Pups_mum

Aww, bless him. 7 is so little to tackle something like that. Well done to him for having a go. I'm sure they will take age into consideration, and as the previous poster said, it's potential they are after, not a polished performer at this stage. So you never know. And if it's a no this time don't fret, he has many more years and lots of opportunities will come his way I'm sure.

There's no harm in trying. If she doesn't get in, you are still in the same position as if you hadn't tried, and you never know, she may be successful. The only caveat is that you need to be realistic and prepare her for the possibility that she may be disappointed. The Royal Ballet School Annual Report gives the actual number of applications each year, but as a general rule there's something like 10 applicants for every place. So the vast majority of children don't gain a place. I think it's really important to be up front about this with your daughter, stressing the small chance of getting a place and that not being chosen doesn't mean that she is a bad dancer. It is difficult. None of us wants to expose our children to something that might potentially hurt them I'm sure, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I have always had the attitude that the best thing to do is to treat auditions as an experience in their own right and encourage my DD to see them that way and to get what she can from that experience. Plus we usually have a nice lunch or do some shopping too! If nothing more comes of it, you've had a nice day, and anything more is a bonus.

Fantastic news Julie - a huge achievement. Best wishes to her for her future career.

I think that what you need to keep in mind is that they are looking for the children that they think are most likely to respond to the RBS style of training. Physique is a huge part of that, though it's more than just flexibility. Previous dance experience isn't hugely important as they go very much back to basics with everyone anyway. Nobody really knows precisely what they are looking for, and my advice would not be to dwell on it too much - you're never going to know for sure and even if you did there would almost certainly be factors that you have little or no control over anyway. The reality of the matter is that the chances of anyone "making it" as a professional ballet dancer in a classical company like the Royal Ballet are absolutely tiny, even for those who get into the full time schools. That's not to say don't try, but make sure that the focus is enjoying the journey rather than any particular end point. There are many other schemes, lots of different opportunities and experiences to be had along the way. Remember that around 90% of JA applicants don't get a place, and most of them will be amongst the stronger dancers in their local schools. It can be very disheartening for children, and parents, especially if this is the first time they have experienced rejection, but I found it helpful to remind my daughter of the numbers involved and to stress that it isn't a judgement on existing technique or effort being made. We got our first no from JAs over a decade ago and I still remember the upset. But my DD is still dancing and hoping to make a career within the dance world, even though she knows she will never be in a classical company.

Oh that's very kind of you meadowblythe. So far, things seem to be OK. The bullies have been spoken to by the head of year and my son's friend is currently being left alone. He and some other friends are keeping a careful eye on her though as they are not convinced of the sincerity of the bullies' apologies. But so far, so good. Thank you so much for asking.

Sounds like the standard "no" letter that's been in use for many years. At least 11 years anyway, as that's pretty much exactly what my DD got that many years ago, and what I've heard every year since, either from friends or this forum (or both). As far as I'm aware, everyone gets it, unless they are a yes or waiting list. I don't think you can read anything into it one way or the other to be honest. It would be lovely if they gave more individual feedback, but the numbers are huge so I guess it would be too big a job. But to put it into perspective, remember that something like 90% of applicants have had that letter, so you are in good company. The JA no letter is tough to receive, especially as its often the first rejection a young dancer has had, but don't see it as the end of anything. Yes, that particular door is shut for this year at least, but it doesn't mean all doors are shut forever. The saying is that there are many roads to Rome. I agree with that, but also think that there are many other destinations that are just as nice as Rome ......don't put too much emphasis on any one route or destination.

Thank you Lisa - I'm very proud of him.

Not an achievement in the conventional sense but my youngest child has made me intensely proud tonight. He told me that he has decided to see his head of year at school tomorrow to report the bullying of a child in his form by some of the other pupils. Without prompting, he then went on to tell me that he was well aware that once the bullies found out he would almost certainly become their next target, but that he wasn't going to let that stop him, because "that's how they get away with it isn't it?" My hayfever started playing up at that point...

CPD is something of a minefield in any profession - even large, heavily regulated ones. To a degree it has to be self regulated and rely on the honesty of the participants. The only person who can genuinely assess the value of any cpd activity is the person who is doing it. Attendance at a formal course doesn't guarantee quality learning - an article read, an afternoon spent watching a colleague work or a chat with a mentor about a difficult situation may be many times more educational, but far harder to quantify. Good quality, reflective appraisals are probably the best way to maintain standards, but that is nigh on impossible to implement in large, structured organisations, never mind such a disparate industry as dance teaching. Any kind of independent inspectorate would be very expensive and would no doubt increase the costs to parents. On the other hand, I do find it terrifying that literally anyone could set themselves up as a dance teacher with no regulation whatsoever. I've recently qualified as an "entry level" sports coach and the training I have has to do, scope of practice I must abide by and undertakings I have had to commit to are pretty rigorous. To think that I could basically put a notice up on the village hall board and start offering dance classes without any of that is frankly ridiculous. I'm not sure what it is, but there must be a happy medium.

I think there is definitely an element of "well it worked for me" in so far as people who have been successful in their own careers tend to replicate the methods that were used on them when they teach others. I doubt many see it as abuse, or recognise that they have been harmed by it themselves. It's "normal". Things can change, but it takes time. In my own field of work, back when I was a student in the 1980s it was very much accepted that it was OK to humiliate students in front of their peers, other staff and indeed patients. It was "character building" and everyone except the golden few would experience it. But that is no longer accepted. People did finally recognise that this was neither a fair nor effective educational technique. It's happening in sports now too. People are beginning to stand up and say its not OK, and that even gold medals don't justify bullying behaviour. I think the dance world will have to catch up - eventually.

I feel for those who are still waiting. I think this is one of those rare circumstances when having electronic communication is a bad thing! When my DD was at this stage I wasn't on any forums and so had no idea when results started to come out. And it was all by letter, so when you were waiting for a result, once the post had been and there was nothing in it, you could forget about it again til next day. Now, when results come by email and at totally random times of the day I think it makes things more stressful for everyone. Hope you all manage to relax and enjoy the weekend. Fingers crossed you get the messages you're hoping for on Monday.

Yes indeed, it seems like only yesterday that we were introduced to the Balletco legend that is the katymac spreadsheet! You were the most organised audition mum for sure! I can't believe your DD is graduating already - best of luck to her for the future.

Senior audition is in flat shoes. The instructions say to bring pointe shoes if you have them, but I've never known here be any pointe work in the audition - it's usually saved til the casting day.

So sorry to read this. I hope that your DD continues to get the help she needs and that in due course she, and you, will be able to take something positive out of all this. Wishing her well for the future x

The British Museum is within easy walking distance too. Just don't make the mistake of coming out of a different door to the one you went in at or it can be very confusing!

This is the key thing isn't it? It puts me in mind of a conversation I had with a friend shortly after we had both given birth in the same maternity unit. I was full of praise for my midwife who was calm, quiet, caring, gentle and non directive. She on the other hand had a horrible, cold, silent woman who didn't tell her what she was supposed to be doing and left her floundering. Same midwife of course, but different women with different expectations and needs. Some schools suit some students, as do some teachers. It's perfectly possible for some to be happy and thriving in exactly the same environment which is highly toxic to others. The tricky bit is knowing what is right for an individual, and being brave enough to step away if it becomes clear that you've got it wrong. I suspect training in Russia would be very polarising - fabulous for some but awful for others. I wouldn't underplay the value of gut feeling in such a choice.

I can't comment on the Russian side of things, but just wanted to mention that the UK schools you mention don't all focus specifically on ballet. Rambert has an equal 50:50 focus on ballet and contemporary and Ballet West offers a degree in dance,not ballet, so the curriculum reflects this - there's plenty of jazz and contemporary as well as ballet. With jobs in the dance world being so hard to come by, most schools are looking to produce dancers with a broader skill set nowadays - in the UK anyway. RBS, ENBS, Elmhurst, Central and RCS are probably the most classically focused schools in the UK but I think they all have other genres on the curriculum to some degree.

I think it is worth remembering that school years are pretty arbitrary things. Obviously there has to be a line in the sand somewhere, but maybe it's not actually as important as we are conditioned to think it is? It's now increasingly common for students to take "years out" before or after university, and I know quite a lot of people who have graduated "late" because they've taken time out for some reason or another or have changed courses part way. Then when you get into the world of work we all process at different rates for different reasons rather than staying with our school cohorts. What school year you are in varies from country to country, and even in the different countries of the UK the cut offs differ - my niece and her husband moved to England from Northern Ireland and found her sons were in different school years. I have friends who moved from the UK to Australia and back again during their children's school years, meaning significant changes of year group for them, but it doesn't seem to have done any harm. I know that in classical ballet there is a lot of pressure to reach certain standards by certain ages, so it is a bit different. But if we take the broader view, whilst a year in a youngsters life seems huge, by the time they are adults it probably won't matter that much. I think it is far more important that a child is thriving than that they are kept within any arbitrary peer group.

Absolutely. The question is not "should she repeat the year" it's "should she repeat the year or...." What else is on offer if she doesn't repeat - carry on regardless, leave the school or something else? You need to weigh up the pros and cons of all the options.

I was about to say the same thing! Pixy-dust, I would think very carefully about why you want to go on pointe, what you will get out of it and what you could lose. Of course pointe work looks beautiful, but it's terribly unnatural really. It can be very damaging and requires a lot of strength - both physically and in terms of technique. Both those things are usually built up gradually over years of a young dancers life, and those who are hyper mobile often find developing that strength a real challenge. Extreme flexibility is both a blessing and a curse to dancers and great care must be taken to minimise the risk of injury. As an adult, recreational dancer, there is no actual necessity for you to dance on pointe, though I do appreciate why you might want to. Many adults enjoy ballet as a fulfilling hobby without ever going near a pair of pointe shoes though, and with a history of dislocations already, that may be a better approach for you. I would strongly suggest that you are assessed by an expert physio who understands both the demands of ballet and your particular condition before you even think about dancing en pointe.

Hopefully it's a person specific approach, but I guess there will be variation in practice from country to country. I'm no expert, but I spend quite a lot of time in the company of orthopaedic surgeons so I do pick up some knowledge about their side of things. The decision whether to operate on this kind of injury will depend on a range of things including the size, shape and location of the tear, as well as other patient specific factors. As Dr Dance has said, the trend is definitely away from immediate surgery and in favour of a more conservative approach for most people. Surgery can give great, fast symptom relief but in the longer term it can cause more trouble with wear and tear in the joint due to loss of the "shock absorbing" properties of the cartilage. Though it may be very frustrating in the short term, waiting for natural healing and keeping the menisci intact is more likely to promote long term knee health in most circumstances. Of course there are always exceptions, and sometimes immediate surgery IS the right thing, but personally I would seek several opinions before agreeing to surgery for this type of injury.

I've already mentioned this on the Not Dance forum but thought I might get more answers here, so I hope the mods will forgive me. I was just wondering if anyone has been to a British Federation of Festivals regional final before, and if so could give me some idea how things run. My son has been selected to represent our local music festival and I've no idea what to expect - it seems to be a new development, in our region at least. At the other festival we regularly do, the nominated musician was an adult, so I'm intrigued how the adjudication works. I can't find much on the website but get the impression that the regional finals cover dance as well as music and speech, so thought someone here might have some experience. My son is very shy and doesn't cope terribly well in new situations sometimes, so it would be a big help to be able to tell him a bit about what to expect. Thanks!

I'm super proud of my elder son today. Yesterday he competed at our local musical festival, entering 3 piano classes. He won two and was second in the other, plus he won another trophy for the highest piano mark. Which was exciting enough as it is, and a huge achievement for him as he is terribly shy. Once he gets playing he is OK, but getting onto the stage and announcing his piece is a huge thing for him, so we are always super proud of him for having a go, no matter what the outcome. Anyway, we've had a message from his teacher saying that last night at the end of the festival he was awarded another trophy for the best young musician of the festival, and has been chosen as the festival's representative at the regional final. Obviously we're very proud, though a little anxious given the shyness issues. I think these regional finals are a newish thing from the British Federation of Festivals - apparently it includes dance, music and speech and drama. Has anyone been to a regional final before and can fill me in a bit on what it was like?

From a different perspective, what implication does GDPR have for this practice? Surely exam results are personally identifiable data, and could even be considered "sensitive". Do teachers even have the right to share this info with other people??

I was thinking the same thing Lisa. Hopefully the thieves will give themselves away by attempting to sell the costumes to someone who knows what they are. Fingers crossed they are returned to the rightful owners soon.