Peony

Did I miss whether there are limited numbers/booking? I wonder if it will open on the 21st? If it’s a long drive you don’t want to arrive to find it’s packed/ full!

Thanks that’s really helpful, they are quite expensive so have been in two minds about them for a while!

It does say in the instructions that you should rinse under running water as soon as you take them off. So as far as washing They would be pretty clean. If the sinks are communal I can’t imagine they’d want to do that though

Can you generally wear them for 6 to 8 hours like they say? They sound like a fantastic idea but at the back of my mind I’m wondering if they can actually deliver on the claims!

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-protection-system/gillick-competence-fraser-guidelines

6 hours ago, Kate_N said:

But if someone is buying something, especially something as expensive (in many ways, not just cash) & precious as a child's education, it really is a purchaser's duty to do due diligence ... 

my opinion is the opposite to this. Safeguarding is the responsibility of the state, even more so for vulnerable groups. Individuals simply don’t have the access to information from multiple sources and institutions which the State can have. The general public don’t have access to local council safeguarding reports, or concerns raised to the police or a right to examine evidence held within the schools. If you look at the CQC they inspect private as well as state provision for this very reason. For over 18’s who are adults and don’t have vulnerabilities it’s perhaps more debatable but for under 18’s it should absolutely be a government reaponsibility. I’m not sure how parents could be expected to know what is happening in a ballet class which they have no admission to

Was interested to know who David Ross is which led to a quick scan of the board of the ROH, not exactly a diverse bunch are they 🙄 It’s been mentioned that financial help will be dependent on increasing diversity and equality, let’s hope it is from the top down!

I think the story did probably get somewhat lost yesterday amongst ‘a’ levels etc. I’m really grateful to all the moderators and understand the stance, I think it’s wise to take discussions elsewhere. The fact that some schools have threatened legal action says something about them on its own. 
It must be incredibly difficult for parents with children who are away at school, teenagers are not the most communicative people so even if you’re aware of what good training should be how on Earth would you monitor the situation. I expect they shield parents from

the truth even more due to the worry that they’ll be taken away from the school

and thus their ballet training. It would certainly be my instinct to remove them from the situation. I can absolutely understand the anger, our children are so precious, but I wouldn’t be willing to take personal responsibility for others reviews either 

Yes, very valid point! Unfortunately I don’t trust our government to put enough time and thought into negotiations to prevent it from happening either. If theatres remain shut and exhaust their savings, depend on government loans etc I would guess prices will also have to rise if and when they re-open though.In the larger theatres it may be an option to close the cheaper seats as viral transmission depends on total numbers of people in the venue, as well as how close you sit to somebody etc. Thus preserving a higher income, but not increasing prices per se. I would agree with you that safeguards are needed long term to protect theatre from becoming even more elitist, short term I’m worried that if we don’t have some sort of opening there won’t be any theatres left- both because of finances and also due to the deskilling of the artists. All a very sad situation

I can only afford a couple of performances a year so I’m in the same boat. However, if it helps theatres survive I’d be fine with them catering to a richer clientele temporarily. If it would enable them to keep performing and pay the bills I’ve no problem with it personally, I’d be prepared to visit less and pay more as a short term measure. Better than staying closed indefinitely

Whilst capacity may be lower I would have thought that it would be possible to increase prices by a fair amount as demand is far outstripping supply at the moment! Maybe the smaller venues are more viable running at a lower capacity, 70% would be a fairly good day at my local venues! I really hope that ENB and BRB can find opportunities, their positive attitude does inspire me to try and support them if possible. 

I think the ones that ask you to register to obtain tickets do (which is quite a lot of them currently as a lot of places are pre-book only). If there are any that still allow walk-in free access presumably they wouldn’t have the data

So many places are shut until April 2021, I must admit I do wonder if things will have changed significantly by then (not just theatres but museums, historic houses etc). Is this what is happening in the rest of Europe too? 

Good for you Michelle, I admire your attitude that you’re willing to give it a go. I think many of us are struggling a bit with masks just around the shops so I’m not sure how viable they are for exercise, especially for those with minor medical conditions (who could cope in shops etc). The risk takes into account footfall so you might meet the same 10 people in your ballet class each week but if you go to the supermarket each week over time you’ll be in contact with 100s. Adults are more likely to have symptoms so they’re probably unlikely to go to an exercise class if under the weather, they may be more tempted to pop to the supermarket for paracetamol! So The transmission may be easier in a dance studio but the chances of you coming into contact with somebody who is infected are very much lower. I believe one of the main reasons for masks in shops is that a number of shop workers have now sadly died, because again they are in contact with huge amounts of people during their shifts. 
the other thing to consider is that being unfit/ overweight is an enormous risk for poorer outcomes with covid, so the government are now extremely keen to get everyone exercising as much as possible. It’s difficult to weigh up the risks but if you’re driving to class your chances of meeting somebody who is infected are very low at the moment especially if you know and trust your classmates to isolate when necessary 

I remember very early on they were saying that the strain in Italy was not the same as that in Wuhan, and that most of our cases were from Italy and Europe. If you look at the dates they are suggesting we only had a handful of confirmed cases prior to March and our peak was mid April when the more virulent strain was predominant, so it may not be alarming as it sounds! We’ve been postulating that increased viral load is linked to the adverse outcomes in groups such as health workers and bus drivers so it’s interesting that they did not observe poorer outcomes with the increased viral load 

3 hours ago, alison said:

I still can't see the point of that - it seems pretty random as to whether it would have any intended effect.

I was wondering what the evidence of effectiveness is too!

“The pointe shop” on YouTube is great for descriptions (US so the DP2007 is called allure). I’ve tried both, made on the same last so will fit similar shape feet but 2007 has a pre-formed shank so they feel quite different to me. I think the only way is to try them both on and see how they feel..

Must admit I’m not really keeping up with things these days but did I see that theatres can re-open soon (in England)? I was quite surprised although I appreciate it’s not that simple with social distancing etc

2 hours ago, Nico Kolokythas said:

@Peony yes it does but always look at the population they are referring! These are the titles of the studies of your links:

• Effects of a Pilates exercise program on muscle strength, postural control and body composition: results from a pilot study in a group of post-menopausal women
• Effects of Pilates exercise on trunk strength, endurance and flexibility in sedentary adult females
• Pilates versus resistance training on trunk strength and balance adaptations in older women: a randomized controlled trial
• Effects of Pilates exercise on trunk strength, endurance and flexibility in sedentary adult females

On sedentary and elderly population of course, but is this relevant to dancers and in particular young dancers?

 

Actually there is little if no evidence at all it works for youth

 

 

yes I did pick up that the studies were not in dancers and were in adults, some post menopausal but your statement referring to Pilates was general. They also didn’t appear to be of particularly high quality, With sample sizes of 25  etc they’re also unlikely to meet confidence intervals on their own, but there did appear to be a large number of studies showing the same thing. So it would suggest that Pilates does have an effect on strength. I didn’t find any studies in dancers or young people. Is there sufficient evidence either way? Why does it build strength in older adults and not younger ones? As I said, if the message is that it’s not the most effective way I can understand that but I honestly can’t see that it doesn’t build strength, it’s certainly not my personal experience

9 hours ago, SciDancer said:

Pilates, whilst it certainly has its benefits, has not been shown so far in research to increase muscular strength, so if you want higher jumps, more control in your developpes or rond de jambe, you need to include strength training.

 

But Pilates does increase muscle strength surely? I googled and came up with the random selection:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5005852/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1360859206001458

https://peerj.com/articles/7948/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228631034_Effects_of_Pilates_exercise_on_trunk_strength_endurance_and_flexibility_in_sedentary_adult_females

I’m  quite prepared to accept that there are better ways of increasing strength in dancers but I think there’s lots of evidence that Pilates does increase muscle strength? 

3 hours ago, Aurora3 said:

 

Of course it is not supportive! But if it is a Vocational school, they have to be clear about the chances a dancer has to get a job later...

it hasn’t hurt Misty Copeland and there are a number of dancers I’ve seen in UK ballet companies with larger legs too. 
have you checked out Lisa Howell? She could be gripping with quads or as Kate suggested could be because of hyper extension. I’m not an expert but have seen various sources describing these. There is loads of information out there from Lisa Howell and I think she may do online consultations too, or find a dance physio locally?

Accuracy of the antigen tests is quoted as 70% in the UK. Not necessarily the test that isn’t accurate but it’s also really difficult to pick up on a swab of the upper airways because covid is a lower respiratory infection primarily. If your viral load is low (asymptomatic or in the first couple of days of symptoms) it’s less accurate. So because covid is so infectious it’s possible someone will spread it to A large number of their fellow passengers and of course none of them will test positive on arrival. The chances are low if the origin has low infection levels but if they’re higher I personally find it very worrying! I love travelling and am very happy to welcome visitors but I can’t see a way that this policy would not be high risk. I’m not an expert by any means though

I wonder if that approach is ‘lead by the science’! I understood the tests are recommended to be done at day 3-5 of infection and are not totally reliable even then, surely they’ll only pick up a fraction of infections without any sort of quarantine

I think it’s a great thing for employers to offer more than furlough pay but at the point that you are requesting government funds I’m not sure it can be justified. 

It’s also younger children as the whole thing is aimed at summer childcare which has so far been forgotten!