Nicola H

Absolutely with regard to teachers in dance ( and men in those roles seen as 'pink collar' e.g. primary/ EYFS teaching , Nursing etc ... ) and while not about male teachers , some of the concerns about gender variant students whether adults or YP expressed by teachers are not in terms of their issues (if any) with the individuals but the reaction of the more vocal of the 'once or twice a week' parents who are quick to (try to) impose their narrow world view of 'suitable' gender roles and behaviours / presentations on others and the impact this may have on the reputation of the school /studio ...

Absolutely, and the prejudice in Nursing in embedded through the physical health side of the profession , men in Nursing are accused of being favoured in promotion ( rather than not taking career breaks at points that are career critical but happen to fall at common ages to get married and produce sproglets and /or the self selection bias when applying for pre-reg ... not many men in Nursing 'fell into it' ) and ghettoising certain clinical areas ( e.g. Emergency care , ICU and Perioperative ) there is a structural bias against men in 'children's settings' related to the aspect of child care being a 'mother' thing ...

once again pointe missed in such a topic ... we aren't talking about Masterclasses etc ( see caveat in my earlier post about those who teach at the highest levels ), Put yourself in the position of someone running the typical urban / sub urban studio of reasonable quality

I wonder if this reflects the backgrounds of the admin staff at those schools , if they have come from 'nilla private schools where paying fees termly is the norm ...

Other than being a male in overwhelming female profession and one where the students are overwhelmingly female ... ? look at the societal prejudices against men in Primary school teaching, their near absence in EYFS , and the persisting stigma surrounding men in Nursing ( most of the men in Nursing are 'Adult' or ' Mental Health' qualified , Learning Disabilities nurses are a small proprtion of the register but their gender mix apparently somewhere in the ball park of Adult and Mental health ) there are comparitively few Masc presenting single registration Child Branch Nurses ( vs those who got it as a second registration during the big push to get Child branch Nurses into all age settings such as A+E or peri-operative ) the numbers of Men in Health Visiting and midwifery is tiny ... and that is setting where the client base is 50 /50 While it's not as a much of an issue issue for someone who has a professional reputation as a performer and is teaching at higher (skill) levels , or perhaps not an issue if someone was a QTS and teaching dance in school alongside PE or Drama; I'm not sure how well a male teacher would go down in the average 'after school activty' dance school ... given that masc presenting adult students get the occasional sideways look from ( the small number of ) the less clued up parents ... then there;s the presumption that a male teacher cannot teach the higher levels for female students becasue the traditionalists assert that boys don't (and shouldn't unless playing Bottom in Dream) do pointe ...

as an aside to that it;s interesting that despite the swing against tight fitting stuff sportswear wise post 'lin ford 's lunchbox' etc in the 1990s if you look at the current trends in sports it;s amazing how manyof the cross fit and gym types are wearing leggings and a close fitting tshirt / top ... never mind the slim cut of trackies now and the rise of skinny jeans for masc presenting folk ... as that is an other thing that seems to contribute to some of the issues ...

at least it;s a full seat one , so no worse than speedos if he does ...

how do you know they aren;t on the barring lists ? presumably these arrangements are private it;s one ofthe areas the law skirted around with regard to how disclosure schemes operate ... ( ditto with certain cqc / ofsted type stuff being out of scope in 'private' arrangements)

substantial unsupervised access to children in a contact heavy environment ... it'd be the barring lists stuff that would be an issue, However DBS is only part of effective safeguarding practice not a panacea ( or pass / fail if you aren;t on a barred list)

but how big a market is that ? especially given that 16 or 17 year olds may be able to attend 'adult' classes anyway ... but arguably a free work / 'company' class for teens could be an option for those YP as well as providing another hour a week for those who are still taking grades and/or doing the vocational; / majors awards as well ...

DBS checks and the higher levles of disclosure Scotland checks requirea sponsoring organisation who arrange your original check, this can then be made portable. the form / access to the online portal is arranged through the sponsoring organisation , you cannot obtain the forms in an other way.

Given that a number of the Dance awarding bodies are now on the same legal footing as Exam Boards and the Vocational Training bodies ( for NVQ stuff etc ) ... and higher grades / vocational carry NQF accreditation and UCAS points...

just to add the Leeds in august waiting list started in mid feb ( i should know i'm on it from mid feb ) ... if you can make the July dates and there are still places grab it while you can ... as the reports all seem to be that it's a fabulous event and i'll be looking out if dates later i nthe year are added.

there are a number of awarding / examining bodies in dance , I'm no expert but from what i've seen RAD - well known brand but mainly/ solely ballet awards IDTA - Another well known brand ISTD - another well known brand ) above two often offered for other genres by schools who do RAD Ballet, even though they offer their own ballet awards) BATD BBO as well as the aforementioned UKA. although from a brief look at their website, ballet appears to be a very small part of their offer vs other genres. plus any i've missed plus some places seem to offer 'foreign ' awarding bodies ( seen some offering the American awarding bodies , but i also have a feeling that they may have in the 'little America' of East Anglia with it;s concentration of US military and contractors supportign the USAFE bases. ) with regard to the class stuff, i suspect it;s a difference in teaching style and probably a difference in the way you weretaught vs the way the other teacher was taught, plus for the younger students a balance to be struck between keeping it fun and technical perfection.

beacuse they are priced by CrossCountry , whose capacity issues especially through birimingham means they have little incentive to make advances cheaper

Effective safeguarding relies on people being able to make disclosures and to feel supported in doing so ( see the stuff about HEE declining to continue the 'training number' of certain whistle blowing junior docs). The military got is ducks in a row over this following Deepcut , there is absolutely no need for the pine box mistakes to be repeated, any teacher who cannot adapt their style to teach effectively in a setting really needs to be considered for removal from that setting...

just booked on the Nutcracker one such a sad reflection on life that Sophie has to take the nuclear option on certain things ...

some good points aobut the boys, also i wonder if there is another jealousy aspect here - what if the boys are gettign the negative message about boys and pointe that some of the the traditionalists put out ( as seen in the discussion about a few weeks ago) and are expressing their jealousy towards the girls who are going to get that opportunity ? and at risk of being accused of viewing things through a 'queer' lens i wonder if one or more ofthe boys is experiencing some low level of gender icentity issue ( an interest in ballet has been a recurring thing in my history and being a ballerina is something which has been mentioned in the media coverage of Sophie_Rebecca's story ). this is all by the by it;s unacceptable behaviour o nthe part of the boys and it needs to be nipped in the bud.

that explains why i like you ... I used to be an RN(A) until my own mental health took a turn for the worse ...

i've seen but not tried the combination garments , to some extent it makes sense as the 'pants' bit of a leotard doesn't do a great deal when you are wearing tights on top other than be an extra layer of material between the dancebelt and the tights ... boxers under leo and tights must look somewhat comical and not good for his lines !

and also assumes Pointe wise that he doesn't stick a finger or two i nthe direction of the traditionalists ...

i would think that you would be looking at Tanner II stage of development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanner_scale which a 10 year old may be at . as this is when the testes begin to enlarge both the ball and sac. 'swoop and scoop ' seems to be be the main tactic i.e. both penis and testicles pulled up in front ... blue and tangled could well be the result of not wearing one ... a crushed nut even if it;s not damaged long term is very painful. i've only worn thong back DBs and yes they do take some getting used to but the security they offer is probably a little better ... plus thong back = better definition ...

definitely a first world problem if it was F+B ...

nevermind 5 years talking oneself out of it try closer to 20 years of talking oneself out of it and afew more of not knowing to re-broach the subject with parents before that. to be honest a group class comes 'before' the private class , adult 'beginner' classes are quite a broad church from complete beginners , through the returners and those who have been dancing for a bit through to people who are approaching the standards of the higher grades / he vocational / exams/ pre-pointe ... one would assume this would be the same with a teens beginners class with people moving to the higher grades and/or IF/Elementary as they progress. the adult 'Beginner' class i attend is an absolute hoot , there's banter , in-jokes etc. etc . we probably know sectrets aobut each other than colleagues or friends don;t ...

Will you be able to keep up ? keep up with what ? you sound as though you have a reasonable level of fitness, you have some knowledge ( and probably muscle memory) from previous experience ... 15 is a slightly funny age thanks to the wonderful world of safeguarding , so you may have to shop around a bit to find a dance school that fits ( rather than putting you back to where you left off with the pre-teens that will depend on the attitude of the principal(s)/owner(s) and the other teachers) some might say you are too young for 'adult' classes - but safeguarding is a sideshow in this and the site has had enough arguments on the topic as it is -so it;s just really to point out it might be an issue). The world is moving on from the balanchine body a bit, and as you have no desire for a pro classical ballet career it again is a bit of a sideshow, regardlessof presentation I don;t have a 'ballet body' although with some serious work in the gym i could probably get an approximation of one ... Going on en pointe is , barring any structural / orthopaedic/ podiatry issues, going to be down to your level of commitment , there;s no need to slow progression of the post -pubesecent dancer towards that aim , where for the little kids firstly it;s cognitive development that means progress is slow and then the bone structure stuff that keeps the 'tweens' off pointe until their foot bones are sufficiently ossified and their intrinsic muscles developed, the limitation really is your pre existing condition with regard to your ankles and feet and the time / commitment you have. If you look at the forum and read the posts / threads of other late beginners you will see what is open to you ...