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?

To all the wonderful people on this forum,

 

I am happy to announce that after more meetings and extended phone calls in the last 24hrs an agreement has been met.

 

School have finally agreed for option subject to be dropped

 

All is right with the world.... for now. So happy.

 

Thank you once again

 

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

Never let one persons opinion deter your dreams.

My dd doesn't have high arches, long legs or a short torso but she got funding at Tring and now has a ballet contract. That may be what they would look for in an ideal world but hard work and determination go a long way.

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.

 

May I add on costumes;  

 

Select costumes wisely, character/themed costumes can be harder to reuse/recycle for another comp/festival with different choreography. Costly errors, I'm sure we are all guilty of. 

 

If your DD is entering a few routines in her first ever festival, borrowing or hiring from other parents at the dance school can assist when spreading the cost. Then you can balance out new with borrowed. Just be mindful of spending too much on the tutu. Expensive items and stunningly beautiful which gets any budding ballerina excited but can outgrow very quickly. 

 

Final note on costumes for any newbie, if you can't already hand sew.  Get lessons now and learn fast.  You will need that skill no matter what shape, style or colour the costumes come in! And NAME everything     Have fun

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.

its the syllabus!  she said the intermediate exam is 'more intense' but only my daughter in the class has ever done a  ballet or tap exam ( my daughter did at a previous company) she has therefore incresed the class from 1 hour to one and half, and offered a 30 min pointe class.. which has 2 girls in, both 14, one who did grade 2/3 for 18months and one who only started 3 months ago.  im not crazy to think this is a bit odd then?

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.

My dd is very slim and it fits her fine. It's very stretchy.

Thank you DancingShoes I will order dd one

Try Just Ballet, I got my daughter a beautiful practice tutu for her birthday. It's really good quality and not too expensive.

Forgot to add she's 12 but bought a small ladies.

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

That is a very good question.  Is the difference in price between a flexistretcher and any other sort of band (elastic or fixed) worth the price?

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

I can give you the teachers name in Birmingham. It's Julie Felix. She is an amazing teacher who was also ballet mistress to Birmingham Royal Ballet Company. She also does some lessons at Dance exchange in Birmingham.

This is her book she has written.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://ie-today.co.uk/Article/book-launch-for-britains-first-black-ballerina&ved=0ahUKEwiJobfgsOnOAhWLCsAKHRmECmwQFggbMAA&usg=AFQjCNFFLsmwfD5kZliteXZX8hyLt1Gasw

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

To counterbalance it I have paid £35 per hour plus studio hire which can range from £10-£20 per hour.

But it was with an excellent sought after teacher.

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

If it helps I've paid about £20 to £40 per hour depending on whether the studio is hired separately

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.

£25 hr for professional ballet dancer and teacher. She was amazing, This was in Birminham and in her conservatory.

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

Isn't it possible to do both without creating any problems Lisa? I don't think the majority of young dancers getting quality ballet training, who also attend festivals for fun, get carried away by any success they might have.

 

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

Thank you Lisa. My daughter secured a contract for a small well known ballet company that didn't pay well and me and her father refused to top up to the extent we would have to. She also secured a contract on Costa cruise ship which she was pleased about and then the one she really, really wanted came up the Royal Caribbean cruise ship. She will be very well looked after, stretched as a dancer and she is off to Australia. Elizabeth no longer wants to be a purely classical dancer even though she loves ballet a huge part of who she is. At the end of the day my daughter loves to dance and perform but she was getting fed up of being in constant pain from being on her toes all day. my daughter dream job would be to have a part in Cats, the white cat being her ultimate dream. Most of her friends graduated last year but a lot of them securing a job this year, that is why graduate lists can be out of date very quickly, one contract can end as another persons begins. Cruise ship auditions are cut throat too, students are up against ballet students and musical theatre students and a huge amount of them are after the cruises

Congratulations to your daughter Tulip

Agreed Sarah but I really understand the pressure that Muddlemums daughter is under. It seems that some dance schools think that doing an ariel is the be all and end all of dance. The kids often rate themselves and each other on the ability to do tricks. Frankly I get very bored of dances that are full of tricks. They are often souless.

I couldn't agree more.