Kanangra

Benedicte is a beautiful dancer, she stood out from day one of joining the company. Love her partnerships with Joe Caley! I only ended my TAB subscription last year when I moved to the UK. Heard rave reviews from friends of Marcus Morelli in A Midsummer Night's Dream and not surprised he was promoted. 

What are you willing to pay? My daughter has some brand new unworn Gaynor Mindens for sale.

On 02/10/2023 at 01:52, balletmania said:

Thanks all for the responses! To answer your questions:

 

- I'm in the Chicagoland area

- Yes, I'm considering PerfectFit shoe inserts Just dragging my feet since they're quite expensive haha

- Yes, sadly my second toe is longer than my big toe.

They're worth it - they last for quite a while. Made a huge difference to my daughter.

Have you tried PerfectFit Pointe inserts? You get a kit and create your own inserts using a mould. My daughter tried the usual toe pads and taping but these solved her problem. 

I have 3 leotards to sell:

1 x XS Eleve leotard brown, high neck, long sheer black sleeves, cutout I’m back. Can supply photo £15 plus postage

1 x SA Balera leotard, has high neck and zip back. V insert has black sheer over flesh and back also has this. (I’m struggling to describe it but can supply photos!) £20 plus postage

1 x Grishko Bolshoi stars leotard in black/turquoise. Label says size 10, fits Adult petite/CXL Has 3/4 sheer sleeves and v back. Stunning lines £20 plus postage. Photos available.

Two pairs of brand new unworn Gaynor Minden pointe shoes for sale. 

Both pairs are 11- Med 5 Box - Extra-Flex Shank Deep Vamp High Heel

One pair is luxe satin (£85) and the other pair is £75. More photos can be supplied, these were the only two that would upload within the size limit! Photos of luxe satin pair were too big.

Postage from Leeds at buyer's expense.

A lot of people in Australia and New Zealand just fly with them as their hand luggage in a tutu bag. It seems to be allowed by airlines.

Congratulations and all the best for your future!

I think you have made the right choice also

I am not 100% sure but I think they start every day with ballet class at NSCD though not pointework. I'm afraid my DD's pointework fell by the wayside. I would guess that Rambert is the only contemporary (ish) school where you would still do pointework. At the end of the day only you can decide which one is right for you.

This is very disappointing. I loved Kunstkamer and was going to get my contemporary DD tickets to see it, but not sure she will want to trek to London for Jewels.

Congratulations! I found this forum when my DD was making a similar decision - NSCD or Laban. She chose NSCD and has never regretted it. She also tried out for LCDS, made the finals but not the final selection - that would have been her first choice so I would recommend going with your gut and choosing LCDS. It is a smaller cohort I believe than Laban. Both have beautiful facilities though.

When my dd started at NSCD there were students of different ages including a 26 year old. You could also try the various MAs on offer from some institutions such as NSCD or London Contemporary (presumably also Trinity Laban?).

22 hours ago, Viv said:

 

I have to wonder how Australia Ballet School are feeling about the fact that their chosen one didn't make it into the finals this year. He was obviously a lovely dancer who was a credit to himself and his training, and their candidate did very well last year, but I have to wonder whether they will send someone in 2024. 

 

For everyone wondering if RBS and like schools not sending a student is because they are worried that they won't hit the mark, take note...

It's not the first time their chosen one didn't get through to the finals - another student from a few years ago is now dancing in TAB and did not get to the finals, she was a lovely dancer too. 

How Far I’ll go from Moana

Yes I've noticed it in the last couple of years. Our local eisteddfod introduced it as part of their senior championship  (it used to be a requirement to dance a classical and either Demi, contemporary or Character). How many hours does your dancer do? I've been very surprised to hear that these kinds of hours aren't universal!

My daughter routinely did 4-6 hours of dance five nights a week, plus another couple of hours on a Saturday morning, from the age of 13-16. (ballet syllabus and troupe, pointe, modern, jazz, tap, pilates, private lessons, contemporary, pilates, stretch etc)This was on top of dancing that she did at school, at a performing arts high school. (I'm honestly not sure how many hours of dance they had at school, I'm guessing about 6 per week). She and the other girls her age would catch the bus from school to the studio and I would pick her up at 9pm. They would all eat their dinners together between classes. When she went full time most of the evening classes were dropped and their day mostly went from 8.30 am - 4pm. Learning solos/variations would happen in the private lessons. As they get older kids going to Prix or YAGP international competitions stop learning eisteddfod solos and start learning variations. (Interestingly, some eisteddfods have introduced variation sections or integrated variations into their scholarship sections.)

9 minutes ago, Sophoife said:

 

The Australian Ballet website has a "cast list" which, for Romeo and Juliet, named Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio, Benvolio, Paris, Lord and Lady C, the Nurse, the Friar/Prince, and we were left to work out the minor roles for ourselves.

 

For Kunstkamer it named I think three dancers. It's no longer accessible so I'm unable to check.

They do sell programmes but they don't list the cast in it. Before covid we would get a printed cast sheet for the night, however now it is accessed via a QR code and all casting is on the website. I don't think they ever list the corp though. 

I can vouch for this performance, saw it earlier this year at the Sydney Opera House and it was absolutely brilliant! I've been a subscriber since 2009 and I think was one of the best things they've done. If you can go, you should!

4 hours ago, DD Driver said:

 

I would add that the large number of Eisteddfods or Comps in Australia came out of the Eisteddfod tradition of being a showcase for artistic talents such as singing, dance, instrumental, speech & drama, poetry etc  Yes, winners are announced but everyone quickly realises that someone gaining a 1st place in one event has no guarantee of winning a place in another.  There is a level of consistency due to technical merit but the judging is very much the adjudicator's subjective appreciation.

 

I'm not excited by the idea of ballet in the Olympics either.  However, the amount of training support and funding for sport in Australia is significant.  You can't help but wish for a piece of that.

Yes and in recent years the proliferation of American style comps (a la Dance Moms). I always hated it when people referred to it as a sport, but you're right, if only the arts got anything like the funding sport does!

On 24/12/2022 at 11:03, Peanut68 said:

Just a random thought.....if competition is a way to judge ballet why not consider having it as a sport within the Olympics just as Ice Dance is? Most of the 'traditional' variations seem to have a standard list of 'tricks' within them....a triple tour en l'air could be likened to an ice skating 'triple selko toe loop' (apologies - am writing phonetically & from very limited knowledge gleaned only as a TV spectator from Torvill & Dean days I confess!!) or multiple pirouettes to an Axel spin....etc etc.....They can be judged on program (variation) difficulty, execution & artistry - much as I am sure the current comps are judged. I do think this would be a natural extension from things like YAGP & could perhaps help attract sponsor funding so it's not just merely contestants who have funds from the bank of (rich) mum & dad who can take part.

Of course, this doesn't really reflect the actual jobs available as either a ballet or an ice dancer whereby the artists need to be team players to be able to dance roles within a company & often to act as part of a whole to tell a story.

And I do wonder how competition coached dancers used to performing principal dancer variations ever happily slot into a corps position.....

I suppose is it similar in the world of music whereby young competition musicians & singers performing solos at highbrow international competitions? Do they then have to slide into subsidiary roles within Orchestras/Opera companies etc once entering the world of employment?

Or is being a competition winner a 'fastrack' route to immediate soloist status & stardom in the fields of dance/music & other arts? A way to queue jump to the top if you have the talent & - pertinently - the opportunity? 

The jury is very much out with me as to the ethos of ballet competitions. I instinctively find it a bit distasteful but I cannot deny it has many benefits....

These are just my personal musings from no point of direct knowledge.

 

There is on ongoing debate in some circles in Australia about whether dance is an art or a sport. Most dance schools have different troupes who compete against other schools at eisteddfods/dance competitions. The usual experience for many young dancers here is to be part of one or more troupes and a lot of their parents see it the same as if they were on a football or netball team.

Many dancers will also have a private lesson where they will learn choreography for dances to be performed as solos at the same eisteddfods/dance competitions. Eventually some of them (if they continue) will go on to learn variations for the bigger competitions such as PdL, Alana Haines, YAGP etc. I would say it is unusual for a dancer to go on to a career without participating in these competitions here. There are actually certain sections and scholarships of City of Sydney Eisteddfod where the ABS offers places to conpetitors of their choice.

I don't like the competitive element but it certainly does give dancers the opportunity to perform.

18 hours ago, DD Driver said:

Kanangra, by 'vocational' are you referring to full time students at private ballet studios?

I know students at Australian Ballet School or Queensland Ballet Academy can't do comps unless they are the chosen 1 allowed to go to PdL.  Even then they commit to not accepting offers from other schools/companies.

Yes - full time ballet students at places like National College of Dance, Tanya Pearson, Premier Elite etc etc. I know ABS and Qld Ballet rarely send students and I'm not sure why they do - both of the students I know of who were sent to PDL by ABS ended up back at the school and one is now in the Company.

editing after reading other posts above: Yes I agree they probably send their best dancer to show off the training at the ABS. 

This year some graduates (I think about 6?) have been selected to perform in TAB's "Storytime Ballet" which I am assuming is some kind of pre-entry for the company.

How disappointing! It doesn't sound good does it.

11 hours ago, taxi4ballet said:

In any case, if it is mostly students living in the UK who are auditioning in person, do they not deserve equal treatment and get the chance to be seen? Most British dancers do not get the opportunity to compete at YAGP or PdL, as even the full-time vocational schools rarely if ever enter them. And how are non-vocational students ever going to be able to find people to coach them to that level? The training set-up in many overseas countries is different from here, and it really seems to me that British-based students are getting the thin end of the wedge.

 

I have no axe to grind about the present situation by the way, my dd is long out of the vocational training game.

 

 

I agree that all students auditioning deserve to be seen.

I don't understand why British training means that dancers don't get these opportunities - why are the vocational schools not submitting students? (Most non-British dancers would consider British vocational schools to be among the most desirable destinations already so perhaps that is a reason?) In Australia it is only the vocational students who are entered in such competitions, other than some very young dancers in the junior categories who will probably end up vocational anyway.

3 hours ago, Birdy said:

I found it quite surprising that Christopher Powney doesn’t usually attend auditions, especially when kids are flying in from other countries to attend.

Do they, though? apart from competitions such as the PdL and YAGP most kids from Australia, for example, audition via remote Zoom links. I know some kids have been awarded places in the summer school this way too, and presume they get seen while attending that. 

Is this the shop? https://www.dancepointe.co.uk because there is a phone number down the bottom of the page.