DD Driver

It was quite emotional being back in a packed theatre. All fingers crossed that people around the world can have this back very soon.

Finally made it back into The Sydney Opera House to see The Australian Ballet performing New York Dialects. This is a triple bill: George Balanchine's Serenade - Beautiful. Watermark, a new work by Pam Tanowitz - 18 dancers, mostly male, and has the look of improv. Entertaining but not really my cup of tea. I started thinking that I should really just come to the tried & true storybook ballets - given the cost of the tickets. George Balanchine's The Four Temperaments - LOVED IT! There was a clear NY feel to it. Best of all was that it showcased so many of the individual dancers. Their very different styles and qualities shone through. You saw maybe 8 of your 'favourites' in action which was a treat.

That is interesting. At 17 is he too old for Royal Ballet School or did he want to join a company?

What a great story! Kochetkova was with ENB Corps for 4 years dancing mainly corps roles. She then joined San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer! She returned to ENB as guest artist in 2019 and is now back as Lead Principal. This is one of my favourite clips:

That is my experience Momapalooza. When a dancer is at a 'serious' ballet school they usually agree not to go to other schools or teachers. The existing faculty should be sufficient. This includes private lessons if desired. Maybe Australian Ballet School interstate or Queensland Associate programs but these are only for visits a few times per year.

I agree! As parents we have to set boundaries. How much money we are prepared to spend. Enforcing academic requirements that must be met for the ballet hours to continue. Gaining an understanding of where your dancer realistically sits in the mix... The industry was difficult before Covid, now we see dancers stuck, waiting and hoping. It has been a brutal reality check. I have had many frank conversations with my DD. A goal of growing up is to be able to get a job that pays your rent & food!

I have nothing to say about who RBS select for White Lodge - you're welcome! I do see cultural differences between the perspectives in the UK and Australia (probably true of the US too) Where I live, in Australia, there is a very strong migrant & Asian mindset. Part of this is the strong emphasis on hard work over natural talent. Yes, we can all agree that Ballet as a profession is dependent on having certain innate physical attributes and, as Kate_N says, being close to biomechanically perfect! Students that I see, are working with what they have and try to improve on what they can. If their parents can afford it and if the child has dedication & sufficient 'talent' (in the eye of the beholder!) to be admitted into a program - if selective. They work to maximise their personal potential. Ericcson's theory of Mastery, in terms of physical expertise, required 10,000 hours of 'quality' practice. Many characteristics previously considered innate talents were found to be the result of intense practice over ten years. So this kind of effort and training can show results - particularly by the upper school ages & onwards. Even artistic quality can be improved with greater technique and through training (shock horror) You will shout that these students may suffer from over-work or never had the 'right' facility. Often we see young 'stars' fade away. Sometimes succeeding at big comps and performing lead roles as a teenager means you get injuries, burn out early or have little interest in being a lowly paid Corp member. So True! If you are risking everything - money, academics, broad childhood experiences - for the end goal of getting a professional contract then that is a very poor & uninformed gamble. From my perspective as a parent however, I do see value in the journey, in the discipline, in the etiquette, in doing what you are good at, in developing your brain in this way, and experiencing how hard work produces results (body & performance-wise).

In Australia, a number of young dancers are brand ambassadors e.g. Bloch, Gaynors... This can be for dance photographers or merchandise such as shoes or dance bags or leotards and the like. if you are going through a lot of pointe shoes this can be attractive, especially to the parents. Some dancers want audition photo's from specialist photographers. In these deals however you have to post very frequently. That can be onerous.

I heard an Australian ballet teacher talking about students - girls - going to the UK for upper school training. She spoke about the Heathrow Effect. Basically girls gaining weight because they were no longer being supported in their eating by mum, homesick, too tired and time poor to make good meals...

My sympathies! It is particularly hard that there is usually no feedback. I agree with those that recommend seeking an assessment from a respected teacher. They can only provide their personal opinion but may be detailed about what they think are your DD's strengths/weaknesses. It is difficult that on one hand your child puts in so many hours but then they are told that it is all very 'subjective'. Surely, in regards to technique, a level of mastery is visible to the trained eye. An objective reality?

I already keep a close eye on the full time school that my DD attends. I am paying private school fees and then pay for her academics on top. This is the Australian system so it's unlike UK vocational schools. Maybe doing this all on our money is helping us to 'keep it real' in terms of the dreams we may have. My DD loves her ballet school but if I stop loving it then she will be getting her training elsewhere. When I think about paying for my DD to be in a company... I fall off my chair. Typically in such a situation, you would start having expectations and start voicing them. Probably the relationship would end quickly. It is very strange to have the kind of money to be a ballet student, where we are and probably in the US, and then allow yourself to be treated like dirt.

Wow reality bites! I think we all mostly hear it but can so easily get caught up in chasing the dream. Covid has actually helped me to take a step back and set some parameters in my head.

Thanks cotes du rhone! Well you have 2 go-getters there! All dance careers seem precarious so the goal is to have some amazing experiences and enjoy.

Hi cotes du rhone, in your experience were the visas given to dancers that had been at US dance schools or companies for a certain period of time? I just imagine that they had to have some close connection. What do you think the 23 dancers had to get the tick of approval (in a pre-Covid world)?

My understanding is that if a girl hasn't had menarche, her first period, by 16 then it is labelled amenorrhea. See the doctor. If no signs of puberty by 14 (thelarche, pubarche) see the doctor. With a lot of ballet training hours you need to be at the doc anyway to make sure you are not vitamin deficient. Especially Vitamin D. Deficiency here can result in no or infrequent periods and becoming more injury prone https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29893596/

Yes the names, schools and countries are up on on the Prix site. 2 of the 3 Australians come from Tanya Pearson Academy (TPA) Sydney Aust. On Facebook and Instagram TPA put up the names, numbers and Swiss time slots for performances by Morganne (202) and Levi (134) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKvmq6hASGs/

No easy answers! I would just add that, in our case: it was quite emotional for my DD to be told by her studio that the faculty unanimously voted not to accept the RAD result she was given. They would appeal it, even though they knew nothing was likely to come of it. That was gold.

I don't think you sound rude or ungrateful! They are not a charity, run by volunteers. This is a standardised global exam. If there is little or no variation in the marks for the elements between your students - and you know that there is considerable variation between them - then of course you are questioning the results. Ballet is an Art and there will be different opinions but if technique is not objectively discernible - at all - then what is this all about? All roads seem to lead back to this... the best way to get a sense of how you are doing is to participate in a range of assessment experiences. Luckily my DD started doing Cecchetti exams in the same year as the dud mark. It put everything back into perspective.

Just as an aside...💖 You mentioned your students' physiques for classical ballet. RAD is examining technique, artistry and musicality. They are assessing against the set criteria. The students physique will play a part in how they are received - of course - but I do not see it as the examiner's job to judge this element. Do you? They are not assessing on behalf of a school or company and it's particular preferences or today's trends. Surely we all want to encourage students to progress through the levels, if possible. It is not the RAD's place, or stated objective, to make a call on their body as they go through their teenage years. There are many principal dancers that did not fit the mould. Maria Kochetkova was told by the Bolshoi Ballet School (Moscow State Choreographic Academy) that she was too short in height and had other body issues... She went to the PdL and enjoyed a successful career in other companies.

I have been there - as a parent but I wrote the appeal submission. Here is my two cents worth: I believe you (or the parent involved) are best to consider this at the individual level. If that includes a number of students, then so be it. 1. Is the student's mark more than 10% away from what you could reasonably expect? So, for example, the latest mark compared to the student's previous RAD exam results. Anything less could be put down to the subjective nature of the process and is too hard to argue. There will always be a level of, large but acceptable variation. 2. Approach this in a formal manner. In the first instance speak to the RAD office you dealt with. Give them feedback and a chance to respond. The next step, if you have no luck/wish to proceed, is a formal complaint submission . This may be the local office OR potentially RAD Head Office, UK. Ballet schools, teachers and families pay a lot of money to do RAD training/exams and this assessment is the culmination of a year's hard work (or more). You expect the process to be as valid and reliable as possible. 3. Present evidence for the appeal: -Previous exam marks and any progress in RAD competitions. Other external assessments. Any video of the student in action. -Identify any possible problems in the process e.g. in a large ballet school the examinations may occur over weeks of all day sessions. This is very hard on the examiner and fatigue will play a role. 4. The window for an appeal is very short and the process is many months. By the time a response occurs, it is all last year's news. You are highly unlikely to get a new mark, or even a response, that will please you. 5. You would be doing this to demonstrate to these student/s that you will not accept this mark without providing feedback to RAD. You are showing the other students (where you don't make an appeal) that you understand and do tolerate a significant amount of variability in results without complaint. Your reaction and words to the student means a lot. In addition, the process and standards of an organisation will not improve if you the customer do not provide fair and courteous evidence-based feedback. I'm sorry this happened to you and the students!

One random idea is to look at the ESB website: https://schoolofballet.eu/ The Tab: The School => Lodging, Supervision and Catering has a range of options and general info. The location of their suggested lodgings may not be of use but the general info may be useful Congrats

I agree wholeheartedly with others here that ballet is a performing art. I know some people disdain competitions. In my experience, they are a key way to access performance opportunities. I have seen my DD develop her performance skills over many years of attendance at Eisteddfods/ Comps (same diff) in Australia. Of course she enjoys placing but over the years has also learnt to roll with the punches. Some adjudicators like her - some don't. This experience has also helped her deal with the variation in responses she gets in auditions and RAD/Cecchetti exams. We both treasure the memories we have from her years of comps. The costumes, the funny disasters, the achievements and the friendships.

I think ESB take students at 13 yrs, maybe 12 for intensives. Highly recommend it.

That is interesting, Alison. In many countries people are looking to see more representation of their community on stage. Of course every country, quite rightly, has a different context. Royal NZ Ballet went through a media furore in 2017/18 because so few of their dancers where New Zealanders. They realised that they needed to make 'better pathways' to ensure that kiwis could come through at the required level and that there was an NZ 'voice' in their works. Yes, many lead characters in classical ballets are required to be etheral - delicate and light. I recall the story...about a famous dancer who was believed, by some, to be too big to play the sylph in La Sylphide. The response from the director(?), who wanted that dancer, was "Er...have you ever seen a sylph?"

People talk about wanting more diversity in ballet. Government bodies and Arts Councils talk about linking funding to Ballet based on clear examples that they are taking steps towards greater diversity. Action must however start at a very young age! I see selections being made by big schools for training & intensives and by global comps, from the age of 9, that send a clear message to people with non-conforming body shapes - that they are not welcome. I know 2 teenage girls who are part Pacific Islander. They have curves - only if compared to others in the studio. They have the facility, they are lean, they are beautiful and they are gifted dancers (in my humble opinion and their teachers). No offers for them! They will have left the building soon. Yes, I am a parent judging what I see is going on! I judge that they have been rejected based solely on their body shape.