Jump to content

Confuddled

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    218

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Confuddled

  1. Confuddled
    Can anyone recommend some books about ballet? Dd has the ballet encyclopaedia, but she’s looking for some more - particularly anything about famous current or recent dancers. Could anyone recommend some? She’s reading at an adult level, but she’s 12, autobiographies that are too graphic wouldn’t be suitable.
  2. Confuddled
    Is there any way to do a quick survey of parents of littlies and the older dancers themselves? Because what would work for some of dd’s friends who go home first and are driven to dance, would not work for dd (she has to travel by public transport straight from school to ballet, she uses the toilet at ballet to change and do her hair). In principle, I see no problem with no uniform for the older ones who know what you need to be able to see. But the younger ones may appear in school uniform PE kit (ours was tracksuit bottoms like clown trousers and a baggy t-shirt), which would obviously be a problem. Maybe you could specify the type of leggings or shorts you mean, so they can see you want eg cycling shorts not football shorts.
  3. Confuddled
    Thanks - lots of helpful information and it’s really good to get specific recommendations as the various brands don’t have anything in their FAQs about using them for dance / gymnastics (though I’d have thought it’s a fairly common issue).
  4. Confuddled
    I’ve had a search but can’t find any recent threads, and I know there are lots of new brands and products. Can anyone recommend period pants that are high legged enough to go under a leotard and come in a colour that won’t show under a leotard? Size 8 would be too big, I think, but better than nothing if nowhere does a size 6. Thanks!
  5. Confuddled
    Really helpful - thanks!
  6. Confuddled
    Yes, dd is sure everyone else has much bigger houses, proper ballet flooring, their own barres etc from looking at them in zoom lessons. It may well be true, but there’s a terrace-sized limit to what we can manage in our house.
  7. Confuddled
    Ooh, that gadget sounds interesting. Would you recommend that particular one? It’s hard to tell which might be best specifically for dance from the Amazon reviews.
  8. Confuddled
    We’ve been doing something similar - phone is propped up on a stool with a mini beanbag (which is usually a microwave hot pack) so we can get the angle right.
  9. Confuddled
    I’ve spent a lot of time this week fiddling around trying to get a phone or laptop in the right position for all of dd to show up in the picture for online zoom lessons. The issue seems to be that we don’t have a big enough house to get the phone far enough away... Has as anyone found a way to get a more wide angle view from a phone, maybe by blue tooth connection to a webcam with a wider lens? Or is there some other solution that gets the whole of a dancer’s body on-screen even if they move a step or two from their initial position?
  10. Confuddled
    Dd has tried quite a few and is now just doing the regular 12.00 class by Ballet Skirts by Lucinda on Instagram- apparently it’s just right.
  11. Confuddled
    Thanks for the advice - I’m torn between letting dd do some of the classes like EYB and NYB where it’s aimed at young people and I know and trust the brand, and saying to just wait for her dance school. I don’t mind about her losing fitness etc as that’s all regainable, but a good class does make her so much happier, and that’s really important at the moment when she’s cut off from so many of the things that make her happy.
  12. Confuddled
    Ive heard that the Easter Course run by Mary Goodhew at Ibstock Place School (SW London) is excellent - dd certainly enjoyed the summer one.
  13. Confuddled

    NYB 2020

    Confuddled posted a topic in Doing Dance

    Has anyone heard anything about NYB this year? I’ve had a look at their website and it still doesn’t have anything up about the timing of auditions or even what it will be this year (apart from not residential) but I thought someone here might have some insider knowledge!
  14. Confuddled
    Thanks! I’ve got an ipad but not a computer, has anyone found a way to burn CDs from an ipad? I can see the audacity app would allow me to make edit the tracks, it’s the physical getting them on to a CD I’m stuck on now.
  15. Confuddled
    What sources do people use for music? Dd tends to find things on YouTube, but that’s often poor quality and I’m not sure of the legalities and practicalities of getting it off YouTube and on to a CD. Is there a better source for music that you want to use for competitions?
  16. Confuddled
    DD loved it (did Swan Lake in Wimbledon summer 2018) and is very disappointed they’re not anywhere near us this year. I’d highly recommend it both in terms of the teaching and in terms of getting performance experience. I particularly liked how everyone got time on stage in both acts, and the way it was very well organised (which made it much less stressful for parents than it might have been).
  17. Confuddled
    I know it feels like a huge move, but my experience was that it was right to go. If the school is no longer giving your dd what she needs, then that’s the right time to move on. My dd felt huge loyalty to her old dance school and her friends there, and took well over a year to make the decision to go (and it was very hard, and involved a lot of tears) but looking back she’s clear that it was the right decision, and that (if anything) she wishes she’d moved sooner.
  18. Confuddled
    The rehearsals vary depending on whether it’s term time or holidays - the August one last year (also Swan Lake) was two weeks of rehearsals (all day Mon-Fri) then the first half of the third week off and the second half (Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun) dress rehearsal and shows. It did mean we had to do our family holiday in July, but EYB audition so far in advance that it was relatively easy to work around the dates as we knew dd had a place in about March.
  19. Confuddled
    Yes, I’d also heard that about Richmond (probably on here). They’ve also added a Norwich date, since I last looked.
  20. Confuddled
    I was having a look at the EYB auditions page and saw they’ve got audition dates for Bromley and Southend: http://www.englishyouthballet.co.uk/auditions1.html Nothing near enough for us yet, but they are for performances in April, May and August, so I assume they’re still nailing down the dates / venues for June and July.
  21. Confuddled
    You know, I’m ashamed to admit I can’t remember! Dd is asleep, otherwise I could ask her. I know it wasn’t a shiny leotard as she would have complained (she doesn’t like how shiny feels). It’s nice that she’ll have a choice of bright colours.
  22. Confuddled
    Lower Junior, I think. And the exact wording would be great. I need time to order online and send it back if it’s the wrong size, or maybe get it altered (she often needs the straps shortening and my sewing is rubbish, so I need time take it to the dry cleaners and get it back again). Thanks! Her last exam was similar but cotton and with a ruche, so I suspect I can’t re-use that one.
  23. Confuddled
    The Mabel Ryan award. I’ve had a look at the webpage but am not much wiser. I keep thinking that one day I’ll know what I’m doing with all this ballet stuff...
  24. Confuddled
    DD needs a leotard for a Cecchetti competition - I know from another mum that there are strict rules about leotards but last time she was in a group so I just put her in what everyone else was wearing and didn’t have to worry. Is there a list of the rules, or the right type of leotards? From memory it was tank style, quite high necked, with a belt - is that what I need to look for? Do they have rules on colours? I’d be really grateful if anyone can point me to a list of the rules or of the allowed leotards, googling has not been much help.
  25. Confuddled
    It is a huge commitment - dd has decided not to audition this year, as (if she had got through, which she didn’t last year) it would have prevented her doing various musical activities that she loves, as well as missing a family holiday. The other thing to take into account is that the touring company has more dates, I think usually at the start of September, so that impinges on the beginning of the school year.
×
×
  • Create New...