Cara in NZ

I'm British and my two oldest were born in London. But my youngest (the DD) was born in NZ. She has a British passport through me but has never lived there. It would be awful if the older two qualified as 'British' and she didn't! Here in NZ we don't have any vocational training from 11, just auditioned 'development programmes' (like Scholars/JAs). So 'vocational training' isn't really an option before age 15 but the kids still go on to professional careers (Including Hannah O'Neill, who went to Australia for training at age 15). The NZ School of Dance runs a national programme, and the others are through a handful of leading dance schools, who usually offer a 'pre-professional programme' for 15-16 yr olds. People do send kids to Australia at 15/16, but younger kids usually only do holiday intensives. I don't think you need to criticise the British schools. As the world 'shrinks', kids may travel more for training but I don't think any of us would like the Chinese/Russian model for our 11-yr-olds – even worse because of the vast distances the children often are from their families! I often wonder if there really is a huge benefit in sending kids to vocational school at 11, and am very glad not to have that option here – I don't know how you do it!

I don't think it's necessarily true that there are far more company opportunities in the UK – I know that each of the states in Australia has a professional ballet company, as well as the Australian Ballet and many other dance companies (have a look here http://www.danceinforma.com.au/full-time-dance-auditions-guide/) In NZ we only have one national company and one national pre-professional training school (plus some private schools that take 15 and 16 yr olds). But the Elmhurst ad I saw said 'ages 11-16' and there is no way I'd be sending an 11-yr-old across the world to train! Also, if Australia is anything like NZ, a large proportion of the residents were born in other countries. I'm a British citizen, and so are my kids, although we all have dual NZ/UK citizenship. This wouldn't necessarily help with funding, but means we have the right to live in the UK. As usual, it's much more complicated than it seems! That said, I wish anyone auditioning well!

Yes, sarah – I was trying to illustrate that even skipping two grades (rather than three) required a lot of extra work for it to be done safely. We didn't have Grade 5 that year due to studios combining, so she couldn't just move up from Grade 3 to Grade 5 – which would have been better really. (Or EVEN BETTER would have been for them to notice earlier and move her up after Grade 1 or 2 when it was much less of a leap!)

Just in terms of the 'big jump' – My DD was moved up from RAD Grade 3 to Inter Found last year, but only because she was among the oldest in Grade 3 and was 'coasting'. She had to increase her classes from two to four per week (plus a weekly private), and her private lesson teacher undertook to 'fill in the gaps' from Gr 4 & 5 in her privates – which she did by incorporating steps from those grades into her competition dances. She also had to do strengthening exercises over the summer break so she could start pointe with the others (She was 11.5 by then). It was a shock to her how much harder she had to work, but has done her the world of good. She had had 'slow and steady' training from age 5 though.

Agree with the other posts – my DD is nearly 13 and learning her first variation en pointe. I told her teacher our house has polished wooden floors or large rugs and asked which was best to practise on. She said on the rugs, for safety and confidence! I'm also interested in how kids adapt to different performance floors en pointe as she will be performing en pointe next year. I've offered to darn/blanket stitch around the box of her pointe shoes to help grip but so far she has refused! (They don't use rosin in classes or at competitions.)

Just a couple of observations: while kids are growing, an option for classical solos is to get half tutus (ie just a skirt) and a pretty leo. You can get/make overlays to pretty them up, but keeping the leo separate means you can keep using the tutu skirt as they grow out of leos. And the other thing is that my DD always says she feels much less pressure in a group routine, where there is team spirit and you can glance at each other to check you're going the right way – whereas in a solo it's all eyes on you and everyone knows if you mess up!

Yeah, I made the mistake of letting her choose which leo she wore, and she chose one with a pretty crossover detail at the back – that just didn't have enough fabric to pin the numbers on. Rookie error!

Just wanted to add: ensure that if she wears knickers they don't show/creep down below the leotard. And in case they pin numbers on her (front and back), make sure the leotard doesn't have a cut out at the back. (At DD's first audition we had to pin the number on her bottom, which she was mortified about!)

DD is entering a big Australasian competition in Easter 2017 (Alana Haines Awards), and they have changed the rules since the last comp (2015) so that now the 13-year-olds have to dance one of the set variations en pointe, with the 14/15 yr olds. In 2015 the 13-yr-olds could choose to dance on flat with the 11 & 12 yr olds, but apparently it was too complicated to have 13-yr-olds dancing in either Junior or Senior groups so they standardised it. My DD started pointe at 11.5 but didn't do much in IF. This year she has done Intermediate syllabus work but still not a lot of pointe apart from that. The pointework required for the AHA variation is considerably harder than any of her syllabus work, and I think it is a bit unreasonable to expect this of 13-yr-olds. But I guess it means fewer applicants (they always have too many)!

If you and your DD are both happy with the school and teacher, then just sit tight. She is still very young to be starting competitions and there is plenty of time. My DD started ballet at 5 but would have run a mile from performing on her own at 7. She only started competitions when she was almost 11. Two years later, the novelty has worn off but not the nerves!

Absolutely! At our dance school they work on exam work for three terms, then the last term (Oct to Dec) they work on show items. This year they are doing some of the choreo themselves, which is a great idea! I do agree about the 'fun' part too. And I've also realised that losing her beloved private lesson teacher after 2.5 years has also been difficult for her this year. Not just a teacher but a mentor and cheerleader, who took a genuine interest in supporting and encouraging her. It's all been a bit piecemeal since then, but I think I have found a possible replacement who is equally kind but tough – a combination that works for my DD!

If the dance school does a good job, it's also good marketing for them!

Thanks Alison – that's a good summary. It's been a really rapid acceleration for her: age 10 she was happily coasting as one of the oldest in Grade 3 (3 classes a week), then was moved up to Int Found last year (6 classes a week), and this year has had 9-10 classes a week. She did a lot of work on 'catching up' last year because of missing Grade 4 & 5, but this year I think it has possibly all caught up with her. And I suspect a lot of her exam mark was about the maddening 'confidence' element!

Wow, just got up on Sunday morning in NZ and found all your wonderful and positive replies. Ballet is so merciless sometimes! I have just told DD that she should have a complete break over summer, just doing her physio and strengthening exercises. She has a big Australasian competition next Easter that she has to do a variation en pointe for, which is slightly terrifying but she's made a start on it. So a break over Dec/Jan and then taking a deep breath to get on with that will do her the world of good, I'm sure. I hadn't read much on this forum about kids going off dance, so am grateful for your honesty about your own experiences. Thanks again!

I am really touched by the thoughtful, supportive replies, as I felt like the only parent with a kid like this! She hasn't had an acute injury, just two years of on and off knee pain. Finally found a dance physio this year who said she was straining her medial ligaments and started her on a programme to strengthen her VMO, glutes, and work on her alignment. She has seen a vast improvement and hasn't had to sit out of allegro lately, which is encouraging. Her teachers said her exam result was 'a bit disappointing'. For perspective, the class star and other JA from our school got 98%!!! She is amazing and works extremely hard, but also has a passion and drive that I don't see in my DD (and am slightly grateful as I'm not sure I could cope!). Thank you, Pictures, Celi, sarah

Thank you Harwel – what a lovely response. These girls put so much pressure on themselves, you're right. Here's hoping a break over (NZ) summer will help!

I am wondering what to do and thought I'd ask you knowledgable people! We are surrounded by madly enthusiastic talented dancers at DD's classes but she has found it all a bit much this year and is now refusing to consider any holiday workshops or extra coaching. Some days she just seems discouraged and exhausted! We were delighted when she got into our Scholars (JA) programme this year, but it's deadly serious and she isn't sure she'll get back in next year – or even if she wants to! She has 4 compulsory ballet classes, 1 Pilates with her studio each week (just done RAD Intermediate and was disappointed to only scrape a Distinction), plus 2 ballet and a Pilates in the JA programme, plus a private lesson most weeks. I'm also a bit stunned that she got a lower exam result in the year she was doing the most classes ever! She doesn't think she wants a dance career, although I'm not sure if this is just her playing it safe in case she doesn't make the grade. I'm very aware that if she does want to keep the option of auditioning for full-time training at 15 or 16, she needs to be training at a certain level. She seems so young to be having to consider such decisions! Considering that it just gets harder in their teens, I'm torn between trying to motivate her, and backing off and letting her reduce her workload next year. We will find out in November if she has a place in next year's Scholars programme (as NZ's school year is Feb to Dec), so that will help guide us, but even if she does get back in, she's talking about turning the place down. She has worked so hard to this point, and has just finished months of physio to help chronic knee pain, so I thought she'd be feeling positive but I think the exam result has knocked her. She really thought she'd done a good job. Sigh. Any advice? We're about to start the last term for the year so maybe she is just tired. I just want dance to be a positive thing in her life. It has helped her confidence so much, and now that confidence seems to be flagging.

Agree with Jazzpaws – groups are so much more fun! DD did 10 competitions in 2015, but only 5 this year because of compulsory Saturday Scholars (JA) classes. A lot depends on what your weekend commitments are like. It has helped my rather reserved DD to develop expression and performance skills, as well as resilience (for critical adjudicator comments and also what to do when your CD skips/jams/stops!).

From what I have observed, it is part of the 'customer is always right culture' we have now where if people pay for a service, they seem to expect certain rights in return. We had a difficult few weeks recently when a new teacher said she didn't want parents watching their Saturday class (which is at a different venue where you can see through large windows from the corridor). Usually we sit quietly, and watch from the other side of the corridor so it seems like we are waiting for them rather than watching with noses pressed to the window! The new teacher had heard about one mother, who is a dance teacher, who had interrupted a class a few weeks earlier to tell the previous teacher that her daughter wasn't being corrected in pirouettes... so we found we were banned from even entering the corridor! The mother withdrew her child from that class in protest... eventually we have been allowed back into the corridor, with strict instructions that no class is to be interrupted and no videoing may take place (which was obvious to most of us). The dust is settling slowly, but it seemed so unnecessary!

Tootu, in our experience you should be able to ask for work on technique in private lessons, as well as competition work? We are in the middle of arranging private lessons with a former principal with the Royal New Zealand Ballet (so exciting – she was my favourite to watch back in the 1980s!). I was surprised to find she charges similar rates to our own studio (NZ$80 per hour = £40 at current exchange rate, but we usually only do 30 mins. This lady also offers 45 minute lessons, which seems like a good compromise, for £25.)

Thanks Harwel – it sounds pretty similar to here except we don't have a Greek category and we don't have a gala, although we often have variation or championship classes where all entrants gather on the stage and sashes etc are awarded. I wonder if 'Greek' is what we call 'lyrical' (ballet end of jazz), or maybe 'classical barefoot' (ballet but in bare feet)?

Actually, I was just reminded of DD's first private with the illustrious head of our dance school (who only teaches the vocational kids). She was explaining something to DD and turned to me and said "Is she bright?" Naturally I nodded vigorously, but on the way home had a hilarious conversation with DD about other possible answers... "No she's a bit slow, but use easy words and she'll get it eventually"... "Well, she can be a bit dense, but keep trying...", "Not really, but we love her anyway" etc etc

Hi River – I'm sure there will be a flood of comments once the UK wakes up! I would say get in lots of hair supplies (bobby pins/bun pins, hairnets, hairties) and a box with compartments to put them all back in. While they are young, it's fairly low-maintenance but grooming becomes more important as they get older, in ballet anyway. Never let them wear dance shoes outdoors as they track grit (or worse) into the dance studios, which often have special flooring. And just enjoy it while it is more fun than work!

I've been pondering this topic and wondered if you could help out people not in the UK by explaining the difference between 'festivals' and 'competitions'? I had assumed that 'festivals' was a new PC name for competitions, ie trying to emphasise celebrating dance performance over competing, but thought I should really check in case I've got it wrong? I know that Australia calls them eisteddfods, for some unknown reason, but here in NZ they are just called competitions. Can someone give me a brief explanation? Thanks!

Absolutely agree, Vonrothbart. My DD does six RAD/technique ballet classes a week, and only has her half-hour private to work on competition solos. And in exam season the teacher has been working on her RAD work in privates too. So I think the competition work is well down the priorities compared to technique!