TooTu

How essential is it for our dc's to do the vocational grades if they want to go on for a career in in dance?

Great news balletbean. I'm really pleased for your dd.

Posts like this are always so encouraging to read especially as I can see this being a route we will have to explore with dd in the future.

If you can't borrow or hire one locally have a look on eBay for costumes too or there are some selling groups on Facebook where parents are selling on costumes their dc's have outgrown & you can pick up some beautiful costumes on there. Definitely set a budget that you are comfortable with for your costumes & stick to it because it is all too easy to get carried away & beautiful costumes don't necessarily have to cost a fortune.

No you're definitely not crazy to think this odd. I'm no expert & have no experience of the intermediate exam but that is an enormous leap for any child. I would love to know her reasoning behind such a big gap between 2 classes

That seems like a huge jump if it is syllabus work that they are doing rather than just a class named intermediate as farawaydancer said.

I would definitely go for it. My dd started doing competitions at 5 & over the years she has got so much confidence out of taking part in them. I agree with what annaliesey says about chatting to your dd about the judges etc as it can be disappointing for them if they are not prepared for what happens when it comes to awards. I have always told my dd that we go to competitions to get feedback & anything else is a bonus. Keep it fun for your dd & avoid any dance mom drama & you will have a really enjoyable day out. It is time consuming & certainly the costs can mount up but on balance so long as you don't get too carried away it is very worthwhile in terms of both the 1:2:1 time learning their solo & the performance experience they get performing it on stage. As far as groups go you may find once other children at your dd's dance school see her out enjoying ballet competitions they may feel they want to have a go too. Definitely though a solo is the best place to start & is less pressure for your dd too.

Thank you DancingShoes I will order dd one

Thank you. I just had a look & the price is great. My only worry is that it might be too big as the waist & hip measurements for the s/m tutu are a few inches bigger than my daughters measurements. Is the fit quite neat? If it was she could maybe get away with it. It's definitely the best I have seen short of getting one made

She already has the gaynor minden flexibility band which she uses mostly for splits but it's not adjustable so is trickier for her using it for arabesques though it was around 1/3 of the price! The latest thing she has added is a practice tutu which she would get get use of but finding a pancake one that doesn't cost the earth as she is already getting a new tutu this year might be more difficult. If anyone has any recommendations of one that would fit an 11 year old that isn't a budget buster I would be really grateful

My dd has asked for a flexistretcher amongst other things. Does anyone have any experience of using these & are they worth the money.. Or maybe I should say will it be something that she will get use out of? Definitely going to include tickets for a ballet in the New Year & a ballet dictionary is a great idea too

Congratulations to your dd hoglett! What a wonderful opportunity

My dd wears Katz nude seamless dance pants. They were the cheapest I could find at £4.99. I didn't have much luck soaking in tea as they just looked dirty but I didn't try coffee

I know things are rarely as black & white as what you read in the papers but I have to sympathise with the dance teacher. She clearly has specific viewing days for parents to attend & enjoy. I think when you sign your child up to any activity you have to accept there are certain terms to which you must abide. I can only imagine if that dance teacher were to allow parents in on weeks that suited them rather than a termly set week how distracting that would be both to the teacher & to the children, especially keeping in mind that the child in question is just 4. I know that there are times when circumstances beyond our control which mean that we cannot attend a viewing class but I think most parents just accept that & look forward to the next. Maybe have a quick word with the teacher to ensure they are happy with your child's progress but I don't think any teacher I know would allow for a parent to attend a different class to watch. From reading through some of the comments it does sound like there were multiple opportunities to watch at this school too. I'm also not sure what the father expected to see in terms of progress at home too as the child is only 4 & classes would still be quite creative. Speaking as a non dancing parent sometimes, particularly when they are so young, your expectations of what you think they will be learning are somewhat unrealistic. Part of me struggles to see how this ever became a police matter & whilst I think the dance teacher could have worded emails more appropriately we don't know the full details from both sides. One thing that does seem clear though is that the parent left terrible reviews of the dance school which nowadays can be done far too easily with little thought to the impact it could have on someone's livelihood.

What an wonderfully inspiring story. Thank you for sharing it with us

Thank you Primrose. I really appreciate the recommendation. I will definitely look into it

Even at that though when I think what I pay for competition entries it still seems excellent value for money. Even more so when it's an excellent sought after teacher. It certainly makes you reassess the best way you can spend your money

Thank you annaliesey. That seems very reasonable. I'm not sure what I had in my head but I definitely had thought it would be more.

Tulip would you mind private messaging her name?

Thanks everyone. The prices you have all mentioned are all more reasonable than I expected. i will definitely look into them

I'm following this post with great interest & it has really made me think about what is the best way to spend money that will be most beneficial to dd & also what may be the best way now may not be the most beneficial in the future. One thing I see has come up a few times is private lessons & although she gets private lessons with her regular teacher they are mostly in relation to learning & polishing festival dances. I sometimes think it would be beneficial for her to take a few private lessons with another teacher but what should I expect to pay for a private lesson with an experienced teacher? One perhaps that is an ex professional dancer themselves?

My dd is just back from Elmhurst & she had a wonderful time. There were 21 in her group & she said all of the teachers were brilliant & she thoroughly enjoyed all of her classes. She was in the youngest group & for the showing of work done ballet repertoire & jazz which I was impressed by. I found all of the other groups work really enjoyable to watch too & the showing of work seemed to fly by. I thought the school had a lovely friendly atmosphere & the introduction by Robert Parker was very welcoming & encouraging. This was dd's first residential summer school & as a parent I thought it was a good length for her but I think she would have loved it to be longer. She went knowing no one & has came home with lots of new friends. All in all a great summer school experience & she would definitely love to do this one again

I have to agree with this. My dd attends festivals & I think has gained a lot from doing them without sacrificing ballet technique. She has been successful but the thing she likes the most is getting feedback from different adjudicators on any areas that she can improve upon. She in no way would get carried away by any success she might have had & I'm pretty sure she wouldn't know how many trophies or medals she has won. She takes a lot of normal ballet technique classes alongside any private festival classes so the festival classes are in addition to & not a replacement of her ballet technique classes. As a parent though I have seen her grow in confidence from a very shy little girl to a little girl that loves getting on stage & giving a confident performance. Do I think successes at festival guarantee her to get a place at a vocational school or have a successful career in dance? Absolutely not. Do I think that the time, effort & money involved in doing festivals is worth it? Yes I do. She has gained confidence & experience working as a team doing something she loves & has gained skills that will stand by her in life whether that be in dance or in whatever career path she chooses to follow

Congratulations to your daughter Tulip

I couldn't agree more.