BusyBee

She is 13 years. I have already decided that she won't be going on pointe as yet and this is mainly due to the fact that she has knock knees and sway back legs, so lacks the strength to cope with her shape. I do have a couple of other girls in the same class that are the same size as her, but they are very strong and will cope very well with Pointework. I was just interested in how other teachers would approach this situation.

I'm looking for other teacher opinions on this subject. I currently have a few pupils of various ages, but at the same level that are due to start Pointework in the next few weeks. But, one of the group is a little overweight and I feel a bit too large to be starting Pointework. If you have to tell a parent their child is not strong enough physically to start Pointework (as they do develop at different rates) and that it would be better to wait and start when they are ready, it is easy to explain this and the parent and child are generally ok knowing that when the child is stronger they will start Pointework. But to tell a parent their child is not starting due to their weight, I think in this day, where everything has to be positive and encouraging teaching, they would take it the wrong way. When I started pointework 30 years ago, it was known within the school that if you was overweight you wouldn't be allowed to go on pointe. As far as I know my teacher was able to tell a parent that their child would not be starting pointework due to their size, without any repercussions. I certainly wouldn't want to fall out with this parent over this, the child is a good dancer and though has no plans to make a career of it, she really enjoys her classes, and there is no reason why over the next few years, her shape may change. I have decided how to approach this, but I would appreciate any thoughts or comments from other teachers on how they have dealt with similar situations.

May I ask what your experience of dance is invisiblecircus? As I know that some teachers will only put students through teaching exams if they are of a certain standard of dance.