Cara in NZ
-
Posts
409 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by Cara in NZ
-
A dancer from our school has just gone there after 2 years of pre-professional training, so she must be 18. She was fundraising for living costs (ie not fees), but so far seems to be having a great time. It's a long way from NZ though!
-
With hindsight (DD is almost 14), I would have bought separate flesh-coloured knickers and crop/bra tops, which they wouldn't outgrow as fast. The nude leotards are ok but now she has costumes with mesh midriff or where her midriff shows and needs separates for those. We have at least four nude leos, which she also wears under pastel leos for class, but separates are much easier for costume changes (and speedy loo visits!)
-
Yup those scarves are... a challenge. Our girls were practising with some the teacher had, but then they got proper silk ones a couple of weeks ago and all complained that they are much lighter and it's harder to get them to go where you want. It's all a bit mad, the amount of gear they take into this exam!
-
Good luck to you too! We never have grade exams in the same session as vocationals – I think that's a really tough gig doing them on consecutive days! DD has been learning the Adv Foundation syllabus this year but the teacher decided none of them (3 in class) were strong enough in pointework for the exam, as the variations have to be done en pointe. So she's just doing Gr 6 exam. It's really helped loosen up her upper body and be more expressive. The long chiffon skirts have been a nightmare though – were handmade with velcro fastening that snagged both the chiffon AND their tights as they take them on and off every class. I've taken all the velcro off (9 skirts) and replaced with a big popper/dome/press stud with reinforcing tape to strengthen the waistband. Took a bit of time to get the fit just right for each girl but they look lovely on. DD plans to do Gr 7 next year, and MAYBE Adv F! Let us know how your exams go
-
Yup, I have been desperate enough to get my niece to bring a pair from the UK when she was visiting NZ, and ordered a pair to be sent to a UK friend, who then sent them on... and now my DD doesn't even enjoy pointework I think I will just stop buying them and see what happens. What exam are you doing, Viv? DD has Grade 6 on Oct 17, and has daily 'grade school' next week, 6-7.30pm Mon to Fri. She's really enjoyed it though and it has helped her Russian character solo hugely.
-
Thanks for posting, Fiz. I 'liked' your post as a fellow sufferer, but didn't mean I liked your DD being devastated! My DD's teacher told her she needs to start experimenting with different styles of pointe shoe as she's strong enough now to mix things up. Then she saw the look on my face – they cost £65 a pair here in NZ, and if it's a new style you can't get them online. Plus I have five pairs waiting to be worn of the two styles she SAID SHE LIKED!!!! Gaaaahhhhhh
-
Oh goodness, I only darn the edge. It's a beast of a job and usually involves blood. I tried buying curved needles but they were too thick so it was back to thimble and normal needle plus linen thread. I snapped a needle last time too. I never hear people say this, but my DD really hasn't taken to pointework and is quite discouraged by it. She has small feet for her age (size 3 UK at almost 14), so although she's average height, en pointe she is suddenly shorter than her peers, and her feet never look elegant. I tell her this is the ONLY TIME in her life that the un-bendiness of her feet will be important (And thank you for being so kind – she is in the slightly disillusioned phase of ballet where you try to work out why you do it and how much of your life you want it to occupy!)
- 656 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- RAD
- adult ballet
- (and 3 more)
-
Thanks balletbean, yes she's tried five styles of shoe (in 3 years), suede tips, and I've darned her current pair to try to help her stability/confidence. As she doesn't want a dance career, she may just focus on the grades and not continue with the vocational path next year, as she's really enjoyed Grade 6 this year. She just wants to keep up some pointework for her variation and pointe solo. She does have the bands but has lost motivation to do much at home. I know many teens are obsessive about their dance but we are just trying to make sure she enjoys her last 2-3 years of semi-serious ballet!
- 656 replies
-
- 2
-
-
- RAD
- adult ballet
- (and 3 more)
-
Just wanted to say that my DD is almost 14, working on RAD Advanced Foundation (and Gr 6) and still has trouble getting over on her box with her left foot. Her feet look ok in normal ballet shoes but en pointe the left looks much weaker. The only solution we have come up with is to actually work on the left shoe so it bends more (in fact her teacher did a bit of work on it during a private so it's not just us experimenting). I suspect everyone has one foot 'better' than the other, just as we all have preferred sides for turning etc. I have also suggested she thinks about starting things from the left first when practising/marking, so it's not always the right doing more work.
-
Agree... after 5 years of ballet as an adult beginner in the Russian system (in New Zealand), we moved to London. After I had my first baby I looked for adult ballet and couldn't find any. So they put me in the oldest kids' class, which was Grade 5. I'd never done character, and was a little mortified to have to put my post baby body into a leotard and dance with 11-yr-olds, but it was a good level. At our school, girls who want to start ballet in their teens tend to be put into Grade 5 as well (RAD). My one guideline for finding a suitable adult ballet class is whether you can do single or double pirouettes. If you don't know what they are, RAD Grade 3-4 is a good place to start. Singles = Grade 5/Grade 6/Int Foundation. Doubles = Intermediate. Good luck!
-
Looking on the positive side, our school has never asked us to sew costumes. So I'm just grateful to be only required to sew in a straight line!
-
I've thought about whether I could charge, but honestly, at 3-4 hours per skirt even £5 an hour would equate to half the cost of the skirt (they are about £35-38 here, but usually they would already have ribbons). So I'll probably end up charging a 'symbolic' £10 if anyone asks. (The uniform lady is supplying me with ribbon and reimbursing other haberdashery.) At least I've got the time down a bit from 6-7 hours though!
-
Thanks Fiz – I only offered to help because I'm very fond of our uniform lady (another harassed dance mum). But DD wore hers with the new ribbons last night and I'm a victim of my own success – the other girls liked the new ribbons so much that they all want them... I was just doing four for our exam group but now there's possibly another six... and the exams are in 3 weeks...
-
Interesting – we have our own skirts, but I have only just retired DD's after 4 years! I'm used to heavier skirts – the ones I have to put ribbons on are poly/cotton and lighter. I just don't want anything that creases as they live in dance bags. And I reckon ric-rac would be great because nobody would ever know if you'd sewn it on straight! The last-minute dash to the exam is because the teens were going to wear their old age 10-12 skirts, which are all a bit short, ie below the knee but not by a lot. But then one girl got a new skirt that is actually a bit long on her, and makes all the shorter ones look REALLY short. They need to look the same in their exam group so... sigh! UPDATE: Just did the last row on DD's skirt with chalk and vertical pins, and actually could pin it by eye after the first couple of metres. I've also done enormous tacking stitches that should pull out easier than the previous tacking, which I did in the same place as the machining and so the thread got tangled and it took ages to get the tacking out. I've also been to a sewing shop with a skirt and checked what sort of cotton I should be using as I had trouble with bobbin tension on one row and have had to unpick the machining. So the first one is almost finished – 16 metres down, 48 to go
-
Just wanted to add that the only NZ representative made it to the finals, and trains (in ballet) at our dance school. She goes to a normal state secondary school and is in Year 11 (age 15). I have the greatest admiration for these teenagers who manage to reach such a high standard! Yes Australia has more options for pre-professional training. In NZ you have to go to a private school or home-school if you want to train during schooltime before Year 12.
-
All of the grades (from Grade 1–8) have character in the syllabus, but it is dropped for the vocational levels (Intermediate Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced Foundation, Adv 1 & 2). As the skirts are circular, the hem circumference gets vaster as the girls get taller. Don't ever volunteer to sew ribbons for teens.
-
Thanks everyone! I was being extra careful so the ribbons were straight but you never see the skirt flat so I guess a slight wiggle or two is ok... I'll get some chalk, try the pinning method, and figure out what works. I appreciate all your suggestions. I have also questioned the whole RAD 'character' thing – I understand that it's good to learn about dances from other countries but here in NZ it seems odd to be learning Russian, Hungarian, Dutch etc when there are other countries much closer to us with equally valuable dance styles! The best reason I can see is that most of the 'classical' ballets have court scenes and village/peasant dances so it's good to have some experience of the style – but then why does the RAD stop teaching character for the vocational levels? (On another note, we have just been to see the Royal NZ Ballet's Romeo & Juliet and I suspect the harlots hadn't had any childhood training in THAT dance style!)
-
Due to teething problems with introducing a new uniform this year, we (I) am now going to have to sew three rows of ribbon on four character skirts in time for the Grade 6 exam in a month. The skirts are long as they're for teenagers, and measure 5.2m round the hem... I've started on DD's, but find it's taking me 2 hours for each row of ribbon – measuring, pinning, tacking. I haven't even got the sewing machine out yet! Just wondering if there are any tips out there in the dance parent mine of information? I'm wondering about using tailor's chalk to mark where the top of each ribbon should go, for example, but am hoping for a miraculous time-saving solution
-
I don't remember where I read it (probably in this forum!) but I thought a very creative idea was the person who said their DD took the back and straps off a sports bra and just sewed the cups into the front of the leotard. (Haven't tried it myself as DD is a 30B at almost 14)
-
After DD tried rosin at her last competition and thought it might work, I did get some. But it leaves marks on our polished wood floors and is sticky so doesn't wipe off easily. I'm still looking for how to get it off!
-
I don't think many dancers have the luxury of practising on a dance floor. DD (nearly 14) has always practised on large rugs or our polished floorboards. She says the wood is too slippery for pointe, so tends to practise that on a (short-pile) rug. I have heard of people getting squares of lino from a bathroom shop, ie offcuts, and putting them down for practice. Our problem is that there is nowhere except our (slippery) hallway for her to practise turn sequences/manèges en pointe – which is what she most needs to work on! (The REALLY devoted dance mothers convert their garages to studios and put down a proper floor, but my DH has Steptoe's yard in our garage.)
-
I do agree with this in theory, but in DD's Intermediate exam last year she said the pianist played the pliés far too fast. It's difficult to execute a plié with musicality if you have to do them fast!
-
Your thoughts - lightest possible high waisted dance shorts
Cara in NZ replied to Rosewaterandsunshine's topic in Doing Dance
We've had some shorts from Move Dancewear – they have quite a range of styles: http://www.movedancewear.com/dance-shorts/#language_id=1&pg_reset=1&lp_106=6&lpo_106=6&hp_106=37&hpo_106=37&uet=1&eis=1&a_1[]=1&sort=R -
Yes, I see that. What I was getting at was that she needs to be starting pointe at her home dance school to be at roughly the same level as her Associate peers. DD has a friend who had to be fast-tracked onto pointe over the summer after getting into our Scholars programme for Year 8 (age 12) but had only done Grade 5, and all the others at her level were a year ahead of her and had already had a year en pointe. So to avoid that scenario I would recommend moving her. I don't believe exams are important, but that stage really is!
-
Due to schools merging, DD ended up doing RAD Grade 3 just as she turned 11. She was coasting, in with 9-yr-olds, and getting a bit complacent. She was moved up to Int Foundation the next year as there wasn't a Grade 5 class, and had some catch-up coaching in her private lessons. She worked hard and got Distinction in the IF exam after 7 months, so blossomed that year – although she certainly had some gaps in her technique. Talented and motivated kids are often moved up and skip a grade (or two), and it's particularly important for starting pointe work that they aren't too far behind kids in their school year (in Associates programmes, for example). There's nothing worse than having to pick up pointe work in a hurry!
