Ruby Foo

3 hours ago, Out-the-other-side said:

At the ‘graduation party’ referred to in the programme, my daughter was given the ‘joke’ award of ‘Most Likely to Cry in Class’, so clearly her daily torment and humiliation was a source of amusement for the teacher in question. 

It is unfathomable to me how any teacher thinks that making a student cry in class is beneficial in achieving the desired gaol of bringing the best of their potential, let alone a teacher at a renowned institution. Yet I know this happened plenty times in my dc’s class ( sometimes daily)and was ignored by the teacher. This was last year. The student is crying because the teacher has made them feel so hopeless, humiliated and powerless. 

35 minutes ago, Neverdancedjustamum said:

I didn’t find the documentary to be sensationalistic. If anything, it was quite short, not as in-depth as most expected, and I suspect only scratches the surface. I was only watching it in the background whilst doing something else but I believe it was said both schools refused to be interviewed?  

It certainly does only scratch the surface of a very complex and entwined set of issues which have been left to fester for years due to a culture of fear. Another 10 series like this and we may be starting to touch on the issues.

1 hour ago, Ballet_novice said:

This is not true. And believe me there is a very open dialogue between parte an and school. This documentary tend to be sensationalistic and so not offer a balanced view

With due respect to your point of view, as a ex dancer, teacher and parent of an ( now ex dancer) this is not how we feel. And surely that’s the point, that students and dancers should feel they  are able to communicate and work as a partnership with the school.

16 minutes ago, Ballet.Parent said:

This is the truth. I remember when we raised abuse by a specific teacher (physical and verbal) and an “investigation “ was carried out by the pastoral staff. Very quickly things became even darker for my child. I have so many regrets. We were so scared that we had ruined our child’s life and all that they (and we) had sacrificed from the age of 11 would be for nothing. They have so much power and control over your career. I wish I had realised then that none of it was worth it and maybe the irreparable damage would never have happened. We must never forget we are talking about children away from home and their parents. The body shaming is just a tiny part of the abuse that we witnessed or experienced 

This is all so our experience. When it became clear that verbal abuse in class was taking place on a daily basis, my dc, though admitting she wasn’t sure she could take it anymore, begged and begged us not to speak out because it was well known what happened to those who challenged the system. Incidentally none of this related to body shaming and in her experience the school’s education and guidance on nutrition was extremely healthy and helpful. 

2 hours ago, taxi4ballet said:

It is six years since my DD had to leave full-time ballet training (is 6 years 'several' or more than several?) and she still feels unable to talk about it. She won't go there - she says she just can't even bear to think about how awful it was. She's shut it away, and got on with her life outside the dance world.

 

I have previously been approached by a journalist, however in view of my (now adult) DD's feelings on the matter, we were not able to assist them.

 

'Recollections may vary' sums it up very well when it comes to what I imagine would have been her school's view of what happened to her. They were incapable of seeing her point of view at the time, let alone now.

 

I'm out this evening, so will try to watch the programme when I can. I expect my blood pressure to rise to boiling point.

 
This is the same for us. We could not assist with this program as my dc simply cannot talk about what she refers to as ‘total trauma’. At 18, after a year of bullying in upper school and being told her body was not suitable for ballet ( nothing to do with weight issues) and finally being the only girl to be assessed out in 2nd year she is beginning again - taking A levels and planning a new life. 

On 21/07/2023 at 10:04, Lifeafterballet said:

I don’t think they are the wrong children, they are just too young for the schools to assess whether they have the natural facility for a career in classical ballet. It’s a rare thing and if you haven’t got it and try to force it you will hurt the child physically and mentally. We have personal experience of this. 
There are so many changes from 11 to 16, physically, mentally and emotionally that it doesn’t surprise me just how few continue to upper school. 
I am not going to be very popular here…. but maybe assessing out wasn’t a bad thing. It’s upsetting but if it’s in the best interest of the child then it’s necessary. 

Our daughter hurt herself physically and mentally to stay in her school and continue her ballet training. She knew exactly what she was doing, but not the long term implications of it.

Round peg, square hole. 
A [ short ] career in ballet is not worth that. 
 

My daughter wasn’t too young. She was in her first year in RBS Upper School when she was told by her teacher that she had a ‘very difficult body for Classical Ballet’ due to her hips. She had previously been at WL for 3 years. The Upper School physio spoke to me and agreed that her hips were very difficult.

Later that same year she injured her hip (large labrel tear) and wasn’t given enough rest. We now know, through speaking to a top consultant she needed at least 3 months rest to have any chance of recovery. 
In 2nd year Upper School she danced through the pain and fell behind. I was told by her teacher to teach her at home. 

She was assessed out in 2nd year leaving with 1 A level and no degree which she had worked on for 2 years.

She has now given up dancing as her labral tear enlarged during 2nd year (3d mri done privately, not at school)

She was not physically assessed from WL to Upper School other than in class.

2 hours ago, Neverdancedjustamum said:

If she is interested in doing dance long term, from age 11, and would want the stability of being in the same school for at least the first 5 years (preferably on to the ‘upper school’ of the same school, if they have one), I would urge you to look at the recent years’ progression statistics of the schools you are interested in auditioning for. These stats present a very telling story, especially if you are after stability and the mental well-being of not being under pressure all the time.  How many of those who start in year 7 are still there in year 11? How many of those progress on to their schools’ upper school/sixth form/etc and for those who don’t, where do they end up going?  Is the school system structured in a way that students get to nurture their love for dance and not be under constant scrutiny and pressure to keep their place? Of those who leave before they finish from the school, why did they leave? When they leave, is their love for dance still intact? 

This is very good advice although it’s difficult to find the exact statistics with students arriving and leaving on a termly/ yearly basis. In our own experience, at least 8 girls from my dds year at WL / Upper School have given up dance completely. I can’t say why except to say some were through injury or health type issues. As the training progresses the pressure also increases. It’s a pyramid which becomes extremely, extremely narrow at the top, ( understatement).For those of you just starting out, I can’t stress this enough. I say this so that you can become more creative and open minded as you go along and enjoy just one day at a time.

Some important questions dancers need to ask themselves are ‘Am I a performer?’ In the general sense of that word? If Ballet can not happen for me then do I still want to be a performer?  Because if the answer is yes, then it’s important to nurture other performance skills and styles alongside the Ballet training. I believe if you did these as a child and reached a reasonable level in them then you will be able to fall back on them at some point even if you haven’t studied them recently. Contemporary will be super important for the latter part alongside Classical training. Secondly, do I love Ballet for ballet’s sake? And not because I’m at a certain establishment which teaches a certain style in a certain way and has all the trappings that benefit a student. Ballet can be served many ways and can be a very different experience depending on where you are in the world. It can be quite a shock to find this out if you been in one arena all your training life.
The employment prospects in Classical Ballet at present are very bleak indeed. Companies are just not taking dancers now and with the difficulties that Brexit has brought regarding visas it’s not looking good for the future. There are very VERY FEW vocational schools in the world good enough to produce classical dancers good enough to get one of those (very rare) jobs.

If you already have a good relationship then you’re in a great place and moving apart just means making every effort to sustain it from a distance.

Basically you will need to open every door possible for her to communicate with you, express her thoughts and feelings and know she can rely on you, practically and emotionally, even though you’re not right there. Top tips would be to take her out at every opportunity, not necessarily coming home but a day out for shared experiences and chat. Especially if that chat involves other things than dance!

Ask plenty direct questions when she has time to chat giving her an opportunity to tell you about things she may have forgotten during the day. It’s very tiring at boarding school, not just the dance but just being in the same place all the time. Draining. So remembering to ask about friends, food, favourite teachers, what moods they were in, the houseparents, what she’s looking forward to etc helps to jog her memory and validates her as a person. At the same time remembering to tell her all about home, funny things the pets/ siblings did etc. will help to keep the bond.

A wee parcel etc is really nice to receive if you can’t manage to see her.

I think one of the problems is that coming home for a short time can result in all the nice sides of relationships because everyone wants it to be a happy time. Obviously, a relationship is dealing with the tricky aspects too, in which negotiating through these, give life skills. So when she comes home keep things as natural as possible. 

If it’s okay to pm you?

21 hours ago, glowlight said:

Looking back as a mature ballet mum I now know that flexibility and strength are often two sides of the same coin.

 

So if your dd is less flexible, she may be stronger than some of her class mates.

 

She is very young.  Ballet is a long game and I would encourage you, and her to think of it in this way.

 

Over the next few years she will start to develop the flexibility to go with her strength, just as the hyper mobile girls with start to develop the strength to go with their flexibility.

 

She is very young.  Don't rush it.

 
Great post!  ‘Ballet is the long game’.

A nice bright duvet cover and own pillow. Not sure if this is an intensive in a vocational school but some of the dorms can seem a bit gloomy and dull without the usual students decoration.

Also a Tupperware full of snacks  (healthy and chocolate?)some sliders and fluffy blanket to snuggle in the evenings.

Not sure which part of London you are in but we had great treatment from the podiatrist at the Fairlee pharmacy in Battersea. The pharmacy has a treatment centre downstairs with sports massage, physio etc. The podiatrist had treated dancers before and did an excellent job. We booked an hour session.

Fabulous news, well done 👍 

12 minutes ago, LexBallet said:

That’s interesting. 
Any insight to why Elmhurst isn’t in there and/or thoughts on best UK upper schools (of course it’s very individual) for a classical bias with contemporary?

In UK, it’s probably Central or Conservatoire.

I’m not sure about Elmhurst. In my experience, not many yr 11’s audition.

I think possibly lower down the school it’s more a considered option. 

As far as I know, there is nothing published for WL yr 11 destinations. I stand to be corrected.

Above are purely examples of destinations for previous years graduates.

Whoops! Forgot to mention CSB - Central.

RBS yr 11 students have gone to destinations such as NBA, ESB, Joffrey, NBS Canada,  Boston Ballet School, Rambert, San Francisco Ballet School, ENB, Kings, Masters of Ballet, Basle Ballettschule to name but a few. Some have returned to their home countries Australia/ Brazil etc to continue training. Some do private training.

8 hours ago, Harwel said:

Those that know, know.  Unfortunately everyone else who treads this path has to find out the hard way.  I find some of the worst people to understand the truth of the training situation are avid ballet lovers who spend hours watching and admiring ballet but resolutely refuse to believe the hundreds of accounts of those of us who have lived this fiasco either by our own experiences and/or our children.  
 

They look at the very few (hand full) that have succeeded and say that’s ok, the others can’t have been gifted enough, wanted it enough, worked hard enough.  Or you’re exaggerating it because you’re bitter, jealous, disgruntled.  In truth they have absolutely no idea and are actually not in any position to comment - true case of gaslighting.  The parents and students who have experienced this type of treatment at the hands of people who are in a position of power over our vulnerable youngsters should be taken seriously. 
 

Ballet is beautiful, unfortunately not everyone within the ballet world is as beautiful.  Far too many accounts of mental abuse (bullying, ignoring, gaslighting and the list goes on) to be taken so lightly. 
 

I have seen a number of absolutely beautiful young dancers ousted from their training in the most cruel and inexplicable way.  The mental scars are there for years and years.  When is enough enough before something is done to change this dreadful treatment? 

Thank you. Thank you for this. 

We try to be a voice for the welfare of our children and our students but we are silenced. Silenced by fear of retribution by the powerful.

Dutch National and European School of ballet in Amsterdam are both infiltrated with British dancers and I’ve never heard of the language being an issue. Both excellent schools.

Princess Grace in Monaco. No issue with language there as mostly international students. 
Without a dual citizenship some European school’s cannot accept students for more than 3 months. This did apply to ESB who did not have university status but may have changed.

So pleased 👍

We used to have excellent experiences in the Dance Shop, albeit a while ago.

Good selection of shoes and ex dancer experience. Lots of time and care given for fitting plus good tips for beginners.

Denzil Bailey comes highly recommended. He does classes at a few places including Danceworks, Pineapple and Central

It’s important to state that you cannot train to be a dance teacher online.

There are some modules of the written work which can be done online for sure and most of the training has become more flexible and accessible,

but you will need to be in a studio with a teacher for most of the time. You will also need to be fully present with students as you practice and progress through your training. For fully qualified teachers, then progression through online courses is possible.

As you rightly point out, ISTD will give you easy access to other styles of dance should you wish. I would consider all three societies and see which offers you the flexibility you need.

Totally depressing and horrifying.

The lack of  slow, gentle, layering of technique replaced with force and  brazen pushing, produces something vulgar, lacking in depth and strength and detail. In my opinion, this can never be replaced later, no matter that this particular dancer has a career in ballet now.

The inappropriateness of dancing roles without the understanding or maturity to do them credit makes a mockery of ballet.

Hammond, I believe, works in exactly the same way. The number of MDS awards varies from year to year and can be awarded to any year group.

For example, one year (Tring) 3 MDS awards were given to yr 8’s. The most I’ve heard of in one year was 10 awards.

When you are given an MDS at Tring, you are told how long it will last. Usually to the end of yr 11 and a very few through until graduation 18 +. Most students don’t have to re apply every year.

Some students went paying full fees and then applied for a MDS after a year of training. Not sure if that still happens.

I very highly recommend Julie Young Dance Studios in Perth. Again maybe too far for you?