Aurora

A girl at DDs ballet school recently got a very good mark in her intermediate foundation exam. She was 11.5 at the time of the exam and had been en pointe for 3 months, she would have started a bit sooner, when she turned 11, but summer holidays were approaching. Maybe she should have been able to start at 10 to give her a bit more confidence en pointe and perhaps gain an even better mark! I don't think starting a couple of months before her 11th birthday would really have made any difference!

I've talked about this to a Physio friend of mine in the past, she treats a lot of professional and pre-professional dancers and she offers pre-pointe screening as a service too. I asked whether they do X-rays etc and she said they don't because the results wouldn't really mean anything anyway. The assessment is about looking as posture, strength, foot flexibility, balance, years of training, number of classes and various other things too. She didn't state a minimum age per se but I understood that a strong 10 year wouldn't be ruled out purely because of her age. She did say they could do X-rays if someone really wanted to but she wasn't keen on the idea because at what point do you say the bones are sufficiently mature when you don't think it bears much (if any) relevance anyway!

Goodness there are some bizarre items on there! If you include the postage they're selling a tesco lip balm for £3.19 - they only cost about £1 in the shop! And a bottle of bubble bath for £7.69! Then there's a Barbie saddle bag for £12.99!! Thanks for the entertainment!!

Yes it was Newcastle!

A girl from dd's dance school danced en pointe with EYB last year. She was 10.5 when she started and had only been doing it about 3 months at the time of EYB. Miss Lewis knew how old she was as her mum specifically spoke to her about whether she'd be ok to do it, but she was very good. It's not the norm at our school though, generally it's not before 11 and usually more like 12-13. She was still only 10 when she took her intermediate foundation and she's now at ballet school on an MDS. Some girls will be safer at 10 than others will be at 15 so I don't think you can have a hard and fast rule. The stronger they are the more protected the bones will be. As long as you have a good teacher I think you have to trust their judgement - I wouldn't be letting my 9 year old do it tho lol!

It's still called a class award though they are assessed individually - don't really know why it's not called an exam as such! I've never known there be a pre-primary exam, it certainly hasn't existed in the last 20 years or so. The teacher may call it an exam though, it's pretty much the same in my opinion!

There's a pre- primary class award, equivalent to the presentation class. Not a formal 'exam' as such but close enough!

Ah ok

Unless it was an original DVD she's breaking the law! I'm guessing it was just a copy she'd made herself. Frustrating because our dance school adheres to copyright and we can't get copies of the music, DVD or syllabus unless we buy them from the RAD. I know the specification can be distributed but none of the other stuff can legally be copied.

The format will be much the same as her usual classes. The teacher will go in with them if its a class award but not if its an exam. They'll greet the examiner and dance their exercises as normal with either the teacher or examiner guiding them through it telling them what's next. There's more info on www.rad.org.uk/examinations (then choose 'graded exams' from the menu on the left then 'per-primary and primary in dance'). It sounds like she's doing RAD as you mentioned character in grade 1.

Why do you find your teachers turnout disappointing Michelle? If that's her natural turnout then so be it, you don't necessarily need to have the perfect ballet physique to be a good teacher, as long as you explain the concepts to your students. Or is it that she DOES have the turnout and just doesn't use it when demonstrating that movement?

Yes I agree anjuli's description of open 5th sound like third position to me! As for grand plies in 4th. Personally I'm not a fan of them, they put a lot of unnecessary strain on the hips. Nothing is really gained from them that can't be achieved in 5th and 2nd ( which cause far less stress). Of course some exam syllabi still require them so students have to do them - but they're young and their bodies can take it better than us adults at least!

Ah I don't really know much in or near London, sorry. RAD definitely has one at headquarters in london though. There's ballet west in Scotland too but that's quite a distance from you!

Sorry to hear that tutuesque the new system really does suck!!

Where abouts in the country are you? There's Midas in Birmingham or Yorkshire ballet assembly that I know of, both take students that age and level without auditions. RAD run summer schools too in a couple of areas.

Ballet west in Scotland is a bit less selective but still an excellent school - might be worth a look.

A friends daughter was an associate. It seems to be a very high standard and very competitive! Quite different to RAD in places I believe but not so much as to confuse the students and all working towards the same goal of creating excellent dancers obviously.

The new syllabi for advanced foundation to advanced 2 are being released September this year but not being examined until January 2015 so plenty of time

The ONLY people I implied were lazy were those that don't WANT to work. I stated that there were probably only a FEW of them. I am not implying that anyone who works but doesnt earn a high salary is lazy or that anyone who doesn't work through no fault of their own is lazy. The fact is that more people on high salaries (certainly in younger generations) will have a degree or some form of higher education than those that dont. That's not an opinion, it's a statement of fact. I am disgusted at the way people are speaking to me. This forum is meant to be a place where we share and discuss our views. I did not intend to cause any offence and really can't understand how I have when I was very careful NOT to generalise and only state what I believed to be true in the majority of cases. I do not begrudge people on lower incomes getting more support at all, i have never said that is unfair. My whole point was that those just beyond the cut-off point should get some support too because its clear they too can't afford the fees in most cases. When jellybeans left I actually sent her a message of support saying I know how it feels when everyone misinterprets what you say and jumps down your throat. Here it is happening again. I am always respectful of other people's views even if I don't agree with them so kindly stop calling me judgmental, narrow minded and offensive and find a way to respect my opinion as I do yours.

I have no idea what this comment is supposed to mean or if it is directed at me.

You see it as judgmental, I see it as fact! I was very careful not to generalise and state that it was that way for everyone. I'm pretty sure statistics would prove me right!

Absolutely! But those that do all that are more likely to end up with a better paid job than those that don't.

You seem to have overlooked the use of the words 'often' and 'maybe' in my statement as well as 'a FEW of the kids'. You'll see that I did say I agreed that those on lower income need more help and I don't begrudge them that at all.

Yes she definitely is lol!

I know somebody who's just gone there and I'm 99% sure she's 16!