Aurora

Thanks

Are there still plenty of places drdance? I'm hoping dd can come but can't confirm until we've booked our family holiday which we haven't been able to do yet!

I was just talking to someone about this the other day. We feel it gives our children the chance to go back to basics and work at quite a slow rate concentrating on every little detail. Something which isn't possible at their usual school simply because most of the children aren't serious about dance and would become bored far too quickly. Associate classes also allow the children to work with others at a similar level to them. In a lot of cases a child will be the best in their class at their normal school, working with others at the same level helps drive them forward.

Yes I do an adult class most weeks

Just done body balance and really enjoyed it, will be going again next week!

Just discovered there is a body balance class on at the gym at the same time as my dd's swimming lesson tonight so I guess I'll give it a shot!

Hmmm might give body balance a try but not completely convinced its my kind of thing. Got Zumba today though

The new grades 4 and 5 are being released in January 2014 and examined from January 2015.

What's body balance like? I'm thinking of trying it but not a yoga person and not hugely keen on Pilates either, is it much different?

Dd's school are using the CD for the new grades.

The new work is a lot harder than the old syllabus, about a grade level higher I would say. Did your dd spend longer than she normally would have working towards it or was it done in the usual timeframe? Dd's school are spending at least an extra 6 months on it so the children are taking the exam later than they normally would. If your dd has done it in the usual time that might account for a difference in the marks but perhaps the teacher will acknowledge it and take a little longer on the next grade to balance it out a bit. Also it's new to the examiners too, once they've done a few sessions they will be more used to seeing the level the children are achieving and may adjust their marking a little, or the RAD might feel that the marks are lower than they had expected and adjust to guidelines to examiners. I know when the marking system changed a few years ago suddenly most students were getting much higher marks than usual but the RAD quickly responded to that and they went back to a more normal level.

Amazing that you can pay anything from £50 to £650 for a week long summer school! (Non-residential)

IDTA exams have ucas points from January 2013 so the website probably just isn't up to date!

Goodness, what a good memory you have!!

Oh right, well not for the last 20 years then I think they were optional for a while too.

Soft pointe shoes have never been required in intermediate foundation exams, it's always been intermediate and above where they were compulsory.

Of course if the lessons were 1.5 hours long they would be more expensive! Most recreational (not preparing for a career in ballet) classes in the UK are not that length for children or adults. Yes of course it would be better if they were but a lot of dance teachers struggle to squeeze everything into the timetable as it is, many don't manage to fit in an adult class and those that do struggle to make a profit from it because adults usually don't commit to the class the same way as children - just look at Michelle's 'back to ballet' thread, she is travelling great distances to attend decent classes and often there are only 4 or 5 others in the class! Dd's dance school has run adult classes a few times only to end up having to cancel them, yet the children's classes are popular enough.

Ah but it's not residential, sorry. Ballet west has a residential ballet course and they take children from about 9 years old.

Midas is ballet based I think with jazz and contemporary too. They take 9 year olds.

Yes you can get them but haven't found a local shop that sells them so it does have to be mail order and my dd has got very difficult (wide) feet so it's always best to try on if we can or I end up sending loads back! Satin ones probably last dd 6-9 months wearing them for 4 classes a week but then maybe she's not using her feet properly lol!

Ah I'm afraid I don't like leather, the feet get more sweaty (or mine used to anyway lol) and if they get a scuff they look awful, you can't wash it off. Plus the colour often isn't great. I much prefer canvas, shame they're quite hard to get hold of with a full sole. Satin is required at dd's school though from about grade 3 and above they can wear canvas occasionally if they want to. Dd had satin and canvas until she lost her canvas pair 2 weeks ago grrrrrr!!

Oh well that should keep you going then lol!

You should get yourself a floor barre DVD to do when you're injured or not able to get to class

It hardly makes us a UNITED Kingdom does it?!!

At dd's school we are paying a £40 production fee which is mostly towards costumes (£30 if child is only in 1 act). Some children will only get 2 costumes but others have maybe 5 or 6. They recycle about half of their costumes and buy the rest in new. £40 is affordable and I think it's good value as they perform in a professional theatre too. I happen to know the ones they buy new cost on average £30 each for a child's size so buying all the costumes would be far too expensive if in more than 1 or 2 dances! The show is optional too so I guess anyone who can't afford it just doesn't take part. We don't have to buy any extra tights or shoes or anything, if something other than the regular uniform is needed it's covered by the school. I believe in America most people have to buy their own costumes from the dance studio (who make a profit on them) and it can run into a few hundred pounds each time!