Kanangra

A lot of contemporary dancers here make up their own pieces or improvise. If she is supposed to perform a specific piece, why not look at work by Pina Bausch, Alexander Ekman, Frederick Forsyth...?

Re the "chuckers' it's actually spelt "chookas" and indeed comes from the days when success meant a chicken dinner.

I hope so but they think it might have actually begun in November - they tried to keep it quiet initially. Since all countries are introducing isolation measures lets hope so. And of course they are close to finding a vaccination and have found some drugs they can use to treat it.

Maybe they will use the same procedures they do for international students, who have to send in a video and photos.

That includes higher ed institutions too? I wasn't sure...

Hi - my DD is at NSCD and they are telling me that they are doing limited classes the next two weeks and using the time and the holidays to work out how to implement online learning if necessary - they hope & expect to open on 20 April for next term as usual. But, that was before the big announcement re UK schools closing till September ! We wanted her to stay put and lie low in Leeds (she has dual citizenship) but she wants to come home to Australia. Just wondering if any of you have any info on what the other vocational schools are doing? is it your expectation that they will all go online for third term? I would prefer she was there when things start up again rather than having to travel back but I also understand she is 18 and wants to be with her family.

Hi KathLong - I'm also from Australia. My daughter has taken the contemporary path but she has a Cert IV and also Diploma in Elite Dance Performance. She was accepted into both Northern Contemporary and Trinity Laban based on that qualification (as well as her audition) and is now studying at NSCD. In Europe, we know students who were admitted to Palucca and Mannheim in Germany with Cert IV as their main qualification, and another student at Princess Grace who has no qualifications other than completed year 10. Not sure where you are based or what school you are at, feel free to inbox me if you'd like

My daughter has terrible bunions - she had a lot of difficulty as her feet are otherwise very narrow. She tried a few different shoes and now wears Gaynor Mindens in a combo which has a wide box to accommodate her bunion and a narrow width heel. Anyway she loves her Gaynors and has danced pain-free in them for a few years now.

Google Lisa Howell - she is a dance physio who has developed lots of programs and one of them is called Will I Ever Dance Again? I think she has a website called The Ballet Blog.

Hi Viv, where in Australia are you? I'm in Australia too (just south of Sydney) we are very fortunate to have an excellent dance shop with good fitters and a range of shoes available here. I also know of 2 or 3 good fitters in Sydney who are not only Bloch.

Hi First I want to thank everyone who has previously helped me with my questions about ballet in Leeds. My daughter's dance teacher is going to be entering her in the Manchester session. She is a bit nervous about it as she has never entered a student in an overseas session before! I am assuming that it is a similar process but there is a question she has asked me that I don't know - I'm hoping that (assuming it is still a question asked in UK RAD exam entrance) someone can give me a rough idea of the answer! distance in kilometres to exam centre.. in kms and in hours please What do I put? daughter will be travelling public transport so...1 1/2 hours from Leeds to Manchester??? I am not sure where exactly the venue is to put the number of kilometres.

Yes they are usually in January, with the exception of the Boys Su mer School. Dates I know of are: International Summer School - 7-17 January - Faculty includes Cynthia Harvey from ABT, Vicki Attard from Houston Australian Ballet School - 2-7, 8-12 January (one week). Boys' Summer School 27/12-1 1/20 (they have a prime location for NYE fireworks) faculty includes Aus Ball principals Adam Bull & Chengwu Guo, Danilo Radojevic, Josef Brown, and others IBW - Various - Sydney 4-6 & 8-10/1, Auckland (NZ) 10-15/1, Brisbane 17-19/1, Melbourne 23-25/1, Perth 28-30/1. Teachers are Katherina Markowskaja and Maxim Chashchegorov. Queensland Ballet - 13-18 January. Li Cunxin and others. All of these are already taking registrations.

Hi just adding some info on Australian summer schools as I see some were asking about them, and they are starting to advertise for next summer down here. In Sydney there is the International Summer School run at McDonald College which attracts students from all over Australia and NZ - it is non-selective but participants are put in levels according to age and ballet grade. Excellent International faculty. Queensland Ballet have a selective summer school also which is highly sought after. Li Cunxin (Mao's Last Dancer) is the director there. Either of these would be my pick. Boys' Summer School held in Sydney just after Christmas (venue is an exclusive boys's school right on the harbour, with an amazing stage) again brilliant faculty and apparently is a wonderful experience for boys. As mentioned Australian Ballet School in Melbourne is popular but non-selective, opportunity to audition for the ITP program while there. IBW travels nationally and usually has good teachers. Tanya Pearson in Sydney has the acclaimed ballerina Lucinda Dunn at the helm, and wonderful teaching staff including Marie Walton Mahon (ball conditioning guru). Bolshoi Ballet summer school has recently been offered here the last couple of years - I am assuming in other cities other than Sydney. National College of Dance in Newcastle usually has a good summer school. Most schools offer a summer school of some kind.

What is the travel time like? (Using public transport. )

Thanks, that's very kind. She will enter as the student of her current teacher, it is just looking for somewhere she can practice and prepare.

Thanks everyone. I haven't asked NSCD yet as I feel they might turn around and say they can't make recommendations, but it might be worth asking. Northern have said they don't have a class she can do. Another school (40 minutes away) could assist but with only with private lessons (not ruling this out at the moment). And a few other schools I have sent messages to haven't replied yet (I think on holidays). Thanks I will look into Centrepoint too. Would you recommend she do her exam in London or Manchester? I think there are exams on at a similar time (Nov-Dec). I think classes are still on at NSCD during this period - I suppose either venue is going to be a disruption for that day's classes.

Thanks - she is hoping to transfer to do her exam there either in London or Manchester at that session.It is just finding a school where she can join their classes to maintain preparation that is difficult! Though she feels confident she can prepare just with studio hire if she has to.

Thanks but we don’t arrive till September. She’s hoping to do them in December if there is an exam session then.

Interesting reading. My daughter's school offers both grade and vocational classes. All the students go from grade 5 to Intermediate Foundation and then Intermediate. After that the more recreational kids are streamed into grades, and the others do vocational grades. They do 2 syllabus classes a week (with option to do classes above and/or below their actual level, according to need and how it fits into the timetable) and 1 pointe class a week. I believe this is the RAD minimum for each level. There are further options for those who are seriously looking to pursue dance training or who have been identified as having potential to do so. This is not counting classes in other styles, which are also available.

Via their website I have found a few schools on the map but I don't know what they are like. As we all know not all dance schools are equal! In Australia they usually run the exams at RAD HQ and they also go to studios at certain times of the year - I'm guessing it is similar there and she would do the exam whenever the examiners go to Leeds.

(I realise that these may need to be inboxed!) Any help greatly appreciated.

I think you can order online from https://www.ids.co.uk The MDM site has a fitting guide.

MDM jazz shoes are fantastic if you have a stockist near you. You can see more on https://www.mdmdance.com/product/protract.php and there is also this https://www.dancedirect.com/mdmmj320-mdm-protract-jazz-shoe (ignore first pic that shows which seems to be a ballet shoe)

The MRI should show you what is going on. My DD had a mystery foot injury. We saw a number of different professionals and she had a CAT scan which ruled out tendon or ligament issues. Eventually an MRI revealed bruising to her talus bone. I hope you are able to get your injury diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.

HI, my daughter is relocating from Australia to Leeds to take up a place at NSCD. She was supposed to be taking her RAD Advanced 2 exam before she leaves but her studio has just received their exam dates and it is too late for her. We are investigating the possibility of transferring her exam to the UK and wondering if anyone can recommend a good ballet school in Leeds who could facilitate this? Doing the exam earlier here is not an option, unfortunately. Thanks in advance!