Aurora

Maybe if RBS weren't quite so picky on physique they would find plenty of talented dancers!

Yes I'll inbox you

I know of one near Newcastle if anyone is still looking for anything

Not necessary at that age unless they want a few to help with confidence or prepare a solo dance for the audition. At 16 I think they can be a big help for a year or so before auditions start but not from the age of 11 certainly.

Doesn't it depend on the brand? I think Alice, Jane, Faith etc is the style i.e. tank/cami, ruched or not etc. but something like shelf bra lining depends on the brand.

The new grade 4, 5 and advanced vocational levels are all being examined from January 2015

My daughter did dance before she started gym so maybe she didn't suffer so much with the different posture and hand positions.

I think up to a certain age gymnastics is beneficial, as long as the child can adapt to the different postures. My daughter did gymnastics from the age of 4-8 and it helped her become a lot more flexible as so much time is spent on improving flexibility (my daughter was in a selected group that attended 3 times a week so did do a lot of stretching!). I really think the flexibility helped her get into elmhurst JAs as that seems to be a really important factor at auditions. She stopped gym about a year ago and despite continuing with dance 3 days a week her flexibility has reduced a little. She's desperate to go back to gym, I'm considering it as she did really enjoy it and she'll never be a pro ballet dancer anyway I don't think.

I agree with others, ignore her, it's none of her business!

Haha oops!!

At that price you don't need to stop lol!

Agree it's worth considering a sports massage from a Physio. Helps to get rid of tightness/toxins/ knots in muscles.

Dds school has 3 studios, 2 have sprung floors and the other is cushioned. There are only a couple of ballet classes on the cushioned one and they're for young children, it's mostly used for tap and modern. On the odd occasion they've had to swap rooms allegro is either avoided completely or kept to a minimum. If your dd is going to train at vocational school she'll certainly be on sprung floors so hopefully her knees will be ok. If she's got knee pain after class it's probably a good idea to ice and elevate to help reduce any swelling.

Maybe when the dancers you saw were cold stretching they weren't actually stretching their muscles to their full extent, you can gently stretch muscles without pain or injury. If they were very flexible maybe sitting in splits wasn't much of a stretch for them? Or perhaps they had warmed up beforehand, come straight from the gym or jogged there maybe. But the chances are they WERE stretching too far without being warm which is definitely not a good thing!

Normally the teacher would decide what shoes the students should wear. Technically marks can't be knocked off for it but if you get an examiner that doesn't approve of the new rule it might not help her frame of mind when she's marking!

My dd doesn't hugely enjoy her classes unfortunately. I'm not sure if she's going to continue in September, she's back and forth a bit about them! Don't forget they're mostly taught by different people too of course, I'm sure some teachers are more popular than others!

For entrance into a good ballet school at 16 most students are above intermediate (old elementary) level but if there is enough potential then a lower level would probably be considered. You don't say when your daughter took inter foundation, has she just passed it or is she nearly ready for her intermediate exam? Like I said, it's about levels rather than exams anyway, but they're a good guide.

Lol minor changes 2 weeks before the performance is good! Minor changes and finishing dances off right up to the day of the performance are not so good but they happen everywhere, including in professional companies.

If she's considering training full time at 16 most students auditioning for ballet schools will be at around advanced 1 standard (though there are obviously various factors at play). So if she's hoping to do that then I would say she is a bit behind, intermediate takes about 2 years and so does advanced 1 so you really need to have passed intermediate foundation by about 12. (Not that exams are actually required, I'm just talking about levels really). If she's interested more in musical theatre then a sound intermediate level should be fine, though again, lots more factors to consider eg somebody with an incredible voice could get in with hardly any dance experience! If she's nearly ready for the exam could she perhaps attend a higher level class too so that she's working on those steps? That way it might take less time to get through that exam. A lot of students at dd's school take their own level plus the next one up.

I've heard about Lisa Howell's programme before but didn't know how it worked at all. Just searched for a clip on YouTube and it looks amazing! I'll certainly be trying it out on my dd tomorrow. For anyone else wondering what it's about, this clip is good:

What about a summer school to help boost confidence and give her new skills? Has she ever done EYB? Performance skill is a big part of that. Regular trips to the theatre should help too, don't know of any book though, sorry!

The ballet companion by gaynor Minden is a lovely book

Sorry to hear that, you might get lucky tho! Are you doing the summer school?

Thanks C4D

Oh that's a shame maybe if you send it in late they would still consider waitlisting her, not sure. 5 children from dd's school have got in (including dd) and 1 is on the waiting list.