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Ballet_Is_King

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  1. I'm hoping it's just the dance shop being too big for their boots and the owner deliberately casting doubt on my ability so he can recommend his wife's dance school. I know I should have confidence in my own ability, but I have never been directly accused of being a bad teacher before. I just keep flipping from angry to deflated, but I have students at Royal and Northern associates and York scholars, so I must be doing something right. And on the subject of Planet Dance, I've been very happy with their fittings so far, although I do prefer the fitter at the Northern Ballet branch. I previously recommended all my students get fitted at Linfoots in York, but they have a very limited stock of shoes these days, where as PD stock a much wider range.
  2. This is a good comment and points to the purpose of dance teaching associations and the whole concept of the syllabus/exam format. No exam board has ever claimed that their exams are 'important', at least not to my knowledge. What they do claim however, is that they exist to improve the standard of dance TEACHING, through teacher training and promoting positive and up to date teaching knowledge and practices. Exam results actually do a lot more to reflect the teacher's ability than the child's. We all know that one exam result for one child is simply a snapshot of the level they achieved on that given day, but when you take all the results from a session as a broad picture of the standard of the dance school, they become much more useful. Of course we are all aware that even if a school offers exams, it may not always be an option for everyone. But even if exams are only offered to the highest achievers in a school, the emphasis is still on the teacher to maintain a consistent standard of teaching to ensure that all those students achieve high merits or distinctions. Again, we all know that some children are born with talent and will likely excel even with a mediocre teacher, but if a dance school is consistently pumping out high merits and distinctions in exams, it's a safe bet that the teacher is at least half decent. And even if those results are only based on the best students in the dance school, it's still fairly safe to assume that the standard of teaching must be at least competent across the board.
  3. Just letting off a little steam after I had the most insulting experience in class last night. I recently sent one of my teen improvers for her first pointe shoe fitting at Planet Dance in Batley and she got a lovely pair of shoes and has made a great start on her pointe work. Having natural banana feet, she killed the shoes fairly quickly, so I sent her to the local dance shop to order a new pair and didn't think any more of it. So imagine my fury when she turned up to class last night with no shoes, telling me that they had refused to sell her any. Not only that, but the owner of the shop informed her that I am a 'bad teacher', because I have put her up on pointe too early and that she is not strong enough for pointe, because she hasn't been doing ballet for long enough. I can honestly say I have never been so mortified in my life! Now I'm left questioning myself about whether I have done the right thing? The child in question is the last in her class to go en pointe, because she was a late starter and has only done ballet for just over a year. However she is 15 years old, nearly 16, and is physically strong and well developed for her age. She has taken to ballet well and already has excellent core and leg strength and is solid on all the basics of technique. I've also taken the time to improve her ankle and foot strength before approaching pointe work, hence her being the last in the class to go up. I made the decision to allow her to start pointe, because I considered that on balance, her age and physical development, paired with her technical standard, meant it was not necessary for her to do a prolonged period of pre-pointe training. I also understand that bone ossification in the feet is usually complete between the ages of 14-16yrs, so it's not the same as working with a 10/11 year old with under-developed feet. Until now, nothing she has demonstrated in class has convinced me otherwise and I thought she was progressing well, but this little episode has shaken my confidence. Have any other teachers experienced a dance shop refusing to sell pointe shoes? I do know that the owner's wife has her own dance school in town, so a part of me wonders if there is an ulterior motive to his actions. I have always considered myself to be a thorough and 'safe' technical teacher and I'm just looking for a little reassurance I suppose. Thanks for reading, comments welcome.
  4. I don't disagree with the sentiment of your post as such, because exams are not necessarily going to suit everyone in the long run, but I would never completely disregard the benefits they do bring. I've had this discussion with a friend of mine who has taught at a vocational level and now also teaches for JAs, and she pointed out that when it comes to annual assessments, the kids who have done exams before, always cope much better with the pressure than the ones who haven't and the added confidence does give them the edge. So exams do have their advantages. It's the same with dance festivals. There are some people who absolutely refuse to accept that there is any benefit to be gained from doing competitions. But I have seen it consistently throughout my dancing life, that the children who have done competitions tend to be much better prepared for the demands of vocational training and then the profession, than those who haven't. Does it have its downsides? Absolutely, but again it goes back to the same thing... it's all about balance!
  5. Just to confirm for anyone who is unsure.... FREE ENCHAINEMENTS IN RAD VOCATIONAL GRADES: Inter Foundation - Compulsory Intermediate - Compulsory Adv Foundation - Compulsory Adv 1 - Boys Only Adv 2 - Boys Only
  6. Exams are useful, but ultimately not important as a prerequisite for vocational training to work in the profession. I prefer to use syllabus in a balanced way, with a mix of syllabus and freework classes. For a hobby or pre-vocational dance school, I believe that produces the best results. Anyone with an understanding of Cecchetti will agree with me that his methods are still very much relevant to the dance profession today. And as the maestro taught, the best way to train a dancer is with a combination of set work and free work (unseen enchainements), a principle that underpins all good ballet teaching methods. So the set work, which in my case is the syllabus, allows the children to focus on the body. Once they have learnt the sequences securely, they are then able to completely concentrate on using their technique and working their body to the fullest. Free work then trains the mind, teaching the children to learn quickly and be adaptable and mouldable. And that's not only about learning enchainements quickly, it's also being able to listen to and respond to music, finding the correct tempo and rhythm for an exercise. Then they also have to put the correct artistry on top, thinking about mood, presentation and so on. I have to say though, that I would never criticise any dance teacher who only teaches syllabus/exam ballet. Some people would say it is easier, but to do it well, it is not! A good syllabus teacher can produce results just as outstanding as someone teaching only free work. Their skill lies in taking the structure the syllabus provides and putting the meat on the bones. They break down the exercises into their component parts and then come up with ingenious ways to teach and develop the technique, free of the burden of having to create the enchainements themselves. I've seen syllabus teachers with no other ballet experience who have been outstanding and I've seen professional ballet dancers who are absolutely shocking as teachers. Does professional experience help, yes, but not having it will not stop a great teacher from being great. But back to the point... and syllabus exams are useful as a marker for a child's training level, and even vocational schools do give them a nod. When they see an application form with an Intermediate exam pass, they know they can safely assume that the 'candidate' has been taught X, Y and Z, irrespective of the exam board. Sometimes this can be a better guide than simply knowing how many years a dancer has been training for. It's nothing more than a benchmark, but vocational schools do appreciate it. And certainly for a vocational musical theatre school, there are Brownie points for having Intermediate exams under your belt. I've often had conversations with people about the relevance of syllabus/exam dancing and I look at it this way. If you take the RAD as the example, over the last 10 years it has seen an unprecedented level of growth in membership numbers. The biggest growth has been from new members overseas, not in the UK! So while Britain remains one of the few countries to have an established tradition of syllabus/exam dancing, other countries are catching on. The RAD is already big in Japan and now it's new major market is China. There is a well established tradition of ISTD exams in Canada, in fact the training at the National Ballet Schools used to be based on the ISTD syllabus, and the children there still do ISTD exams. And whilst British syllabus has never been widely used in America, the new ABT curriculum has been a massive success since it was launched a few years ago. So all in all, I think syllabus/exam dancing is growing in importance these days. Sorry for the long waffling post, just find this a particularly interesting topic.
  7. Yes, I've seen various ones from the Midlands up to Scotland. There have been a few really outstanding girls that seem to turn up at a lot of them, but quite often it's the same names from specific schools that are well known on the circuit. I just wonder if enough is being done to promote them outside of the member associations of the TDCI. They are open to anyone after all.
  8. Hello... just wondering how many people here take part in these championships? Have seen one or two outstanding young ballet talents, particularly in the North, but the standard of ballet at these Championship events seems very poor across the board. I wonder if they are well advertised enough across the UK to really attract the most talented young ballet dancers to compete.
  9. Personally I would focus completely on Grade 6 and not let it bother you that you haven't done the Grade 5 exam. Having said that, if your teacher has given their blessing for you to go elsewhere to do it, I don't see the problem in that. If you think you can balance your dance hours with school, then go for it. And if you do know the majority of the G5 work, it may just be a case of booking a few private lessons with someone your teacher trusts, just to check through the work and make sure you're up to exam standard.
  10. Good to know the teacher put their foot down Legseleven. At the end of the day, the teacher does have to make the call, and if like me, they prefer everyone wearing the same colour and style... them's the rules. I did enjoy one school I visited though, where the teacher only set the colour of the leotard and they all wore a different style of leotard and all had different hairstyles as well. They still looked uniform, because the colours all matched, but each child was allowed some individuality, which was lovely. But there again, it only worked because ALL of them were part of it and it was planned out who was wearing what. Have to admit I'm a little sensitive on the issue as my parents weren't well off. I remember the day I got sent home from dancing in disgrace because my parents bought me a budget leotard instead of the Freed one with the RAD logo. My teacher was very old school and nothing but Freed was good enough!!!
  11. Speaking from the perspective of All England Dance, the definition of stylised ballet is quite specific. It is CLASSICAL ballet technique, representing a particular dance style or theme, which can be danced with props, but without specific story telling. So if you were to dance a ballet solo with a tambourine in the style of a Tarantella, but not using authentic Tarantella choreography, that would be stylised ballet. The key point to remember is that stylised ballet must always be based on strict classical technique, it is not contemporary in any way. Modern ballet refers to a fusion of classical and modern techniques. So neo-classical and contemporary style ballet would fit into this category. Costuming and music also plays a part. For example, dancing to electronic music wearing a tie-died catsuit, would constitute modern ballet, even if the content is quite classical. I would disagree strongly with Dr Dance and say that anything Balanchine style would probably be considered modern ballet in All England terms, as hi s work is clearly neo-classical, frequently using parallel legs and, non classical arm lines and so on. Loopy, if your DD has choreographed a dance with a character theme, then it should definitely be entered as a character, not as a ballet.
  12. I think it's a little naive to assume that only the 'developing world' has an issue with uniform costs. An examiner friend of mine has done sessions in London and Birmingham (in particular) where the dance schools have been based in deprived areas and none of the children have been wearing proper dancewear, or a mishmash of hand me down ballet shoes and leotards. I'm not quite as unfortunate as that, but I do have a large proportion of low income families, so we strongly back optional uniform guidelines. We have one uniform that fits as closely as possible to the guidelines for all exams, and they wear the same for ballet, tap and modern. Then for RAD exams we have a set of Pre/Primary skirts and character skirts that we loan out and the children wear the best fit possible. As far as we're concerned it's a win win, they're not in the RAD specified leotards, but they are all dressed the same, in appropriate dancewear and looking smart. In fact examiners have always commented on the good grooming during the polite, end of session 'chit chat'. Now bear in mind that my examiner friend has known people take exams wearing their competition tutus (totally inappropriate), I think the shape of a leotard is a non issue. When I am examining (not RAD), I don't pay any attention to what the children are wearing. As long as they are neatly groomed and I can see what their bodies are doing, they could wear a plastic bin liner and it bears absolutely no relevance to the criteria that I am marking them by. It's the same when I'm adjudicating at festivals, as long as the costume matches the music and choreography, I don't judge it. I don't give extra marks just because someone has dipped their child in a bucket of rhinestones. At the end of the day, I think it is for the teacher to define and enforce their own rules about uniform.
  13. Just to point out, I'm not referring to differences in how girls and boys are taught technically. We know that in exam work, boys get some different excercises, but it's very telling that you forget that girls have female only work as well. In most exam syllabi, there are girl only and boy only variations and girls also have point work. Why is the distinction only relevant when it's to do with a boy? Is it because teachers actually find it a nuisance having to find time to work with only one or two boys in a class full of girls?
  14. I almost forgot to add that I think the leniency shown towards boys today is even more worrying. Dance teachers (nearly always women it has to be said), seem afraid to tell boys that they have to wear a leotard and dance shorts or tights for ballet. I have guest taught at schools where every girl has been dressed immaculately in leotard and tights and then there has been a boy in the corner wearing jogging bottoms and a t-shirt. When asked, the teacher's response is always the same, that they don't want to make the boy feel self conscious and put him off dancing. If the boy loves dancing, why would that happen? When girls start their period and start getting breasts, surely they feel just as self conscious, if not more? What happens if these boys then want to go into the industry? What happens when they turn up to auditions and have to dance in proper dance wear for the first time? And how uncomfortable would it be for a young man to go to a ballet school or dance college and have to wear leotard, tights and dance belts to every class when they've never had to before? Surely it is doing a dis-service to have these differing standards for boys?
  15. Hello lovely people, just here to ask for your thoughts and feelings on the following: As a male dance teacher, I am drafting an article about the experience of boys growing up in female heavy dance school environments and how I always detested being shown 'special treatment'. I am entirely of the view that gender is irrelevant in dance and that boys should be treated, judged and assessed by the exact same standards as girls. In my younger days, I always remember the feeling of embarrassment at festivals; whenever I was pulled forward by an adjudicator, simply because I was the token boy. Or worse, I remember a number of occasions when I placed higher than girls that I knew were a better standard than me, because the adjudicator thought it would be 'encouraging' and help my confidence. I know a number of examiners who also admit to marking boys higher than girls for similar reasons. If anything I find these things counter productive and yet they are still happening, even in this day and age when more and more boys are engaging enthusiastically with dance. I have discussed this topic at length with other male dancers I grew up with and the consensus of opinion is that, we wanted to dance and we would have stuck at it either way. Do you have a dancing son and have you experienced this? Is it mainly women who do this, or have you experienced the same thing from male teachers/adjudicators etc? How does this kind of thing make you feel as the parent of a dancing son? Do you think boys need this kind of special treatment? What other ways are there of keeping boys engaged with dance if they are the only boy in the class?
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