Motomum

KM was very kind and magnanimous in her account of what happened at MCB. They treated her appallingly as soon as they realised she wasn't going to shape up 'thin,' so this is happening now, no changes, no learning, just words and soundbites from certain companies. Words that mean absolutely nothing without actions. Recently a vocational ballet teacher said to me, boys in training can eat anything, girls can't. I will say though that watching the RB gala last night it was refreshing to see many of the leading female dancers looking very beautiful indeed, whilst also looking strong and healthy in their bodies. So perhaps there is possibility of change. The images of these beautiful strong talented woman will hopefully feed down to young aspiring dancers to let them know that images are changing. These are the kind of images that will hopefully improve emotional well-being and have the power to build resilience in young minds. They are also conversation starters for us to have with our children about what it might take to challenge the old ways of thinking, and what is happening on their training journeys good and bad.

This ^^^^ is most definitely a 'thing' which might be acceptable in upper school training and beyond, but for me it has no place as a teaching approach in children younger than this. There is a difference also as a teacher in supporting a child to find their own internal teacher by breaking this concept down from an abstract into a more concrete form of self monitoring. A good teacher would be able to do this. Without clarification for the child it is my opinion either a very lazy way of teacher or an I know and you don't type of approach which often ime creates uncertainty and worry in younger children.

Different take for me. He sounded extremely defensive and overly sensitive to questions/comments that related to his changing physique in a classical ballet context. Nobody was body shaming him, but I too have thought about the extent of his musculature in relation to Ballet. Not about him being smaller or thinner but that his muscles aren't long and strong. He does to me look more like a body builder than a ballet dancer. How I feel about the aesthetics of his body bears no reflection on his dancing. He puts himself out there all over social media never wearing a top in any of his images; he invites us on his recovery journey with him but only in a very controlled way. My opinion.

Thankyou @Namaand @JaneI am in the process of sorting private counselling but I hadn't considered the school might support this.

The writer has been so refreshingly transparent and open about her mental health, this is absolutely the kind of honesty needed. My son is struggling with acute anxiety on return to a new vocational training program after lockdown. The pandemic has added another layer of stress to an already stressful pursuit for some of our children. Like the writer I worry about speaking out and letting the school know in case this reflects negatively on him further down this path. Or I speak out and no support is forthcoming. I feel just awful as a parent even having those thoughts, but they are there nonetheless. The crazy irony is dancing and training with anxiety doesn't make you weaker. I see my son and I know how strong he must be, how strong the writer of the article must be to have managed in situations where I know I couldn't have managed. It is a conversation that needs to get louder and more widespread than it still is. Mental health issues are IMHO for the most part still seen as a flaw rather than a part of the human condition in the perfectionist, rarefied world of ballet.

@FlexyNexywas the training of a high standard in your opinion. would you recommend it as non-residential option to training with a view to upper school applications? the school approached my son and he auditioned for Mrs Kremen during lockdown and has been given a scholarship for their vocational training program. i have lots of questions but you might not want to answer them. 😁

Thankyou Was your daughter on the vocational training program offered at the school?

Does anybody have any experience of this school? Where it’s vocational students go on to etc i have searching on here but came up empty. thanks.

@Proudmumofdd I think it’s going to be really difficult to get back any kind of rhythm for a good while yet. It feels like a hot mess. RB Associates changing to a Sunday will have a knock on impact on other Associate programs and other ballet classes that have always run on a Sunday. What will people choose to do, how will they choose? What if it changes back? My son has Ballet Boost Associates and Tring Classical Ballet Associates, do I give up both to keep his MA place???? They both run at the same times as his MA class will run now on a Sunday. Zoom isn’t working for him currently he absolutely hates it, so that wouldn’t be an option for him. And RBS have said with their Zoom classes there will be no guarantee that it will be their regular class teacher! I feel more annoyed than I feel uncertain.

Does that mean there are only 16 boy MA places in the whole of U.K. for RBS?

Thankyou both. My boy is MA London. I was hoping to change centres. looks like will have to stay put. 😕

Could anyone tell me if there is a mixed MA class in the RBS Bath Centre? If so do you know the times. Thankyou.

Have sent you an email. Sounds interesting.

If you look online at this issue, it is massive. Many households cannot afford broadband having to choose between internet connection and food and bills. And whilst these families may be classed as vulnerable, they are only recognised as vulnerable if they are already known to schools, children’s services, and their education authorities. And many are not, this falling under the radar. It is an incredibly complex situation, and for me the current situation has really deepened the divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots.’ @Jan McNulty you are right in saying shame, embarrassment and fear also stops people seeking help.

@BalletBoysDad yes the JA and CBA class sizes are comparable. The JA year groups only expand if someone leaves. So a child can in theory be auditioning where there isn’t a place at all. You won’t know. You are right that there are fewer places in Y5/6 JA’s. My son got one of two Y6 places in the Centre he applied for. There are 8 boys and 8 girls in each JA class. CBA is about 12 per class.

I thought it a great list too, for the places where it isn’t common sense at all unfortunately.

I hear you with difficulty for your son sustaining his interest in ballet. My son has found it so hard to stay focused and motivated. He started off great, but is struggling with a virtual interface. It will be a full six months absence of actual classes once he returns in September. If they do!! He doesn’t want to do RB’s virtual offering whatever it is and I don’t blame him.

@BalletBoysDad my son started with BBA and JA’s for Y6. This was his first step outside his local Saturday dance classes. He is now an MA and lots of his RB peers do CBA. My son has also been offered a place at Tring CBA seniors for September. He was lucky he didn’t have to audition. The main difference with BBA is class sizes and lack of boys in the lower groups. CBA is a specialist boys group and has much smaller numbers. BBA have been absolutely wonderful with my son, I can’t speak highly enough about it. However If your son is offered Tring I would opt for their CBA Boys classes for your son. Also someone else said it further back in the comments. For a Y5 age child, two Associate programs in one day with travel in the middle is a big ask physically and emotionally for them IMHO. My son is older now and dances a lot, but at Y5, age 9/10, one Associate class would have been plenty, (especially if his local dance school is good) with local dance school lessons, plus full-time school. He can always increase them as he gets older. There are always plenty to choose from.

Interesting to see what RB offer in place of SI.

It is extremely unlikely to run, Elmhurst just cancelled theirs unfortunately.

That’s fantastic news for your daughter! Well done her. im keeping my fingers crossed that my son will take up his Y7/Y8 offer from Elmhurst. He got offered it after his Prelim in January. Was offered to start after Easter by the AD, but C-19 happened. If not he will I think go full-time non-res with his Russian Associate pre-vocational program which he absolutely loves. He is all anti ballet atm, but it is a weird time. So 🤞🏻🤞🏻he changed by September.

@sunrise81 I was that parent completely captivated by everything RBS when my son auditioned for the first time and got a Y6 JA place and then MA’s. I am not at all impressed by RBS anymore, for me it was a very quick fall from grace. I realise now that the name and upholding the brand (as it was referred to in my son’s WL audition) can sometimes be much more important than the sum of it’s parts. ☹️

My son Y7 is seriously thinking about not returning to his Associate program and stopping ballet. He has a Y8 offer from Elmhurst but doesn’t want to go now either. He is aware he is lacking motivation to train and exercise as he was before the lockdown. i am being very mindful just to validate how he feels and that if he still feels like this come September (as this is when his classes will resume again) then he can of course stop. He is anxious about the virus too, I am vulnerable and this scares him a lot. I don’t want him to stop, but it’s not my choice. My main focus is his day to day happiness and emotional well-being. He knows we are in extraordinary times, but he’s a child and doesn’t fully understand how this will impact on him emotionally and skew his immediate thoughts about his world. Zoom and virtual classes are amazing, but they are of course a strangely sterile environment for the creative process. In the meantime his focus is on cleaning his bike (which has been much neglected in the last two years) for a bike ride with me this afternoon. And choosing a new swimming pool is also a priority. 😁 Ballet as he knew it is on hold for now as it isn’t making him feel good atm. I never thought that would be a sentence I would ever write or think.

Your post came up in my email. I was going to comment as a mum to an MA student. I too am very disappointed with offerings from RBS for their Associate students. I will give feedback to them, but it will fall on ears that do not need to listen to feedback such as mine. The pre-recorded lessons in my humble opinion are less than motivating and in my son’s words ‘lame,’ Didn’t even manage their regular teacher, who hasn’t been in contact either apart from one email via admin at the beginning of lockdown. All other Associate classes are virtual via Zoom, including my son’s pre-voc classes from the London Russian School of Classical Ballet. Very impressed range of barre and Pilates at a massively reduced rate, with the regular class teacher. I wonder if WL vocational students are receiving pre-recorded classes, of course they aren’t. MA’s has not lived up to my son’s expectations at all, and their offerings atm have reinforced his unhappiness with the program. He is considering not returning to Y8 boys. He has an offer from Elmhurst for Y8, but is unsure if he will take it. He has found that for him there is much better elsewhere in his other Associate classes. Who knew!! It is a shame as his one year Y6 experience of JA’s was just amazing. Faultless, with an outstanding teacher. if my post contravenes any forum guidelines apologies in advance and please remove or edit. This is mine and my son’s personal experience and opinion.

Associate Results will be out End of March/beginning of April.