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Ruby Foo

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  1. Ruby Foo
    Just to add,I don’t think any of that should stop your Dd from having a lovely and enjoyable experience!
  2. Ruby Foo
    I think when you start these sort of associate classes ( rbs and another) you need to be fully aware of why you are attending and what you hope to gain from the experience. This may well change over time and needs to be reviewed regularly. The classes themselves I believe to be excellent, especially in the younger years for all the reasons I’ve stated in my other post. But it’s important to recognise that by yr 6, there will be a fair bit of focus on auditioning for vocational schools which you can get caught up in ( mainly through peers) even if you don’t want to follow that route. Obviously there’s no pressure from the Associates themselves but you are in an environment where quite a few will be going down that route. So I think it’s important to keep an open mind and be clear that there are many choices out there, whether you are doing it for fun or leading to something more.
  3. Ruby Foo
    The classes are very beneficial at the younger ages because they are slow and reinforce the correct understanding of technique - posture and alignment, turnout, use of the feet and legs etc. It’s so important to understand these concepts from the beginning so that ‘faults’ don’t creep in and become habits that are tricky to change later. The classes are a useful environment in which to learn because all the students are keen and want to learn more. She will also be given complimentary exercises to work on at home which helps to improve muscle function and improve flexibility. I guess it will depend on how much she can cope with in a week and whether she enjoys working at the ‘details’. Most seem to enjoy their classes. She can still work at the same things with her own teacher of course ( not all dancers have been associates!) but it might not be quite such a concentrated focus.
  4. Ruby Foo
    My Dd did this a few times when she was younger and loved it. It’s a very friendly course and she got loads out of it. The contemporary was fabulous and they had guest artists from the West End to teach jazz. This was some time ago, so things may have changed. Hopefully not. My Dd did lots of big name, famous Summer Schools but this one remains one her favourites.
  5. Ruby Foo
    Maybe you could tell your Dd that this is just a fun chat where she gets to tell them all about herself. There’s no right or wrong answers! It’s just a relaxed chat about her dance classes, pets, etc. -why she wants to go to the school and what she’ll miss most about leaving home or how she thinks she’ll cope with boarding- if she is planning on boarding. The more relaxed you and her are about it, the more she can enjoy it and feel confident on the day. If she’s worrying about it, then why not have a few pretend sessions where you put some fun questions to her? I think she might want to prepare a couple of questions for them too!
  6. Ruby Foo
    If your daughter is seriously considering contemporary and choreography, then Rambert would stand out for me. It’s a seriously outstanding and in depth contemporary degree course which pushes the boundaries in terms of creativity and thinking out the box. You would be well set up for a contemporary career and inspirational for choreography too.
  7. Ruby Foo
    I agree with trying the stick on pads https://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/cat/nippies-by-b-six/ These are super expensive but there are cheaper versions. And then the Capezio nude body under the leotard. Get a small one so everything’s held in nicely.
  8. Ruby Foo
    A no this time doesn’t mean it won’t be yes next time. It’s disappointing but you’re competing with 100’s of applicants across the world and a no doesn’t mean anything in terms of a career in dance. There are posters on this forum who have had no’s and waitlist and then a yes! In the younger year’s, physical attributes will count for a lot. You can’t change your offsprings physicality. What you can do is to make sure you highlight the positive aspects in your photos. It’s nothing to do with having stunning professional photos but more about really showing off the positive aspects of your physical attributes. No one has everything! As long as the subject of the photo is in focus and clearly visible then the quality of the photograph is pretty irrelevant. (This may be a little different if you are going for upper school SI when you would expect the whole package to look as good as possible.) What you want to jump out from the photo is all the attributes that one thinks of as being positive for ballet. I am happy for anyone to pm me if they want advice. I don’t pretend to know what RBS look for but clearly there are some obvious plusses in general terms. The positions are chosen specifically because it’s easy to see from studying them how much physical potential a student has and (in this case) how well suited they might be. If you receive a no, it doesn’t mean you don’t have the physical potential but that maybe someone else has slightly more at that particular moment or that they just haven’t had a chance to see someone else before. Experience will count for a lot, together with physical suitability the older you get. If you are not strong enough or experienced enough to cope at a certain level then the place could be wasted. There’s a whole lot that a dance professional can see from a photo ( and a lot they can’t) so it’s worth taking a lot of time and care with the photos. Always take your photos kneeling down to help with the proportions- helps to stop shortening of the legs. Don’t wait till the last minute to do your pics. You may need to do several sessions to get the right ones. Send your pics to your teacher or a professional to pick out the best ones. Why not speak to your JA teacher to ask how to improve confidence? Doing other summer schools will help especially if they’re having fun and making friends.
  9. Ruby Foo
    I would take them straight back as soon as possible. It should not matter that you’ve sewn ribbons. What does matter is that the fitter sold you shoes that are ill fitting and could cause problems with your feet. There’s no way of stretching satin pointe shoes and they sound as though they could damage your Achilles tendon if it’s digging in high up. We have had issues with Bloch fitters in London who were very happy to sell shoes that didn’t suit my DD’s feet. I would be returning them and be politely asking for a full refund. They are supposed to be fully educated in pointe shoe fitting.
  10. Ruby Foo
    No, I don’t think so. Maybe email them.
  11. Ruby Foo
    And finally the one in Portugal https://edcn.pt/en/courses/ This one comes highly recommended.
  12. Ruby Foo
    And here is the link to the RAD Italian summer school. Very high standard but not much English spoken. https://it.royalacademyofdance.org/studiare-danza/scuola-estiva-rad/scuola-estiva-rad-2024/
  13. Ruby Foo
    https://stagedansepontlabbe.com/inscriptions/ Hopefully this works. It’s the loveliest spot in Brittany with the most gorgeous beaches.
  14. Ruby Foo
    I don’t have specific inside knowledge but from our own experience and that of other posters, it could be any day from now until an unspecified date in June.
  15. Ruby Foo
    Sorry, forgot to mention, it’s definitely walkable, especially from Sheen, but you probably wouldn’t want to carrying a lot of bags.
  16. Ruby Foo
    Barnes and Sheen are smaller but even closer to the school. Both have a station but not a taxi rank as such. You could get an Uber.
  17. Ruby Foo
    WL is in Richmond Park which is only accessible by car or taxi. The taxis outside Richmond station are well used to doing that journey. There is parking in the school grounds although it does get busy at the start of intensives. There is a Premier Inn in Richmond town center and more pricey hotels on Richmond Hill near one of the gates into the park.
  18. Ruby Foo
    There’s more movement than you think, but as others have said it might be June before you would hear.
  19. Ruby Foo
    I think this is inside knowledge only. Pretty certain though that if someone from week 1 cancels, they would pick from the others waiting for week one.
  20. Ruby Foo
    Why not email and let them know you’d like to be considered for any week?
  21. Ruby Foo
    I will try to remember and post.
  22. Ruby Foo
    Raw Talent Ballet Coaching run by Jose Martin and Kerry Birkett do lovely summer weeks although there’s no accommodation.
  23. Ruby Foo
    My Dd enjoyed Nicola Tarry’s summer school in Kent. She had a little boarding available. As a small dancer she enjoyed RCS in Glasgow - the contemporary was wonderful. She did a fabulous one in Northern France and we stayed in a campsite and had a little holiday at the same time. It was in a tiny village and quite remarkable. She also did an RAD one in Italy that her RBS associate teacher taught at ( very high standard) but she stayed with an Italian friend and we did not need to go. There’s something really lovely and creative about a small, non competitive summer school. My Dd felt she learned more, got more attention and had more fun! I can recommend Malvern and ENB for older students. There are also summer schools in Marseille, Sicily and several in Switzerland if you can combine with holiday. Always good to see how the Europeans are teaching and the competition as you get older. There’s lots out there that are great, just try to look beyond the usual stuff. I will try to find some links and post if I can.
  24. Ruby Foo
    No experience of the younger years but I can imagine that would be the case. The cost of flights/ accommodation etc for parents accompanying young international students would be pricey.
  25. Ruby Foo
    From experience ( 3x summer intensive) 95% ( approx guess) of Summer intensive are international students - many are first timers. My Dd had only 5 or 6 English speaking students to mix with, of which several were at RBS already. My opinion ( I have no inside knowledge) is that it’s a chance for the school to see worldwide talent they haven’t seen already ( through the uk associate schemes). Internationals tend to want summer courses because of the academic requirements / term times internationally and, I guess, they make a summer of visiting UK. Internationals don’t seem to be so omnipresent at Eastertime. My opinion only - that at the higher levels 13+, the international students are at a very high standard indeed especially where pointework is concerned. My Dd struggled having just passed inter- foundation. Her fellow students from S.Korea and Japan were easily Adv 2 standard and looked like mini professionals. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter a jot because everyone takes their own time to develop and gain the strength needed and meantime, there are loads of other great opportunities out there which my Dd enjoyed just as much, if not more.
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