ScottishDancerMum

On 4 May 2017 at 12:50, sarahw said:

In our experience there needs to be a clear story all the way through. So you could have - meeting at the station, on the train, getting to Hogwarts, making spells/potions, flying on broomstick and maybe some darker bits..... I'm not aware of all the details of Harry Potter...

Your post gave us some great inspiration.  We've got a plot line worked out involving making Polyjuice Potion... which Hermione makes an error on and ends up looking like a housecat!  

I'm working out costume details, and have the music sorted (my two favourite parts).  Trying to find a line between looking like Hermione but still maintaining a costume you can dance ballet steps in and show off your lines is a bit challenging!  Particularly in the early movies, Hermione wears a grey jumper and her school robes most of the time, so I need to look at this a bit.

At least my daughter and Hermione have the same sort of frizzy hair

7 hours ago, Fiz said:

Has she seen the 1960s version? I agree that Christina Ricci is pretty frightening in the 1990s films.

No, not yet.  I haven't even seen it.

The Christina Ricci version had E running by the time she saw the wriggling lunch bags!

I think Wednesday Addams is perfect, but she's oddly terrified by the Addams Family! (but Star Wars or her brother's video games, no problem?)


Sarah, how much storyline needs to be incorporated?  I'm trying to find some videos online but the vids seem to be mostly American and I don't know if they are the same over here.

(E is very excited about Hermione, and I know the music well.... so off to the costume design board again!)

She's agreed to consider Hermione Granger.  Her other favourite is Princess Leia but that might get snagged as inappropriate as well, age wise.

Thanks all - that's very helpful!

Hmmm... lots to consider.  She's just turning 8 but she's quite mature in her tastes... isn't interested in Disney princesses or fairy stories anymore.  For vampire things, she likes Hotel Transylvania and that Bugs Bunny/Dracula episode.  But I think the age appropriate thing is going to catch us out.  

But it's not like I have her out there shaking her booty

We were planning on using Toccata and Fugue by Vanessa Mae... I always thought it had a particular vampire-ish style to it.  

I was just wondering for character solos, does it have to be a named character, or is something vampire-themed enough?

Bumping this for an additional question...

Do character solos for comps/festivals need to be performed in ballet, or are they a mix of different dance genres?  

My daughter wants to do a vampire themed one, and I'm a bit unsure if this is a strong enough theme, or does it need to be more specific?

I got some tights today - a pair of Starlight and a pair of Silky.  I'm hoping at least one of them will fit just right!


_________________

Another question!

I was reading the comments about putting calamine on ballet shoes, and I think it makes sense to make the legs look longer.  So can someone explain to me why some girls in festivals have to wear ballet socks?  To me it just makes the leg look shorter and defeats the purpose.  Is there a reason for them, and are they something required by the festival, or is it a school preference? 

The bigger Sainsburys stores have a ballet section and do 3 pairs in a pack of ballet tights that last and are of good quality, the age 8 should be perfect.

You're the second person today who's mentioned this!  One of the mum's at our dance school mentioned it today.  I might be able to get to a larger one on Saturday, and I'll order some of the other options for next time.  

Thank you everyone!

I just hate the baggy-around-the-ankles look, and the general advice seems to be to wear them a size bigger... which just seems to make it worse   She's pretty gentle putting them on, and got a year out of her old pairs of tights, but I'm just finding it a pain to find replacements.

I'll go through the list and get some to try!

 

I can't seem to source decent tights.  I have a tall, thin 7 year old.  Tights are either too short or too long, or ladder at the first wearing.

Can anyone recommend something?  Her last two pair are now threadbare - my mother-in-law picked them up in some discount shop and they lasted a year, but the labels are no longer there.

Thank you x

It's so strange about Canada.  It's a country that definitely encourages people to bring their cultures with it - we are a mosaic, not a melting pot.  When I was in school, I had friends who went to German school, who went to Ukrainian Dancing, who spoke Polish at home.  Myself?  I was born to third generation Canadians who had originally come from England, Italy and Germany, but was never taught any of the languages or traditions from the "old countries"  Then I moved to Vancouver where there were people who spoke every language under the sun, who brought their dances and food and culture... and I felt very plain!  (and then I moved to the UK where I stuck out like a sore thumb as soon as I spoke!)

Because Canada is so big, it's hard to link common threads.  I've only spent 1 night in Quebec and a handful of days on the East Coast.  Things that are common there are unheard of in BC.  I never learned the "Canadian Barn Dance" until I went to a ceilidh at a Scottish Wedding.  

And NO JUSTIN BEIBER.  EVER.

So common threads are things like hockey, Tim Hortons, CBC Heritage Minutes, the National Anthem, maple leaves, beavers... hard to make an identifiable dance from that.  And because we aren't First Nations, doing an aboriginal dance could be fraught with insensitivity.  

Oh well... a conundrum for another time.  But if anyone "has" seen a Canadian dance, I'd love to hear about it!

Greek tends to have it's own class should it be included in a festival. Last summer was the first year that Greek was included in the Dance World Cup.  It has unique choreography and style. 

 

Whereby Canadian National dances, Hungarian, Romanian etc all come under the banner of National. Unless Scottish or Irish have their own special class in a Festival then you can enter Scottish in the National Class. Again with so many variations in Festivals you (or the teacher) have to read the small print. 

 

Acro is another one, some acro moves can be incorporated into Modern/Jazz/Contemporary or even Tap Choreography but in limited amounts and only where appropriate. There have been too many cases or cartwheels and aerials appearing in nearly every routine. 

 

Song and Dance also has it's own rules ie % of dance to singing etc

 

The other thing to consider when entering  classes in a festival, as few or as many as your child or your budget will allow is that sometimes to be eligible for an overall Trophy that takes aggregate scores into account. Our local festival states " 3 solos one of which must be ballet"  is required if a child would like to be considered for a particular Trophy. 

 

This award is a lovely bonus as it could mean that a child that did not win a class but scored highly in 3 may well have accumulated enough points to win a Trophy at the end of the Festival.

 

Again it all boils down to reading the small print.

 

Good Luck have fun 

Her teacher said that Canadian wasn't an option - they all seem to be European dances.  I'd like it though... my culture tends to get pretty overshadowed over here!  But to be honest, I'd have a hard time thinking what a Canadian National dance would consist of... lots of pop culture references, but doing something that appropriated First Nations peoples wouldn't be appropriate, and we don't have a national dress (unless you count Roots t-shirts or RCMP uniforms!)

Has *anyone* seen a Canadian National Dance in a festival or competition before?  (I'm terribly curious!)

Balletbean, the idea about being eligible for an overall trophy is something to consider - thank you again for valuable advice!
 

I am excited about that part... I've got a tutu ordered, sourced her tap costume, sorted the music, and started collecting bits and pieces for her comps (I've found quite a few lists of things not to forget).  She'll need help with hair and makeup for awhile, but I'll have to seriously up my game with hairstyles.  Every time I attempt braids, it just ends up a mess!

I agree with pups_mum. DD does two festivals per year, they are local ones and have always treated as fun and opportunity to perform on a stage. I wouldnt get too hung up on research etc, just enjoy and if you win it's a bonus. Also great lessons on how to win and lose gracefully, I believe these are very important qualities and festivals are a great way to teach this.

Shygirlsmum, you are entirely right.  

I'm doing research because I feel there's nothing else for me to do in the meantime... I can't choreograph or teach, and I'm not my daughter, so Teacher and Daughter are doing their parts already   Until things are ready, I'm twiddling my thumbs.

You are all a wonderful support - thank you for answering my silly questions!

No need to ever do all the sections if you don't want to - it's entirely up to you. You will find some who do everything and some who only do one or two genres, right through the age groups.

Personally I never bothered looking into who the adjudicators were in advance. Unless you have almost limitless time, money and energy, you can't change dances every festival, and what is "good" for one adjudicator may well be "bad" for the next. So I never lost any sleep over that. It's true that some adjudicators have strong preferences and if you watch a lot of festivals you do get a feel for what a particular adjudicator likes fairly on in the proceedings. But DD never bothered trying to change her dances or herself to suit any particular adjudicator's taste. She just went on and did her best - sometimes she won, sometimes she didn't. Best thing is to just have fun and not to worry to much.

What a relief!

I know nothing about this Greek dance business... I had no idea it was a category until coming here and reading about it.  National dance either... our school teaches Highland and National, but they mean "Scottish" National.  

I grew up in Canada, but alas, I can't find Canadian National dances as an option


Do senior competitors need to be able to dance in *all* the categories?  If my daughter doesn't study Greek dance or Hungarian dance or what-have-you, will this be a problem or can she just study what she (and her teacher) wants?

 

Hi, Just out of interest, how much does it cost to hire a tutu?

 

Thank you

 

If you go to that site above, there's lots of different options, but this one below is £45 to hire, and it looks like quite an ornate option.  

https://www.justballet.co.uk/collections/childrens-costumes-for-hire/products/just-ballet-sugar-plum-childrens-professional-tutu-10-12yrs-hire-only

You might consider hiring one?
https://www.justballet.co.uk/collections/childrens-costumes-for-hire

I know you haven't asked this, so forgive the unsolicited advice, but personally I would think that 2 dances is plenty to start with and I would be inclined to get the ballet and tap solos completed before tackling anything else. At some festivals you will see dancers who have a solo in every genre plus duets, trios and troupes, but it has probably taken them years to build up to that. It takes a lot of time and commitment (and money) to have multiple dances on the go and it can put a lot of pressure on the young dancer and their family to have a lot of dances.

The norm at my DD's old school was always to start with one (usually ballet) solo, or at the most 2, for the first few festivals. Then if child and parent were both enjoying it and were keen to continue to gradually add in more dances as they wished.I'd probably be inclined to get  just one dance finished and give it a whirl at a couple of festivals to see how you and your DD enjoy it before investing in several dances. I don't think it needs to be absolutely perfect just as long as she is confident that she knows it well enough. People will have different views on that I know. Some teachers won't let a child do a new dance until its absolutely polished, but DD's old teacher would generally send them out once they were "good enough". I tend to favour the latter approach as i always viewed festivals as a development opportunity rather than a medal winning quest.  Performing a dance on stage is very different from practising in the studio and I always felt my DD learned more doing her dances "for real" in front of an audience. If a child wants to perform, as long as they know the dance well enough that they aren't going to forget it and get scared or upset, then I think that's fine. If you plan, practice and perfect too much then opportunities can be missed. But as I say, I know others will have different views and there's no absolute right or wrong.

Thanks for this, PupsMum... I'm grateful for it!

More unsolicited advice, and different studios will do things differently, but our ballet school always put in the entries for the classes.  As a parent I had no say over what classes my children entered.  Or who they were dancing with, even in duets!  It really is their call.

Indeed, but if I recall rightly ScottishDancerMum has previously posted that her DD's school doesn't generally do festivals so it's her that's initiated the whole process with her teacher rather than the other way round. Hence she is driving the process somewhat more than would be usual. (Or I might just be losing my marbles...)

Yes, PupsMum, that's us.  She goes to a Highland school, and the kids generally only go to Highland and National competitions.  Because my daughter doesn't dance Highland, she's asked to compete in Ballet instead.  Her teacher is willing - daughter is a good student, listens well, has enthusiasm and perfectionist streak.  She'll only be doing solos because she doesn't have anyone else to dance with (although we're hoping that might change next year if other girls want to join her).  Also, because our teacher is so busy, she asked me to collect applications for the festivals.  That's when I ran into one (which is fairly close by, and smaller, which would be a good one to start with), but they asked for contemporary (dancers had to be able to do both).

I imagine in a normal school, we'd have much less input... what the teacher says goes.  Our teacher has been happy to talk through it, and thinks she's ready.  I promise I'm not trying to be some sort of overeager stage parent - just trying to get my daughter some experience.  We've discussed before how it would be so much easier if she just did Highland with her friends, but she loves ballet, and that's her.  I can work with that

We'll see how she does with one or two numbers, and if she can handle that, we'll add the third.  I'll leave it up to her teacher

oh my goodness! 

 

the children have their own solos ... usually starting with just one or two, and then adding more as time goes on ( DD has 6 or 7 depending upon categories in different festivals!) but they never get a solo or duet/trio etc without the parents agreeing in advance, and they don't do any at a festival without the parents agreeing! Our teachers let the children dance their dances as soon as they are 'just about there' ! no matter how experienced a performer is, the 'first time out' of any routine is always a tricky times, but I agree with pups mum, that that is when they REALLY learn the dance  ( or like DD the other weekend ... make up a totally new dance instead!       )

I think the experience will stretch her a bit.  She only gets a recital every 18 months, and loves it, but it's not very challenging dancing as the recital numbers tend to be geared towards the less experienced dancers so that everyone can do the number.  

Thanks PupsMum   That does help.  

Commercial dance... I knew there was another one that I meant to include!  I see a dance school in the next county that advertises for "Freestyle and Commercial" but I really never understood the term.

Daughter is preparing a ballet number and a tap number (which has a character element) but then we found this ballet festival that's asked for a contemporary number as well (no tap).  Ah fun!  We've been slower starting than we'd hoped - between illnesses, snow and school holidays, DD's prep time has been dashed considerably so she might not even be ready till August/September.  But we'll have to see.

 

I've been researching competitions/festivals for my daughter as she will be starting this year.  But I had more questions... I haven't had a chance to speak to her teacher yet but I thought I'd ask my other favourite experts here!


1)  One upcoming ballet competition is calling for one classical ballet solo and one contemporary solo.  The organiser emailed me and said that modern would be acceptable for younger students who had not yet studied contemporary.

So, would a contemporary ballet solo be turned out?  Daughter has done some modern in her tap classes, but it's not turned out.  What do you think she should prepare?


2)  I'm having a hard time (as I don't have a dance education) figuring out the differences between Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, Lyrical.  

Plus Character... if a tap solo is done in a character style, is it judged differently?

Colour me confused.  I'm learning a new language and I just don't get it yet!  If anyone can guide me, I'd be very grateful!

 

You're not missing anything relevant. It is a measure of a duvets ability to trap warm air ;-)

A "tog" is an abbreviation for a phoTOGrapher.  

I'm new to all this tutu stuff as well!

I've been spending quite a bit of time here, as well as on this Facebook group which is a site for second hand tutus and costumes.  I've gotten a pretty good idea in a short period of time what they are meant to look like.  

There's things you can do to perk up a tutu, like making sure it's tacked (just google "tacking a tutu"), or using types of stiffening spray on the underside.  Still, as the tutu is on loan, you should probably ask your teacher or the person who loaned it to you - they should have a much better idea of how it should look, and should have ideas how to fix it if it's droopy.  

Tell your daughter congratulations on her first solo!

 

Kingdom, not Kindome (somehow it won't let me edit the spelling)