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Glissé

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  1. Exactly this. Unfortunately throughout my dd’s full 8 yrs of vocational and non vocational training we can’t think of one teacher that has truly been nurturing and supportive. What makes this tricky is many teachers can be subtle with the bullying. Eg ignoring the student in class everyday, favouritism to the point they’re not learning anything or receiving corrections, subtle name calling. Whereas other teachers may be a lot more obvious eg shouting etc. What was interesting in dd’s training is that she learnt that the kindest teachers were male. DD’s technique improved massively when she was coached by a male teacher. This is just our experience of course. It’s also interesting how male dancers often progress quicker than females or don’t appear to be as psychologically affected by the training. Part of this may be because of the amount of males that do ballet training compared to females are they treated better because they want to encourage them to keep dancing whereas teachers know that the girls can just be replaced immediately so they’re treated different? I do think intense private training is the way forward now. This is how the international dancers are so technically accomplished. They most likely have an encouraging supportive coach, are privately trained and are healthy and happy in their dancing. My advice would be if you’re not going down the private coaching route monitor how your dc is feeling after each class. I think it’s quite obvious when something is wrong are they happy after class or upset/ down keep the conversation open and if something doesn’t feel right as hard as it may be, speak up or remove your dc from the environment. Nothing is worth their mental health.
  2. Sorry for your dd’s experience sounds very similar to my dd. My dd attended both vocational and non vocational schools and I completely understand what you are saying. The bullying at non vocational was almost worse/ on pile with the bullying at vocational school. I think the schools that always emphasise the family atmosphere are in fact the complete opposite! Some awful comments were made there was body image issues and favouritism to the point dd would be ignored every lesson this was at both vocational and non vocational schools leading to severe self esteem issues etc. I always say that the system of training has failed my dd because that is the truth for many dancers. Yes we still have the what if thoughts like what if dd focused on academics and had more of a social life when she was young. It’s hard now that she’s come away from dance and her close circle of friends are dancers. But she is doing amazingly well in her new job. Her employer is always amazed at how fast she learns and picks up new tasks and we firmly believe this comes from her ballet training so all is not wasted! Be kind to yourself and know that your dd has made the right decision and she’ll find that the skills she has learnt will stay with her for the rest of her life.
  3. I agree, there is an element of distrust in their own system of training when it comes to training British students to a high enough standard for companies. When British students are assessed out in yr 9 they are immediately replaced by ‘international stars’ with a very large social media following as well as outstanding technique for their age. Often these students are moved up a year or two because they are such a high standard. For example a 14 yr old international student may join yr 11. Imagine how that would make the British 16 yr olds feel who have been through the schools system of training for 5 yrs! Indeed they are just polished up and they make a great advertisement for the school when in fact they trained intensively elsewhere in their childhood. They also enter the major competitions eg YAGP and Prix something the British students aren’t even allowed to do. But the artistic directors are allowed to attend to scout talent... As for support for the assessed out students there isn’t any. It’s known that as soon as they leave they’re replaced immediately. Indeed they do deserve as much support if not more than the attention that goes towards finding new talent. But the harsh reality is that they do not care.
  4. My dd is very keen to write to Mandy Burrows she’s finding it very difficult to think and write about the trauma she’s faced as it brings up so many memories she simply has spent so long trying to recover from. I’m thinking of writing it on her behalf because it’s so important that the LADO receive as many accounts as possible so that this investigation can take place. Thank you to all the other brave dc and parents who are speaking up about other vocational schools what we accept as normal in a ballet school would be classed as forbidden in an ordinary secondary school.
  5. Exactly right, my dd is naturally a big perfectionist which most people may think is good for ballet but went against her in vocational training leading to further issues down the line. She’s a lot happier now away from ballet I think it became like an unhealthy addiction and being in that environment wasn’t right for her but it may be right for someone else’s dc. So yes experiences can come down to the personality of the child but I think all the children in vocational training experience some kind of set back at some point in their journey and as a parent you need to know what is right and what is wrong and to never be afraid of removing them from the environment no matter how prestigious the school is and ‘how lucky they are to be there”. As a family we fell into that trap I don’t think we realised how unhappy dd was when she was boarding away from home. Dd was concealing her emotions on the phone because she felt like she couldn’t give up her place because she felt so lucky to be there and as a parent you know your dc has worked so hard to be offered a place at the school so there’s almost this guilt if it doesn’t go to plan. We only wished we took dd away sooner. So if your dc has been unhappy for an extended period of time at a school and it isn’t just homesickness like we thought it was remove them from the environment. There is always somewhere else better suited to your dc or they may find happiness away from ballet like my dd.
  6. I have to agree years 9/10 and 11 is where it all begins. There is a big leap in standard and expectations in technique. Girls are assessed out international students join and many realise that they don’t want to continue. This is also the age where my dd and others experienced body image issues. My dd suffered quite badly she was never taken off class but all she was told was that she was too thin and had to eat more. There was never any professional help. All I can say is I wish I had taken her out earlier instead of pretending everything was ok.
  7. This is exactly one of the reasons why my dd has stopped ballet after 7+ years of vocational training. We too had a very negative experience when dd was at lower school. She arrived in yr 7 so confident and with a real passion for ballet and by the end of her time there it was all stripped from her. She wanted to carry on into an upper school hoping a different environment would help her but unfortunately the scars from her previous training were still there. As Valentina said they can become skilled at suppressing their emotions which is what my dd did after lower school training which only led to severe mental health issues in her upper school training thankfully she is ok now. If I had a child in yr 6 now and with my current knowledge and experience of boarding schools I would be keeping her at home. It is also funny how the most confident, and successful dancers in my dd’s year at upper school did not go through lower school training and they still had a very deep passion for ballet and are still trying to continue in the profession. Whereas my dd who had been to a top lower school has had to end her career early. I truly believe you can still become a very successful dancer without lower school training look at the other countries many don’t have ballet boarding schools for 11 yr olds. I think many foreign successful dancers are privately coached with a very supportive teacher which makes all the difference not someone who bullies and name calls day in and day out for 5 yrs..
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  10. Even though they won’t be aspiring to join ENB or Royal they may still have similar company ambitions to those who are not offered the Aud Jebson apprenticeship. For example Northern Ballet, Scottish Ballet etc.
  11. I think it really depends which schools the British dancers graduate from. For example, those who have trained at RBS and ENBS usually are successful in securing contracts whether or not those contracts are for companies in this country is debatable. There is no excuse for British companies not to be taking on these dancers having been trained to an extremely high standard. However RBS do not take on many British females in the first place and I think ENBS is similar. You’ll find a larger amount of British dancers at the other upper schools eg Elmhurst, Central, Tring. As for these upper schools it’s rare for English dancers to secure contracts in this country which is evident from looking at the graduation destinations on their websites. The top companies in this country are more likely to go to RBS to scout talent with more internationals than British students. It then makes sense for them to take on an international dancer. Maybe the problem lies in the intake to the top upper schools and the rest of the schools need to be supporting and training their dancers to a higher standard.
  12. Simone Biles is a true inspiration to everyone particularly young athletes. It’s proof that nothing not even the olympics is worth sacrificing your mental health for. What I find really lovely from looking online is the support she is receiving from her coaches and teammates. As you said earlier Cotes du rhone ballet is a team event too and the dancers deserve to feel just as supported not alone. For example, it’s no good just referring dancers to the school’s psychologists without a proper support system in place in the studio and there shouldn’t be this stigma. Open conversations should be had with the dancers as its all too common for dancers to struggle with things like body image, anxiety self esteem etc. As you said the ballet world still has a long way to go however I feel that positive small changes are happening.
  13. Hi everyone, I have decided to sell my harlequin floor practice mat as I Brought it for training during lockdown. Unfortunately I am unable to deliver due to the weight of item so it would have to be collection only. If anyone is interested please pm me for more details 😊
  14. I think it’s a bit extreme to have closed the whole school due to one positive covid case however if they are following the rules from the PHE then i understand. In dd’s school there have been a couple of covid cases however only the people who have tested positive have been isolating and their close contacts so they have so far been able to continue to train. Keeping our fingers crossed for graduation. So sad for all of these young dancers.
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