balletla

Well done to Luke Jennings for his unique ability to articulate a concern felt by many. He is not afraid of getting to the nub of an issue, unlike some of the more sycophantic 'critics'. I too feel like some of the ballets mentioned above are more like exercises in contortionism than artistic expression.

If you read Ismene Brown's blog (link under Ian M's post further up), it says that Isvestia (who published Joy's original interview) have seen the soloist contract she was given and so it seems genuine that she was given a soloist contract. However, I guess the issuing of a contract does not necessarily guarantee performances and it seems that she needed a sponsor (or some other means of financial contribution) before being given a role on stage. You would also have to question the motives of the Bolshoi for giving a soloist contract to a new (American) graduate.

Interesting blog view.... http://bornagainballetomane.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/musing-about-womack/ and an interesting article written a while ago on 20 September... http://www.themorningnews.org/article/the-bolshoi-in-the-dark

Anyone who has worked in Russia will know that corruption and bribery is common amongst officialdom and there is an expectation in many areas that you pay your way. I think it's plausible that this could extend into ballet companies that were previously under direct state control, particularly if looking to exploit a 'rich' foreigner. Let's face it, the recent goings on at the Bolshoi don't exactly inspire confidence do they?

The thing is, there are a LOT of contemporary companies now and there is already plenty of choice of contemporary (and it is the only thing that gets funded in schools and the community), so why the need to convert RB into a more contemporary company? By remaining predominantly classical, RB is filling a niche in the market. In terms of contributing to the life of the art form, RB provides an entry point for the art form through classical ballet, by attracting the young and the new - how many little girls dream of going to see fairies in tutus at the Royal Ballet? How many of them dream of going to see Chroma?

I don't think it explains it at all. Even if what she says is completely true, Monica Mason retired over a year ago! Why not stay and give the new blood a chance?

Well if this 'snobbery' does exist, it's not in places like the Royal Ballet or why would they be actively embracing choreographers such as Wayne McGregor? Also contemporary lessons form a major part of the syllabus at Upper School.

I haven't come across a spilt or 'snobbery' between contemporary or ballet at all, certainly not in the vocational school or professional world or anyone properly trained in dance. As someone pointed out earlier, both genres borrow heavily from each other in this day and age and there is a respect on both sides. The only problem I have found, as I said, is in untrained school PE teachers who have had a couple of lessons and think a bit of chucking yourself around is 'contemporary' dance and have no idea what other forms of dance exist. How can they be teaching GCSE Dance?

We had issues with GCSE Dance at school as well. It was taught by a PE teacher who had done some 'dance training' although it was never clear what exactly. She was totally clueless about ballet and very dismissive of it. The dancing that she taught may have been 'release-based' but to the untrained eye, it just looked like 'throw yourself around the room in any way you want'. The theory was great but I'm not sure the dance element added anything at all.

In my experience it is not something that people talk openly about, but it is something I have personal experience of in my family and it is nothing to do with whether you have a loving family or supportive parents or whether you can choose to leave when you want or whether you are there to follow your dream. Some people are affected, often later in life and most are considered to be very articulate, highly successful and high achieving adults without any apparent issue. For those who may be interested, a lot of work has been done on this subject by several psychologists, including Joy Schaverien and I post a link to her page below: Probably the most informative article is the pdf file link called 'lost for words'. http://www.joyschaverien.com/index.php?ID=64

It's not just the children that get carried away, more often than not it's the parents, friends and family. Virtually everyone thinks that any girl offered a place at 11 is destined to be the next Darcey Bussell. Having watched my DD's year group progress through their ballet journeys over the last 6 years. I am convinced that if you are going to make it, you will make it regardless of whether you go away at 11 or not. So many who went at 11 either left of their own accord, got assessed out or reached the limit of their ability to progress any further in classical ballet and so chose another route. And so so many who have gained places for 6:1 this year have never been away or went at 14. I know people say they don't have enough access to high quality training but I think people over-estimate what is required. My DD and many of her peers did just two classical classes a week and a good associate scheme and summer schools and they got places at good voc schools, including one who got into RBS. The ones who didn't probably wouldn't have even if they'd gone away at 11. It really is quality not quantity.

Sorry if people didn't like my post but felt it important to say that it's not always just about dealing with a bit of homesickness. I have met some people, old and young, from both vocational and non-vocational boarding schools, who have ended up being seriously affected by their time away, sometimes despite appearing to be happy and thriving to their loving parents and even believing themselves to be happy and thriving at the time. Clearly these people are in the minority, but the issues when they occur are real. That's not to say you shouldn't let your child go away, but it is important to understand what some of the potential issues could be.

No entries from RBS and probably won't be again as they have definitely stopped doing all RAD exams there now according to DD's friend.

I think the days of links between companies and associate schools are well and truly over. In these times of economic difficulty and globalisation, I think the ADs just pick the best dancers they can wherever they come from. BRB still seems to take most of its dancers from RBS, but Elmhurst, ENBS and Central feature in there. A bigger issue is that most of the women taken on in recent times seem to be Japanese or of Japanese origin. Not that I have anything against Japanese dancers but 'BRB' does seem to be turning into 'JRB'!

Even children who appear to love boarding and 'thrive' and have few bouts of homesickness can suffer abandonment issues in later life, even if they feel its been their choice to go away. Children are very quick to adapt to any environment; it's part of their survival strategy and often they become institutionalised and dependent on the very environment that can cause issues because they know nothing else during their formative years.

Well given that this year's intake for just RBS, ENBS, Elmhurst, Central and Rambert is about 180 students (give or take a few) and I have no idea how many more are at Tring, Hammond and Northern Ballet School, I should think that many are left considering their options after graduation!

All these stories of homesick children on this and other threads just reinforces to me what an unnatural thing it is to send a child away at a very young age. Although most children 'get through it' and even appear to love being away at school, I have seen first hand that it can have lifelong effects which can sometimes surface years later.

I heard that there are 57 students just gone into the current first year at Rambert from a friend who's DD has just started there? I also heard that there are around 45 at Central with 26 in the girls class.

Sorry I don't know how much it is. It doesn't say int he advert, just the dates. There is an email on the website, maybe you could email them: info@eastbridgfordhill.com

I know it's not mentioned on the website (for some strange reason) but in Dancing Times I saw that Doreen Wells was advertising a Christmas course from 29 Dec - 5 Jan. Website link: http://www.doreenwells.com

I do think people get overly caught up in the ballet vs. physique debate. There are lots of physique limitations in other sports as well but nobody seems to moan about it.

Oh dear! Whilst I'm supportive of widening access to ballet, this smacks of another channel 4 'shockumentary' which exploits people in the name of entertainment. I can't see that this will have any effect on changing attitudes, in fact quite the opposite if he's turned people away because 'they are not big enough' Shame on Wayne Sleep for going along with this.

Ha ha - Anjuli, don't you know anyone who eats doughnuts who would be able to share their wisdom on this highly important matter? I did find an article that talks about their relative market positions etc. and there was a little bit in it about customer preferences: Many customers hold lifetime allegiance to the companies. Theresea Bryan Bellavia, a Krispy Kreme customer from Matthews, said she makes the 15-mile drive to the Krispy Kreme on Sharon Amity Road for the glazed doughnuts that her dad treated her to as a child. Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/07/19/4175880/dunkin-donuts-vs-krispy-kreme.html#.UjWmmBbPUag#storylink=cpy

2 days to eat a doughnut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you serious? More like 2 minutes with me

I think it's in a special RAD handbook for teachers of which there are several versions which don't seem to be widely published. Maybe one of the RAD teachers on the forum can help? I can assure you though that there are several 13 year olds at our dance school (and I have come across others at other schools) who have taken Adv 1 at 13 and it is fairly normal for anyone who is considered talented e.g. RBS associate or similar. These children are taking IF at age 10 and Inter at 11. Sometimes it is because the exams are done in 'school years' and so those that are born later take it at the lower age. However, I am not sure that this will be the case with the new syllabus as the teacher has said, it is designed to be done at an older age and take longer.