Cara in NZ

I met a lady recently who was asking about my 10-yr-old's ballet commitments. When I said she had two Grade 3 classes a week plus a private lesson, but next year would have four classes a week as she's doing two Int. Foundation, one open, plus a private, she said "Oh, you should move to OUR school. My daughter is 13 and doing Intermediate – and still only has one class a week!" I had to try to conceal that I was horrified!

Here's another question about summer breaks (as this happens over Dec/January in NZ). DD is being moved from RAD Grade 3 this year to Int Foundation next year, due to improving heaps this year and being at the older end of her grade. I have booked her into one summer school Jan 20-24, but am not sure how much to do with her over the summer break. I am bothered about not knowing what she will be missing in Gr 4 & 5. I have bought the IF DVD but don't know what her gaps are. Should I be chasing up every opportunity to dance (her private lesson teacher has offered some lessons), or let her have a break? I'm tending towards thinking a bit of a break over Christmas so she doesn't get fed up with the whole business!

Not necessarily helpful, but Australia and NZ summer schools are in January!

We have a friend who is an obstetric consultant and uses Mrs.

We saw the Royal New Zealand Ballet do a modern programme in July, and two of the pieces involved a cartwheel/handstand/walkover by ballet dancers. I suspect the boundaries are blurring!

I loved reading this thread. We are in New Zealand, and live in the capital where NZ's only weekly JA equivalent programme is run from our national dance school (dancers from other regions come for two weekends per term, ie two sessions versus ten for local kids). DD is auditioning in December, a year late as I only found out about it after applications closed last year - and she wouldn't have been ready at just ten. Now she has had a year of private lessons and just started competing in a solo and group, and has way more confidence (as well as technique and musicality) than a year ago. I feel the same way about stepping on a rollercoaster, but am reassured that this is a much smaller country (population 4 million) and so there is much less competition at audition. We are very calm but I do feel like it is the end of her childhood in a way. Ballet kids seem to have to grow up so fast!

Thanks for the welcome, Janet. I see you are in Liverpool? We emigrated to NZ from Wallasey in 1974!

Just wanted to thank all the contributors to this thread. I've just joined today, from New Zealand (but we do RAD). I was fretting as DD is nearly 11, had 6 years of ballet and only this year has done private lessons and just started competing. Sitting RAD Grade 3 in 2 weeks, and has been asked to move into IF next year (our year starts in Feb). I was worried about how much she was missing by not doing Gr 4 and 5 (although her teacher says they will make up the gaps in her private lessons). But now I see how much variation there is across schools, I feel much more reassured about it all. What a relief! Thank you all