. They tend to fall to the back, quietly working and getting on with it, with little teacher attention or praise. Some of the students who may 'rest on their laurels' are those from abroad who arrive and realise how far advanced they are compared to the British students and realise that they can ease off for a while but can still get all the attention and praise.

It's those poor students at RBS I feel sorry for. How demoralising to hear that you've already been PUBLICLY written off as unmotivated by your new school director. Not exactly supportive is it? And how much time has he actually spent with the students since he started?

Well given that he has lived in Holland for at least the last 8 years as I understand, he probably hasn't met many British students at all And this was also the case for ballet - most British students could guarantee a job in a British company.

It doesn't help when teachers lament the over-emphasis on extreme athleticism and 'tricks' in ballet these days and say that they want to foster a return to more artistry, but then favour those very students (usually from abroad) who demonstrate the best tricks! Totally agree with posters above about cautious training and lack of performance opportunities. The saddest thing of all is that the new Artistic Director of The Royal Ballet School, who has been in post for a mere 3 months, can make such sweeping generalisations about British students and can't see what is so plainly obvious to most posters on the forum. I have re-read the article several times to see if I have misinterpreted what has been said but it still comes across as arrogant and misinformed and I am just getting crosser every time!

So disappointing to read Christopher Powney's interview in Dancing Times in which he questions the motivation of British students and says that there can be an element of sitting back on their laurels and a sense of entitlement. In my experience the British students at top vocational schools have generally fought so hard to get there and shown unprecedented levels of focus, motivation and tenacity to keep going in spite of the fact that they constantly get overlooked in favour of students from abroad with their amazing competition-winning hyperextensions etc. It's not lack of motivation, if anything it's lack of confidence due to lack of opportunity or encouragement!

Gosh that's a long time in advance - over 2.5 years away! I can't imagine getting a job that I then have to wait that long to take up. Poor Daria - I guess she'll have to continue as an RBS teacher for a while longer.

The latest trend in ballet seems to be for bare legs. Where is this coming from? I hate to say it but I have seen some truly awful sights recently - 6 o'clock penches, scorpions and straddle splits - with no tights!!! These girls are losing their dignity.

The Nutcracker run always seems very early to me, starting in November and finishing mid December. This is to make way for the Panto run at the Hippodrome. I really would love to be able to go and see Nutcracker over Christmas though. I find the Christmas to New Year period somewhat tedious as the only thing on anywhere is Panto whereas with having time off, it would be the perfect time to go to the ballet or even go to ordinary theatre. But it's panto panto everywhere, except London which I can't get to easily.

Yes you should Lynn, you won't be disappointed!

I am very supportive of more junior dancers being given opportunities but they must be able to cut it. There was no late cast change and the SPF was a soloist but just did not deliver, sorry to say.

Welcome to the forum north star. I have seen BRB's Nutcracker many many times and absolutely love it. I particularly enjoy the battle scene as it is danced by adult dancers (not children as in the RB version) and the more advanced choreography makes the scene more thrilling and exciting than other versions. And the snowflakes are just magical! I have to say that I was slightly disappointed with the casting this year - it seems to be that they use it as an opportunity to let more junior dancers have a go at more senior roles. However, when I have paid full price for Saturday evening tickets, I expect to see a Sugar Plum Fairy who delivers an exquisite performance and unfortunately, this was far from the case this year and I felt let down.

Arch enhancers. I have seen both Sarah Lamb and Daria Klimentova wearing these. They are becoming more and more popular but to me they are always very obvious and look ridiculous, like there's an odd lump on the top of the foot.

I was under the impression that all students are now having weekly discussions with staff about their progress and things they need to work on so that assessments aren't such a surprise.

I think Osipova is an amazing dancer but for me, her style of dancing is very different to the rest of the RB company and therefore I find it quite jarring and have not enjoyed watching the couple of performances I have seen her in. I think I would feel differently if I saw her in a company which danced in a similar style.

I agree that the bulge is disconcerting for those not used to it but the shortness of the jacket emphasises it even more. It's not nearly so obvious when men wear Lycra shorts for sport. However, for me it's the actual wearing of tights which is the bigger problem - let's be honest, men in tights is considered by most people to be amusing and feintly ridiculous. It would be better if they could wear slightly looser stretchy trousers without the foot bit!

I agree that it's less about what young boys have to wear and more about the parents attitude, but I think the parents reluctance is the result of what the male professionals have to wear i.e. Men in tights!! Unfortunately I think popular culture and comedy promotes the myth that male ballet is about men prancing around in tights. I have taken friends to watch ballet, both male and female, and they have confessed that they feel uncomfortable watching male dancers in skin tight tights and feel much better when they play characters with loose-fitting breaches.

The problem with competitions is that they can only be judged on the entrants for that particular competition for that year relative to each other. There is no facility to judge them against previous years standards. I understand that RBS stopped teaching RAD because they could no longer fit it into the timetable and there was no real benefit to doing RAD when they have their own system of training.

I am not involved with this in any way but came across it on social media, so thought I would post here. Maybe someone with more info could post later. Link to theatre blog is here: http://olympustheatre.org.uk/hollie-gazzard-trust-royal-ballet-school/ Link to box office is here but it is closed for maintenance at the moment: http://gloucestershireboxoffice.co.uk/test3/

I too used to think you either had it or you didn't HG, but there are countless examples, too many to mention, of children getting accepted after their 3rd or 4th attempt. Some don't ever get into JAs but get into MAs or even White Lodge. There are also a few people I know of who auditioned for WL every year and got in after 3 or 4 attempts. Things change so much from one year to the next - if you are getting encouragement from a teacher or good feedback from an audition e.g making it to finals consistently, it is always worth trying again as long as you child wants to.