Peony

I read that the metropolitan opera house have banned all unvaccinated people. If you can’t have a vaccine it’s tough, including all children under 12 who have no option of a vaccine. At least the Sarasota ballet seem to be a bit more reasonable!

The date given for stopping supplies of LFTs was the end of September, haven’t hear anything about it recently. Still time for several U turns!

unbelievable given the amount of money already invested in it!

I had to take the test on site so perhaps it varies. Government free ones were due to be phased out at the end of September though. The problem with the private ones is mainly the enormous mark up

For entry to venues/ travel you’re not meant to use the government tests, I think you have to obtain a private test and they have different methods of reporting and verifying. Have heard of sending a picture/ doing them at the venue so the actual method may vary. the government ones are just for surveillance and they were phasing them out for the general public although I’m not sure whether that will happen or not now

My goodness what a beautiful house and garden you have Michelle!

No jumping off any walls whilst you’re working on your renovations Michelle!

Just my experience for what it’s worth! Young students are usually allowed en pointe even without the required range of movement. They don’t tend to make it very far as it’s pretty impossible to do much without it. They’ve been doing ballet for years and have worked on strength and technique but the restriction just isn’t going to get better. What’s different with adults is that sometimes they’re allowed to go en pointe having studied ballet for a reasonably short time (hence the worry about pointe in a beginners class). The strength and technique isn’t there and they literally look like they’re going to snap an ankle. Which as an adult is quite serious as it impedes your ability to drive/ work etc! some restrictions can be worked on however pretty much everything I’ve read says that some such as fixed flat arches can’t.

Of the teachers listed for adult ballet, one doesn’t appear to have teaching qualifications. The other is the principal. Didn’t manage to find him on the ISTD website, the dance school is listed on the IDTA site but they don’t seem to have a search for accredited teachers. They list 3 levels of adult classes, all have pointe work, even beginners which I’d be a bit worried about. Having said that at least they do have a video of their actual classes which is good as so many use stock photos. If you’re an experienced dancer I can’t see any harm in trying a lesson and seeing what you think?

She looks in the correct position to me too. Sometimes it’s just a question of slightly different foot anatomy. With different arch and instep height the metatarsals meet at a slightly different angle. there are definitely world class dancers who appear to wear shoes that allow a bit of knuckling but I personally think Romany Padjak has very good, clean technique.

Is it possible to do 3 a levels and ballet to a level which will get you a professional career? Or does something inevitably suffer? Even more so if it’s not a boarding type situation with everything provided. If you’re not peak fitness then injury is more likely and if you don’t have time to study enough then grades suffer. Perhaps it’s possible for some but I think many would struggle along with living more independently. Maybe that’s why Elmhurst and RB only offer 1 or 2, if she could get 2 with good grades at least it’s very possible to take a 3rd whilst working. it is of course very sensible to get academic qualifications as well but I’m personally guilty of taking on more than I can handle at times and I think 3 a levels and a professional ballet course would have broken me!

You don’t generally get paid on placement whilst doing higher education courses either e.g. nursing/ medicine. What you should get is a mentor/ support/ feedback at a higher level than if you were a member of regular staff.

I don’t think Michelle is jumping on to pointe? Just doing a small jump in the pointe shoes. Might have misunderstood... Jumping onto pointe with knees straight is a no no I agree!

Might help for people to think of how a kangaroo jumps- no knees just using the ankle joint as a lever. But adding to the power by going through the foot on the way up and down. I haven’t seen it as a pointe prep exercise but it takes a lot of strength and flexibility so can see why it may be useful. I’d be a bit worried about slipping on a pointe shoe sole though, and a bit worried about misjudging and coming down onto full pointe with a straight knee. As a novice I’ve never felt in full control of my feet in pointe shoes though!

There’s upward momentum from going through the (strong muscles!) of the feet at speed (especially repeatedly). Maybe not ‘jump’ so much as leave the floor a fraction, slightly ungainly hop is a better description for my effort but it is certainly possible without pointe shoes on and reasonably flexible and strong feet

Michelle will have to come back and clarify for us! This just imagine it as a high speed rise on to pointe where with the momentum you leave the ground. made me think it’s a small jump through the feet with no plié to start, rather than a quick rise up to pointe. I think it’s possible to come down on a straight leg going through the foot as you literally leave the floor by a hairs width! Could be wrong there may be a little give

Doesn’t Michelle mean a jump without the plié, so just going through the feet. So not a pointe thing in particular but will strengthen the feet

Things aren’t nearly as Rosy for the rest of the UK workforce as you imagine. You can disagree with other people but you really do need to come up with some tangible evidence to back up your opinion

An enormous amount of occupations are on the ‘shortage’ list though. The NHS is the biggest employer in Europe and doesn’t have to comply. It’s all about the best deal for employers not employees which I’m not saying I support. If you want to challenge it you will need some evidence though, which is where a strong union can help you. To become a sponsor the employer must have submitted evidence to show a shortage. Is that publically available? Perhaps the ones receiving public funding would have to divulge that information?

I don’t really understand that, if you want to change something the way to convince people is with hard evidence. That goes for pretty much everything and all occupations, action through unions etc. I feel sure that any employer wanting to be a sponsor has to provide evidence of shortages. You’re challenging that, you need evidence. I don’t quite understand what protections you think apply to other professions? Do you mean professions as that term traditionally only applies to occupations that meet certain criteria including meeting the requirements of a professional body and are restricted titles- so yes that does provide more protection

The reference I found was £23800 in 2016 so I think those joining companies with equity contracts would be eligible without the shortage occupation scheme. If you want to take this further I really do think that there needs to be figures and evidence attached to it for you to be heard. Crucially you will need to show that the reason companies are recruiting from abroad is for a reason other than that those dancers are more skilled and suitable and that UK dancers aren’t choosing to work abroad through preference.

Corps dancers at the Arts council funded companies (BRB, RB, Northern, Rambert, Scottish Ballet) will be on a high enough salary that they can come in to the country regardless and not all of the smaller companies are listed as sponsors for the shortage occupation scheme. How many dancers come into the country on this scheme? How many UK citizens graduate at an appropriate standard (which I think ultimately is where the debate will lie!), how many of those prefer to stay in the country even if dancing with a minor company? How many vacancies are there each year?

Sorry 48 hours not 45. Averaged over 17 weeks. It’s not much protection really 6 days of 8 hours excluding breaks and travel, arriving early for performances or waiting around the theatre etc, and any holiday will be averaged In the 17 weeks. Not sure what the answer is, a job market which has way more potential employees than jobs and a very high proportion of young inexperienced employees is ripe for exploitation. To be fair I don’t think some companies are raking it in at the expense of their employees, I’ve been to a lot of performances with half full houses. Of course they should still be obeying employment law though

Are they working for more than 45 hours per week for the majority of weeks (excluding breaks, waiting around time etc)? If so I think they can take their employer to court over working time directive.

The shortage list includes all nhs including managers, scientists, care sector, various types of engineers, IT, graphic design, actuaries and many more. It’s not a short list! There will certainly be many jobs on there that aren’t actually particularly difficult to recruit to. I’m not sure that it’s as simple as they can just come over here and work with no restrictions though.