Petalviolet

Oh no I'm totally here! I'm just not very good at giving helpful advice, so I prefer to be less transmit more receive. For example this week at ballet Me: I think leg warmers go under your ballet shoes? Won't they get dirty? DD: (look) no mumma that would look weird. Me: I think you'll find... DD: (sigh)...ok. Tries it. Me: oh....ummm..yes I see what you mean. I have a lot to learn.

Congratulations to your DD! It's a big milestone passing your driving test and I think lots of the attributes cultivated by ballet are transferable to many other areas in life and I can see why driving would be one! Ability to concentrate, take instruction, be calm under pressure, co ordinate your brain and body and react and judge quickly. It is a PET HATE of mine when other parents or adults in general murmur something like 'she does ballet...oh...she'll have...great posture' as if that's the only take home benefit. I had to take DD with me on my driving lessons sometimes when she was tiny but still old enough to parrot my instructor from the back seat "easy on the clutch mummy" - which beautifully illustrates your point.

Happy Christmas Swanprincess and to everyone at Balletco xxxxx

We have a different/odd set up at DD's school. Very proper and quite old school teacher yet everyone even the kiddies just uses her first name. Her husband has become Mr- wife's first name!?? And it's a very feminine name too! One of these days I'm going to forget the Mr I know it.

Congratulations!! A happy ending! Is that your DD in your profile pic as she is Snow White pretty?

I was curious to see what Sim's comments were and I hope they won't mind me quoting but thought the words were too lovely not to share: "For those of you who don't look at the Doing Dance section, it may be a salutary experience to do so. There, a supportive and friendly family has developed over the years. As moderators we are all touched and impressed with the support, advice and sharing of experiences that make up the main part of that forum area. THAT is the kind of respect that I am talking about." Xx

Good luck new123 seems like yesterday we were all stressing over JA results!! I shall keep all fingers and toes crossed for the Balletco DC's auditioning tomorrow, would be lovely to have see you in DD's class! *socks.

Very wise words of wisdom here from Ballletco - hope when you are all reunited this weekend that things will work out, please let us know how things go xxxxxx

Make up is a particular issue for me as DD is no where old enough to be wearing it. I remember taking her home at ten in the evening from a performance in London and there was no time to remove anything we just had to run for the train. She had her winter coat on and wanted her hair out so no real sign of dance wear or that she'd been performing but had loads and loads of make up on. I did get some funny looks and I kept wanting to say 'she was at a thing' 'a dance thing, OK?'

Is there any way of predicting if your DD's feet are the type of feet to get through pointe shoes? This is a proper question by the way not my usual ramblings! WaltzingM I hear shank I think horses?! I know as much about horses as Ballet. Oh and (see one of my previous threads) don't get me started on ballet belts as that's a whole world I certainly won't be getting involved in.

Why WHY WHYYYYYYY can't it go like this? Buy the pointe shoe. Put the pointe shoe on. Do the fouttay, planchay, arabesqay dancey thingy. Take the pointe shoe off. USE IT AGAIN.

Dead pointe shoes. I've only seen alive ones and this phrase just seems so sad! They must look a bit pitiful.

Aaaah I wonder how many of us have 'helping kitties'? That could be a whole other thread - cats and ballet. I've had to peel celotape, wash green face paint off and unravel Pom Pom tinsel out of the teeth of my cat just over this weekend. They love a bit of costume don't they!

Ugh costumes.. Not specifically ballet related but due to the higher needs of one Halloween Maleficent costume and necessary wand accessory our loft hatch opening stick/pole/gadget will still function but now looks incredibly different. It's now an evil loft hatch opening stick.

Ooooh another pearl before swine tip (me being the...er...swine) I would love to try this but I'll need DD first as stretchy as those tights are they aren't going on me that's for sure. They don't look too bad but they'll never be the same. A year ago I didn't even know what convertible ballet tights were. Or what they converted into? Now DD is trotting around the changing room converting all over the place just to impress classmates with her...convertibility. They are all wide- eyed and must have some too. Sadly this pair have lost their covetousness.

Bath in ballet shoes??? Are these pointe shoes? But...that must have taken ages!! Could you blow dry them? The things you dancers do...must be your mentality. Patience, high pain threshold and tolerance plus perfectionism and, possibly a rich inner life that prevents boredom setting in as you sit in a rapidly cooling bath. Oh and an appreciation of the ridiculous!

You have to be quite boisterous to pointe shoes though, am I right? Attack them with scissors and bash them around a bit? I'm sure I recorded a documentary ages ago for DD about how you make them and then prepare them to wear and there was a dancer cutting the end bit or the soles? I can't remember exactly but at least that is a process betwixt shoe and dancer and I won't be getting involved. If DD is old enough to wear them I'm hoping she'll be old enough to sort them out to her specifications. Please can I not have a flurry of posts from people telling me the hours they've spent doing DD's pointe shoes......I won't sleep.

I wouldn't resent it so much if the end product was something I could crow about - look at the neat finesse, the fine detail..but everything I touch so far with a needle looks like it's been jabbed to death. Or if I'd celotaped it, it would look better. Sewing is a lost art.

YOUR. Sigh.

Mesh? Right. This is good. Learning. I de bobble a bit, I learn a bit..de bobble....learn.. You're Classic Balletco evening.

Hmmm stubborn bobbles... It's helping though xxxx

Ooooh ooooh OK OK trying that now oh please work..

I have strictly on right now! Tights have been scrunched up very very tightly whilst I have a cup of restorative tea. I really really dread things like actual proper have to prepare before you use ballet....stuff.

Well I'm enjoying an evening of ballet industriousness. I have a pair of convertible ballet tights here with me now, draped across my lap. Said tights have come off the worse for wear due to being teamed with a black fleece onesie and frankly, look like they have flea debris scattered across them. Thrifty me refuses to bin them! I have armed self with a razor and have been patiently and tenderly de-bobbling. The razor doesn't seem to be working quite as well as I'd imagined. It encourages the bobbles to think about possibly separating themselves from the fabric but it's a slow process - more of a conscious uncoupling than a decisive, swift, clean break. Admittedly I've not been to particular as to where, once removed, these little black particles go. I've been absent mindedly dropping them off the side of my lap and wherever they fall- that is their home. Luckily, the more house proud amoung you will be relieved to hear that - on close inspection- I have discovered- all the black bobbles I have picked and flung HAVE NOT drifted to the floor but have collected instead, nestled snugly back onto the OTHER LEG of the ballet tights, awaiting my attention, hanging down by my side, off the corner of the sofa. So it appears the last half an hour or more has not been passed de bobbling as such but more bobble transference. Splendid.

I think there is an incredible amount of pressure on young dancers and parents. I think it must be very rare to feel long term confidence that the hours of practice or the opportunities taken or the exams passed or the competitions entered all add up to or point towards a guarantee of success as a professional dancer. It doesn't take much to sow a seed of doubt - are we doing enough? Could we sacrifice more? Push just that little bit harder? What is everyone else doing and should we do the same? Is it all over now or if we haven't achieved this goal by this time next year is it time to give up then? I'm just relieved we have this forum so that parents and teachers can share their collective experience. No one wants to sugar coat the truth or make out that every child who wants to pursue a career in the arts is going to be able to fulfil that dream but I do find it inspirational when someone posts 'well X didn't do it this way and look at them now!'.