Cara in NZ

I think 'secure' technique means they maintain the correct positioning/placement/alignment etc at the same time as performing. Things like landing jumps in fifth position, or keeping turnout in turns. The whole foundation of technique is designed to protect the body/joints – eg tracking knees over toes – but the human body likes to take the easiest way of doing something. So all those years of classes and repetition are designed to train the muscle memory so technique doesn't fall by the wayside when you step on stage.

I actually asked a hairdresser about what to use on DD's wispy bits and she recommended a leave-in moisturising conditioner. I have to say that DD doesn't like the gelled/sprayed 'skinned rabbit' look so saves it for exams and performing. The conditioner seems to work for class, but is gentle.

Yup, DD got it for her birthday last October. I just checked and she is very happy with it. It even fits her foam roller and Pilates mat if needed. (In fact she could probably climb into it herself if we needed to check maximum capacity) Just checked and the ventilated shoe pocket is currently comfortably accommodating three pairs of pointe shoes, one pair of demis (soft blocks), one pr jazz shoes, and two prs of ballet flats

It's a bit hard to tell but I think it's this one. The photo looks very like it – one end has a zip pocket with a row of holes punched in it, that we use for shoes, and the other end is just a mesh/net type pocket. http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Nike-Air-Max-Team-Training-Duffel-Bag-Medium-Sports-Holdall-Gym-Travel-Bag-Navy/122657442451?hash=item1c8ef40a93%3Ag%3A6fEAAOSwsXFZKqOQ

After years of disappointing dance bags, including the convertible Capezio one, I decided that sports bags would be tougher and we got the biggest Nike holdall DD can manage. It's hard to walk far with it, but it has a mesh pocket at one end where she keeps drinks, and a ventilated pocket at the other end where she keeps all her stinky shoes. We are also paranoid about liquids leaking onto shoes, after her IF exam pointe shoes acquired a blue stain from water leaking onto the blue fabric shoe-bag. So this bag keeps them well apart, and the main section has oceans of room for all her gear (Saturdays are the worst – she has private lesson, doing any selection of eight solos, then Pilates, followed by Grade 6, which requires character gear/chiffon skirt, plus all the usual first aid stuff, snacks, ballet/jazz flats and pointe shoes).

Laughed SO HARD at this! We have a travelling ballet master staying with us who frequently talks about teaching a row of 'RAD robots' (including DD)

Just wanted to add that I started ballet aged 19 and danced regularly (3-4 classes a week) for several years, including a year en pointe and Russian exams up to Elementary. As I hadn't been allowed to do ballet as a child, I adored it all. I was so envious of other adults who turned up for their first class, stood at the barre, and from the first note their muscle memory returned and you could see they had danced when they were younger. If you've done any ballet as a child, you may well find the principles are still in your body and it's not as hard as for complete beginners. But as an adult, you have to be doing it because you love it. Good luck

Hi Ashleigh – there will be more answers when the UK wakes up (but I'm in NZ). 1. I think it's unrealistic to hope to be a professional ballet dancer but I don't think your age would prevent you studying for a degree, depending on any practical requirements. You might have to research different universities to find a course that suits. 2. Any sport *can* work against ballet's aims but you can usually adapt – so for weightlifting you might want to use smaller weights with more reps. Ballet dancers usually want long, lean muscle so you just have to adapt your approach to avoid exercises that 'build bulk'. 3. Exercise that builds cardiovascular fitness is good. Swimming is good. Anything that strengthens your core, knees, ankles is good. It's hard to be any more specific without knowing what you want to achieve. So I'm just guessing you need to build fitness and strength. Obviously any exercise routine depends on your existing fitness, any injuries/ weaknesses etc. 4. A good diet is the same for a dancer as it is for anyone really. Obviously professional dancers have different requirements, but for most women, eating a good range of protein, veg/fruit, good fats, complex carbohydrates, and calcium/dairy are all important, not just for dancers. I don't know if that's any help but hope it's a start!

Just because no one seems to have posted this, Pointe-less you can read as much as you like about RAD exams here: https://www.rad.org.uk/achieve/exams

Oh yes, to all this. DD hopeless at all sports, but a good little swimmer... HOWEVER, at annual school swimming sports she goes for elegant technique over speed every time. Invariably comes fourth, when only the first three go on to represent the school at the next level. I THINK she likes it that way though?

Aw Fiz, how nice of you to ask! Yup, it's 6 months since we jumped off the rollercoaster. DD is still dancing, but 'only' 6 classes a week instead of 9, and even did two terms of hiphop for fun (She's never wanted to do anything but ballet). She has just debuted her first pointe solo and now will work on her first variation en pointe, which has felt a little daunting up to now. She now has eight competition solos, which feels like a bit of a marathon. And competition gets tougher at this age (13), as all the recreational dancers drop out or move to the jazz/contemporary classes at competitions. We have agreed she will work hard as long as she enjoys it, and she is doing RAD Grade 6 this year (exam in October), as well as Adv Foundation but not doing the exam until May 2018. If you don't want a ballet career, there is no reason to hurry through the exams so she can do AF at 14, Adv 1 at 15 or 16, and see how she feels about Adv 2. She has a lovely new teacher but our studio is a bit odd this year as our most celebrated teacher left us for the RAD in London and so several of the senior students have moved schools, as it was her reputation that had brought them. So there's only five girls in Adv 2, most auditioning for full-time at the end of this year (our school year finishes in December), no Adv 1, and three girls in AF. There's about 15 in IF, and hundreds of younger ones, so we are just a bit depleted in the seniors at the moment. Goodness knows what will happen next year. But the most important thing for us is that DD knows she doesn't 'have' to dance to please us, and is only dancing as long as she enjoys it and feels encouraged by it. (And I'm just enjoying it — and collecting lots of photos/videos — while it lasts)

Do let me know how you get/got on?

YUP, we came home with Energetiks pointe shoes, and had tried on several pairs. DD got Energetiks Encore, and then looking at this page on Just Ballet's website, I recognised all the shoe names listed under Russian Pointe (except we didn't get the options of V or U cut, which I guess is the vamp?). £20 postage isn't so bad if you get a few things... https://www.justballet.co.uk/collections/pointe-shoes?page=3

It is VERY frustrating! I order shoes from the US and UK as well as Australia. Bloch seems to have an iron-clad deal with many shops – a big one in Auckland (Dancer's Wardrobe) has 'Call for price' under every single Bloch item they stock! Also, Wellington (where we live) has no big dance shop at all. For decades we only had Gubbs, which is basically a 'normal' shoe shop with a corner for dance shoes. We weren't very happy with the first pointe shoe fitting DD had there, so then went out to a small independent shop half an hour away. I would also like to point out that some items have different names in different countries – e.g. DD was fitted into Energetiks Encore pointe shoes and I was lamenting that I couldn't get them anywhere but NZ/Australia – then was browsing the Just Dance (UK) website and noticed the same model names for the shoes but they were called 'Russian Pointe' instead of Energetiks. (AND we pay NZ$120 per pair, which is almost double the cost of UK pointe shoes, but often the postage cost cancels the saving out unless you order 2-3 pairs.) Here is a sample of the range on Porselli's (UK) website – £8-11 for Capezio flats, where we pay NZ$50-65! https://dancewear.co.uk/shoes/ballet-shoes.html So do your research and beat the system where you can Good luck

Hi Viv, we're in NZ and I too spend a lot of time salivating over UK/US websites... I know some dancers (and their mums) who swear by MDM. I went through the laborious fitting thing but didn't actually get them. Like you, DD has just got her first Hanamis and says they feel amazing. Before that she had been wearing Capezio Juliets (canvas and leather). For leather she then found she liked Capezio Cobras. (If it makes you feel better, we have the added hassle that several of the Aussie dance sites won't ship outside Australia. We've been waiting 3 months for a Sydney friend to bring over three orders from Bloch and Step by Step!)

I have had some success with tacking some of the layers together?

I wonder if it's what they do in class/in other roles? I took my DD to see the St Petersburg Ballet touring Swan Lake in NZ in January, and it was very noticeable (from the second row of the Stalls!) that many in the corps were not very interested in being swans. The ones who were 'performing' still fitted in but had expressive faces. Even in a ballet like Swan Lake, the corps dancers will be doing other parts in other acts – in Swan Lake, character dances, pas de trois, for example – as well as perhaps understudying. I'm sure there's plenty of chance to be 'spotted', in class or on stage!

We put a pair of insoles in after deshanking, which also helps them be a bit more comfortable. But yes, DD ended up having to put her Ouch Pouches back on as the box was so hard!

We inherited a practice tutu for vocational exams that was several years old and droopy. A friend who did lots of costumes for a different dance school added another layer of net (a very short one) to the bottom and perked it back up beautifully.

I have to say that I was very disappointed with DD's first pointe shoe fitting, 18 months ago. It was at the main dance supply shop in our city (the other one is half an hour away but we are going there for our next attempt). The assistant didn't even really look at DD's feet – just asked her shoe size and then said they always start kids in Bloch Sylphide or Heritage. So she came away with Sylphide, which she never really broke in, then Heritage, then tried a friend's Aspirations (also Bloch) and liked them. So I'd stocked up on her current size and the next half-size up when... new teacher says she thinks the sole is 'twisting' when she is en pointe so it looks like her foot is sickled when it isn't... she is from Sth Africa and recommends Freed or Grishko, which are not nearly so common here and I see they are more expensive too. For some reason, Bloch here (imported from Australia but made in Thailand just like the ones I have ordered from the UK) costs twice the UK price (£60!!!). So of course we tend to get fitted once and then order online. I am going to the fitters half an hour away in January, and selling excess Aspirations on eBay. Sigh. I am envious of all the choice you seem to have in the UK!

I think it's also worth mentioning that young people may be inspired by dancers like Misty Copeland – and rightly so! But she was quite an exception and viewed as a 'prodigy'. It's not impossible to start that late and excel, but it is unusual. Good luck!

Yes, DD's lovely new private lesson teacher offered her hour-long lessons twice a week over summer (at £40 an hour). I had to email her that our budget would only permit one hour a week

Wow, I'm amazed at the response! I was in two minds about my original post, and almost deleted it as I thought maybe it was frowned upon to publicise DC going off ballet! But just look at all your lovely thoughtful and helpful replies! If my DD changes her mind then yes, we will consider it all over again. But she's never had what I call 'the gleam in the eye' that I see in her peers who are determined they are going places with their dancing. Just having the pressure taken off her has already changed her attitude, and I never wanted her to dance for me more than for herself. I've learned so much on this forum and will even be meeting one of the Scottish members here in Wellington in a couple of weeks! Thank you all for all you have contributed to this dance journey

Aha, I wondered how long it would be before an 'expert' popped up

I hear ya, Lisa. My mum (working-class but 'knows what she likes!) loves opera and church music, doesn't like musicals... and when I said her grand-daughter wasn't planning on a ballet career, she uttered the immortal words: "Oh good, I've never really liked ballet – just a lot of hopping about." I was momentarily speechless... now I have all sorts of come-backs, like "And books are just a lot of words on a page; and music is just a lot of notes on a page..."