rowan

Yes, I'm surprised too. After all, Alice does have a very curious storyline, and not one that I would have thought had a great deal of appeal - but I'm obviously wrong on that point. And I've often wondered why there aren't more ballets based around Shakespeare's plays; there's plenty of great stories there.

To be honest, it's sometimes through dreams, hobbies and interests that careers can be made, even if they're not the ones you originally planned on. I know lots of people who have turned what may be a niche interest into a job for themselves, usually unrelated to what, if any, degree they did. And lucky are the people who can make their love of something their work, because then they won't need to "work" again! You could argue that young people who go to university to study something like Classics or Philosophy are not being "realistic" and they might end up doing something unrelated to those subjects, but the study of them has still enriched their lives. People's lives are full of twists and turns and the path is not mapped out.

OK, mine is learning languages. I just get a huge amount of satisfaction out of it and I find languages fascinating. I have been known to sit on a beach on holiday studying a book on Polish grammar...

To be honest, I'm just grateful you can find out what's on. On the old website I seemed to be forever stuck in the waiting room when all I wanted was to find out what was on - perhaps I was doing something wrong! I have problems with trying to look at the seats at the outer edges of the seating plan too - I still find the page is zooming in and out and all over, no matter how much I'm clicking on the white space to drag the plan around.

This is a subject that has plagued me for some time and I don't know the answer. I personally regard my child's ballet training entirely as a hobby and I assume that her chances of being a professional ballet dancer are virtually zero, but then I am of an Eeyore-ish persuasion! Despite the amount of time I spend on this forum, I am actually not involved in my child's ballet training at all; I'm not required as a ballet taxi and "doing ballet" costs virtually nothing (scholarship, and we haven't done paid-for exams or things like EYB). This tends to add to my increasingly relaxed persuasion, which is definitely not that of my child's, that the ballet training is more "hobbyish" and "for fun" because it doesn't impact at all on finances, travel, time and effort on my part, or disrupting the lives of my other children; it is simply something that my child enjoys, works hard at and does after school; what may or may not happen in the future doesn't matter. This relieves a lot of the "pressure" of ballet training on the family. If it had more impact, I would have to weigh up the finances, effort and disruption to work out what was realistic for us as a family. I finance and escort my other children to their hobbies, which definitely won't lead to future careers, and I'm grateful that my dancing child has one that doesn't need that! One thing I regret, though, is giving up an auditioned-for, fully funded place at a music centre because of the desire to do ballet instead - not my choice at all. I felt that music could lead to more options than ballet...

"Joyous” would be my word too to describe my first “Fille” on Saturday evening. It was a complete delight from beginning to end. I afterwards thought that this would be a perfect first ballet for lots of people; the story, acting and mime were all so clear. I hadn’t managed to persuade any of my ballet-hating family to accompany me but when I later described it, the reaction was, “If I’d known it was going to be like that, I would have gone!” Thank you, Alison, for your comments on the different productions on the old forum - very interesting. However, for something that seems so rooted in British traditions I find it odd that the original French setting and title is still kept.

When DD first started ballet, children had to work in bare feet for quite some time (I've forgotten how long) before eventually graduating to full-sole flats. I always assumed this was so the teacher could see that they were using their feet properly, but I've since read that working in bare feet helps children learn to feel the floor and articulate their feet. Does anyone know what the real reason is?

I forgot to add that, as has been said previously, you can do A levels at a later date and go to university. A friend of mine was an opera singer for years, then did A levels - she already had some anyway, but not the relevant ones - and is now at university studying medicine.

I would have thought 3 A levels as well as doing a dance degree such as the one at Central along with a full timetable of dance would be a bit of a tall order for most people! My main concern would be if you couldn't finish the dance degree for whatever reason, then you would have used up some of your university funding for doing something else elsewhere. I'm not sure A levels per se are that important. Lots of people don't have them and go to university - those from abroad, or those that have done the international baccalaureate or access courses, for example. In my workplace the majority of people don't have A levels (lots of foreigners) but all have at least one degree, usually two. My work colleague went to Oxford, having failed all his O levels! As a sideline to this, I'd be interested to know what many ballet students actually end up doing, assuming that, unfortunately, they won't have careers as ballet dancers.

I've never heard of the Ballet Buddy programme. I also think many casual ballet goers would be surprised to learn that ENB and ENO are not a joint enterprise that share ownership of the Coliseum. I only realised this too very recently through reading this forum. I did a quick survey today of my work colleagues, many of whom are casual ballet goers, and everyone was surprised to learn that ENB are classed as a "visiting company".

I'm surprised at all this being banned from certain school sports. How do schools react to this? My DD is off the scale when it comes to the bleep fitness test, something she puts down to ballet training. She also was picked for the cross-country running team (good stamina!) She didn't want to do it, though, much to the school's disgust! She's hopeless at anything to do with a ball, though!

I'm surprised that ENB's marketing is under question. It seems to me that ENB are in the papers and on TV quite frequently because of all their community-based performances and activities that don't take place in theatres. I've got no idea about the financial arrangements behind these sorts of events, many of which are free to spectators, but they certainly raise the profile of the company.

I desperately want to see this too. It didn't occur to me that it wouldn't come here...

What a lovely, informative post, Nana Lily!

This website should be helpful: http://www.yorkshiredance.com/ It has sections for youth dance and it covers all of Yorkshire (usefully broken down into smaller hubs) and North Lincolnshire.

A lot of central London is surprisingly walkable. http://walkit.com/cities/london/ is great for explaining the route and how long a journey will take by foot. Apparently you can walk from Paddington to Covent Garden in 37 minutes - at a fast pace. (Though their idea of a fast pace is my idea of an outright sprint!)

I've tried (and failed - maybe someone can do it?) to make a link to the new award-winning documentary film about the YAGP student ballet competition; it looks fantastic. Try googling "First Position official trailer". http://www.balletdocumentary.com/official-trailer/

Well, well! Thank you. I've never heard of All England Dance. Is this the British equivalent to Youth America Grand Prix?

I'm finally putting my hand up to say I don't understand what the "festivals" are that are sometimes mentioned on this forum. To me, a festival is a big event lasting several days involving mainly professional companies. I've googled both "ballet festival" and "dance festival" and up come references to events like the International Dance Festival Birmingham, which is on now. Are people referring to this sort of thing, or are they more local events in which dance schools are doing performances?

Trying to remember what I thought I saw… I loved the dancing,, the pdds and especially the corps. But did I enjoy the production as much as I had hoped? No. I left the theatre strangely flat, almost certainly because the Characters, the shouting, the whole of Act 3 I found distracting. I was prepared for a bit of speaking, so all of that was a shock. I felt I was trying to work out what it all meant and I felt I was missing something. I’ve been reading more reviews since I saw it and it makes more sense to me on an intellectual level, but it didn’t make me like those parts of it any more. The audience seemed to go wild People around me were exclaiming over the brilliant technique and over how clever it was, and it was sold out – people were queueing for returns. But there were more than quite a few bemused people too. I was in the amphitheatre too, fourth row from the front, and I thought it was a good seat. The low level of lighting in the first act was fine for me. I liked the idea of the dancers emerging out of the darkness. For me, Acts 2 and 4 were the stand-out parts, and possibly Act 4 pipped Act 2 because there was more from the corps, and I thought they were fantastic. Would I see it again (not that I’m likely to)? Yes, I would. I’d get more out of it another time and wouldn't be thrown by all the… unexpected stuff! If people see this in Birmingham, Act 1 and Act 3 after the interval start well before the house lights go down, which also threw some people!

Because I do not have infinite funds, time, opportunities or desire to see everything, I do take note of the critics. However, what can happen is that when a production is praised, it sells out and I can’t get tickets, or it’s not praised and I then don’t want to see it. The result is, I don’t see anything at all. Eifman Ballet’s Anna Karenina was one I had pencilled it, but after the reviews, I decided not to see it. I am not very knowledgeable about ballet and I suspect I would have enjoyed it, despite the reviews. I also had pencilled in Royal Ballet of Flanders’ Artifact. I read “masterpiece” and “Bach” from Sadler’s Wells’ website. I’d seen bits of In the Middle Somewhat Elevated on video and liked that. Then I read Judith Mackrell in the Guardian. I focused on “obstreperous actors ranting through megaphones”. I then wasn’t so sure about seeing it, but was still quite keen. Then I read Ismene Brown’s Arts Desk interview with Forsythe. I read it again. Now I thought this ballet was not for me, it was for serious balletomanes who knew about the history, forms and structures of ballet and I would not “get” it. At that point I had more or less ruled it out. I then read Clifford Bishop’s Evening Standard review. I focused on “superb young company”, and Graham Watts’ LondonDance review: “akin to being pampered in the most luxurious spa imaginable: a wholly refreshing, invigorating yet relaxing massaging of body and mind.” I bought tickets on Saturday morning for the final show that evening. I’m now not sure the reviews I read adequately prepared me for what I was about to see.

Oops, I left it too late to use the edit button! I meant to say "basic skills" class. I believe traditional Chinese dance is a mixture of acrobatics and dance. This class is demonstrating the basic acrobatic skills that are needed.

I spotted this video a few weeks ago and I was distinctly awestruck. I've seen it referred to as the Professional Dance Academy, and it's the "basic" class...

But as this is a youth company, I would have thought members would have to be committed to turning up, and not drop out half way through if they decide the distance is unmanageable.

Things to consider - I'm sure you've thought of all this anyway! Is there any way your DD could do the journey, or part of it, on her own? This is my rule for anything dance-related. Do you have your own job, family, other children, life, to consider? Does your DD have to give up a ballet class at home? If not, a dance class at home might be of more value, if available. I think that a ballet class is of more benefit than rehearsals for a performance, no matter how prestigious the organisation. What's the cost, including the travelling? What might the "opportunities" be? I'm not sure if this is short-term thing or not - but that might have a bearing on the decision. Personally, I think 2.5 hours one way is too far, so it'd be a no from me! Forgot to add, are there any other youth dance groups closer to home? Good luck with the decision!