DD Driver

I am sure you have many things to consider in making this choice. Some inspiration from Melissa Hamilton who trained privately for a while with Masha Mukhamedov, and Danill Simkin who trained with his mother (ex-ballerina) for 2 hours a day whilst attending normal school

NinaNina - The Italy, Switzerland, Australia and Moscow programs are run by Russian Ballet International (different from the USA BBASI organisation, which I hear good things about too ). The Russian Ballet International teachers are from The Bolshoi Academy and you can audition for the Moscow program too. See bio of teachers... http://www.russianballetinternational.com/2018/09/24/sydney-australia-january-2nd-to-12th-2018/ NinaNina my DD has done the Sydney intensives run by the same teachers as Italy etc. It is expensive but they are very good. Very challenging.

Just to say that - while students who attend will have a great time, it can be extremely expensive. Especially for international students going to London or HK. Our feeling is that you get more bang for your buck when 13 years and older.

Be careful what you wish for! If acceptance is based only on how someone looks then you will have a very mixed bag of talent at the Intensive. Also,some programs are committed to taking everyone 'back to the basics' rather than challenging them with new or advanced skills. You may prefer your home school to teach the fundamentals and use intensives for a different perspective. It can be traumatising for a parent to pay for course fees, travel and accommodation etc and then watch their dancer doing the chicken dance at the end-of-course performance 😂

I would also promote the importance of building strength and flexibility through focused exercises - not just adding more classes. I think you hit a wall with the value of adding more and more dance classes. This year my daughter substantially increased her dance hours and this has gone hand in hand with more time at the dance physio and home exercises. She is seeing the physio semi-regularly e.g. weekly when she had injuries and growing pains, through to once a term when all is going well. My daughter's physio gives her exercises to do each day to improve on particular aspects of her ballet skills or to prevent injury. No amount of dance classes could achieve these goals. She also does daily warm-up classes and some Pilates, Conditioning and Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT ) classes.

Yes, there are several academic schools in Sydney that are serious about dance training (contemporary and ballet). They also (usually) allow their students to attend part-time after-school classes at a dance studio. This means that students can be doing substantial hours of ballet whilst still in mainstream schooling. I think - as Leotardmum points out - many of these dancers then start to look at full-time training at 14/15 years old, if pursuing ballet.

In my experience (in Sydney) this is not a large number of 11/12 year olds going full-time. Most students entering full time are 14/15/16 year olds. Some young students go full time because they live in an area that can not offer elite training. Also, homeschooling and Distance Education have a long history in Australia. Everyone under 16 follows a curriculum overseen by a state-based Board of Education whether it be through a bricks & mortar school or alternate education option.

I don't think Fateyev was insulting the Vaganova Academy. I think the translation or his English didn't capture his full meaning. It is a compliment to the Academy if the majority of their graduates are good enough to be taken into the company. Also, it is true that attracting more children into ballet leads to even more talented dancers being funneled through to the professional level Dance does have more competition these days from sports (and often these are better funded and more accessible).

Yes leotardmum it is always interesting reading. The question around 'why so few UK applicants?' was explained well in last year's discussion. As you say, a different training model from some other countries (vocational schools which also provide the academic curriculum and their commitments etc) https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/18740-prix-de-lausanne-2019/

Impassioned differences in opinions about these dancers reminds me of something Nikolay Tsiskaridze (Bolshoi Theater) said in a mini-documentary for Dance Channel TV: Meet Nikolay Tsiskaridze 2:10 "Everything I've done on stage has had supporters and opponents. The main distinctive feature about great artists is that no one is left indifferent when disagreement arises. It is horrifying when everyone likes or dislikes something, because it is immediately forgotten. I bring out this kind of disagreement wherever I dance. In Tokyo, New York, Paris and Rome there were always people who were for or against me. They write enthusiastic reviews and terrible ones. It creates a certain wave." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0no3EwDHkWQ

hmmm thank you Sophoife. I could have done with some more classical ballet favourites. Maybe I should keep a closer eye on tours by overseas companies for that in 2020.

Thank you, Valentina. Fair point - unfortunately she is in the phase where 'mother never knows best'. (so I keep my comments to the minimum and positive.) I think she will come out of this in 5 to 10 years. Fortunately her teachers are on the ball here. Also she sometimes has a lesson from other teachers in the faculty and this seems to provide a good opportunity to get a fresh perspective.

Yes - I've relaxed a bit and I'm appreciating that time and maturity is probably how it will all come together. I think acting lessons would help if we can get some non-ballet time in! My DD had an injury lately. That means she has to attend class to watch others and take notes. As she recovers, she is marking the exercises and dances, focusing more on her port de bras. I am more aware now that expressiveness is about your whole body and the quality of movement, so I think we have had an unexpected benefit here!

Oh! We went out of our way to see Natalia Osipova recently in Sydney. Would have loved to make it to Melbourne for Evgenia Obraztsova - but can't. By the same token I would be thrilled to see Tiler Peck, Isabella Bolyston, Ashley Bouder, Yuan Yuan Tan etc

Great viewing, thank you! What an insight. Gorgeous dancing. Yes, LinMM - that was difficult to watch. Part 1 15:00 "You have a month to get down to your ideal weight. Do everything you can to lose weight." Yikes! And maybe she did lose the weight but her look/bone structure just didn't fit their aesthetic. It's like Western schools before the HR department, legal recourse etc landed! Nikolai Tsiskaridze also spoke his mind without a filter. e.g. He excluded Kirrill from the graduation performance and snubbed him saying. "Lazybones" in passing (Part 2: 39:00) It wasn't said but probably Kirrill broke the rules when he reached out independently to get an audition with the Bolshoi (?) Maybe this was the last straw after the support he had been given. Anyway I expect things are very similar in Western schools - just more implicit messages rather than explicit.

There appears to be big differences in the approach to this around the world. At many big ballet comps participants do both ballet and contemporary solos and classes. I have heard presenters at the Prix de Lausanne say however that some students have had very little experience of Contemporary training. At the bigger dance and ballet schools near us, students are usually offered ballet, contemporary and jazz from about 8 years old. The contemporary may be more ballet-based or commercial depending on the studio. Either way the focus is on learning to create shapes, using your core etc etc A nice clip of a young boy learning technique below...

Thank you Peanut68! No quick fixes and you're right - being able to 'switch it on' in the studio is not necessarily the pathway towards a moving performance.

Thanks valentina! My DD is naturally quite reticent. She is very expressive and funny when playing around with friends but not outside that group. Guess that means she can 'emote' but isn't confident enough to show this side of herself to others. I think learning a jazz solo would be an excellent idea! Or even if I ask her to do some jazz tik toks (short music videos the kids do for their friends and share). She used to do jazz classes but can't fit this in anymore. It is a way to show passion that is not just acting but honestly reacting to the music. Maybe classical music becomes background noise to ballet students who hear so much of it. To her credit when I play classical music radio in the car, she doesn't quickly turn it off - as her siblings do.

My 13 year old DD is very focused on her technique - and it shows on her face. She is not acting the role. She is thinking about dancing the steps and you can see that. Some of the problem is around confidence. She has said that she feels embarrassed to fully act out a part in front of friends or the audience. She does need to be more confident in daily life. She should improve as she gains more maturity but that can be a long wait! One option is to get some coaching from a drama/acting teacher involved in dance. She is not responding to the feedback from her teachers so far. e.g. one told her to act out a variation in front the mirror in order to really focus on her facial expressions. Fair call but no change seen back in the studio or on stage. Maybe someone has been through this and has a snippet of advice, please.

I see that the list of artistic directors attending the 2020 Grand Audition ( 4-5 Feb, Barcelona) has been published. Looks like a great opportunity https://www.grandaudition.net/copy-of-artistic-directors-2020

We were there on Tuesday at the Sydney Opera House as well! I enjoyed Osipova's Ava Maria solo and the Ratmansky duet with Hallberg the most. We didn't love it all but that is to be expected with a selection of 6 individual works. So very happy to have had this chance to see her & Hallberg, Goddard and Kittleberger. Hopefully we can see Osipova in a classical ballet performance one day. (I'm sorry for the loss of your mum, jmb)

Congrats to all! I am surprised at the prize money and opportunities offered from this competition. The lack of ...! I couldn't find the details on this for 2019 but a few years ago it was $10,000 for a gold medal, $6,000 for silver and $4000 for bronze. If more than one award is given in each category then the money is divided between them. - This seems very little given the travel costs for candidates. Does anyone know what the current prize money is and any scholarships or other benefits to be gained? - I also find local RAD competitions confusing, as they bring in judges who are not RAD examiners. This seems a shame for the brand. De-branding actually. A panel of RAD examiners would be ideal as they have a shared and detailed understanding of what is valued by RAD in a dancer for each level.

Good news: I see that another 2019 graduate of ENBS, Maeve Nolan, has joined English National Ballet as an artist for the 2019/20 season

I hope that the technology and health science behind pointe shoes continues to move forward. It is similar to the dramatic developments in athletic shoes. I understand that this creates a different aesthetic and performance. Naturally there is some resistance to this change. For my young dancer it means less damage to her foot and longer lasting shoes - so ballet is more affordable. She has a mix of more traditional shoes and a pair of Gaynors (made with a polymer for greater support & to be longer lasting) as there are pro's and con's to them all.

My DD does not fit the willowy body shape. You learn this pretty quickly. One choice is to stay away from the elite schools until ...later. From what Lusodancer writes, there are many accessible summer programs that have great teachers in the UK/Europe. Similarly, in Australia, there is fantastic access to high quality teachers and big name schools/stars also come through regularly ( to the main centres) offering intensives. It strikes me that top vocational schools can pick a class of 15 girls that absolutely look the part (and can dance). Their job is done if 2 of those have become exceptional by graduation and enter their affiliated company. If you have say an athletic body and great talent then you may be rejected early and often! If you can get through this and develop the grit to keep on pushing and developing yourself - then maybe this is the ideal training for professional life. Our goal is to try for the elite schools at an older age, when everyone needs to show exceptional ability not just potential. Beat them on the dance floor I say.