Pups_mum

Thank you, that's really kind.

I've seen a few posts on here about this organisation but have totally failed to find out any further info about them. Google brings up the threads on here plus a few news articles and links to dance schools who have had pupils in previous productions, but nothing about current or future auditions and performances. They don't seem to have a website, which is a bit unusual these days. Either that or I am being totally incompetent! Does anyone know how I can find out more? How do they publicise what they are doing?

It is very disappointing for students when they don't get the mark in an exam that they think they should or could have got but we have to try to help them keep things in perspective, learn any lessons that there are to be learned and move on. I think it is impossible to remove all subjectivity from a discipline like dance. We all have different preferences and tastes and examiners are bound to be influenced to some degree by their personal feeelings. And of course they can only mark what they see, and on some occasions candidates, for whatever reason, don't do themselves justice. My DD did a selection of modern and tap exams this week and says that for some reason her feet took on a life of their own part way through her silver tap award, and not in a good way! She's not expecting a good mark, but is fairly sanguine about it all, and had the rest of the family in stitches demonstrating her allegedly possessed tap shoes in the kitchen afterwards! I know she is cross with herself but I am proud of her for taking it in such a good humoured way. That said, lets wait for the result - as others have said, sometimes marks can be unexpectedly good rather than disappointing so she might get a pleasant surprise, you never know. But in the final analysis whilst a great result is the source of great rejoicing at the time, and a disappointing one may lead to tears, both feelings are fairly transient. Once the exam is done there is something else to focus on and always another challenge round the corner. As long as a student is enjoying the work and learning something along the way, whether about dancing, life or both, that's what really matters.

We've never been to a prom before......I was under the impression that promenading meant standing? Can you sit down in that area then? I had discounted that idea as apart from my littlest only being 7, ive just had major spinal surgery, and even though its another 6 or 7 weeks away I'm not sure that standing for that length of time is going to be a very good idea. However, if you can sit down, even on the floor it could be worth considering.

My husband and I are both big fans of the pianist Valentina Lisitsa and we were in the audience at the Royal Albert Hall for her debut in this country last year, to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in fact. It was absolutely fantastic and we would love to see her again but weren't expecting the opportunity again in the near future. Anyway, today in my post operative boredom, I was idly surfing the net and decided to see where she is performing this year. As expected there were a selection of dates in exotic foreign places way beyond our budget but then, much to my amazement I spotted a London date. She is playing in the Proms, in a Film Music prom which I think even my youngest child would enjoy, and amazingly is playing one of my absolute favourite pieces, the Warsaw Concerto. And even more amazingly, the date is 31st August when we will actually be in London as DD is doing the advanced foundation intensive course at the RAD that week so we've booked a flat for the whole family for the week. I was absolutely ecstatic - I jusr couldn't believe my luck so headed immediately over to the RAH website to book tickets. Which is where it all went pear shaped. There are still some seats available, but they are all in ones and twos and since we have 3 children the weren't any suitable configurations available. I am absolutely gutted. We visit London so rarely and this would have been a great opportunity. I don't suppose anyone knows of any alternative way of booking seats? Do any ticket agencies buy up seats for the proms or is it all direct from the albert hall? Any suggestions greatfully received.

When you are lucky if your vacuum cleaner and/or washing machine lasts 12 months thanks to the aforementioned hair pins. (Why is it so hard to put them away?!)

My DD has a dark green lyrical dress which is probably a 3a. I dont want to sell it but happy to lend it if you only need it for a one off. It won't be expensive to post as its very light. PM me if you are interested.

How do you find out about RYB? I have Googled for a website but found nothing. How do they advertise their auditions etc?

I had an email this morning from Dans Ez saying that there is 50% off everything on their website at the moment so that might be worth a look too.

Fabulous news! Enjoy the show - hopefully this is the start of a new period of good news for you all.

Sadly I don't think this comment is a cut and paste failure or a case of mistaken identity as this teacher has previously been displeased that DD doesn't come to any of the after school sports clubs and has been a bit disparaging about her dancing. I would like to get her along to some of DDs classes and see if she still thinks dance isn't a physical activity. Tomorrow would be good in fact, when she does 2 hours of advanced foundation ballet immediately followed by an hour of grade 6 modern. I think some of the netball team might struggle with that.....

I don't think it is anything whatsoever to do with the other mother. Your DD's teacher has presumably decided that this class is appropriate. I'm sure that you didnt smuggle her in without the teachers knowledge! If the other mother has a problem with that, then she needs to talk to the teacher about it, not have a go at you. Trying to see things from her point of view, it might be that she is concerned that having a younger child in the class will cause the teacher to go more slowly than the other students need, or that the teacher will spend a lot of time giving corrections to your daughter and focus less on others. But if she has concerns of thzt nature then the person to talk to is the teacher, not you. You shouldn't be expected to assess whether your child is in the right class, or anyone else's for that matter! Or maybe she's just jealous, but that isn't your problem either. I would keep sending your daughter and if the other mother says anything else, just tell her that it was your teacher's decision and if she is unhappy then she needs to take it up with her. Things like this can be very upsetting, but you've done nothing wrong. Try to stay calm and rise above it, and let your teacher know if problems persist. I hope things resolve themselves soon and that it doesn't affect your daughter's enjoyment.

Comment in DD's school report this year from her games teacher "Goals for next year : She should continue to improve her physical fitness and needs to start participating in at least one physical activity outside of school hours." So the 15-20 hours per week of dance that she does don't count then........

I think it must be difficult for the teachers having to learn the new syllabi, and whilst I can understand how upset the children and their parents must be, I do have some sympathy for the teacher - she must be very upset. Sounds like tge exa miner was very understanding though. My DD was the first pupil to ever do grade 8 from her school, and there were a couple of minor misunderstandings which meant the exam didnt go 100% smoothly. Fortunately my DD was able to take it in her stride and the examiner was very understanding. She got a very good distinction anyway, and her teacher will find things easier with subsequent classes I am sure, so it worked out well in the end. Even the best teachers are human and can slip up from time to time.

Thanks everyone. So far things are going well though I keep falling asleep at random times! But it has been a much better experience than I had feared so far. I'm going to miss DD dancing in concert on Monday night unfortunately but a friend's mum is giving her a lift and she is being very grown up about the fact I wont be there. It's me that's more upset actually as I love watching her dance, but I have been waiting for this surgery for such a long time and when this opportunity came up at short notice I couldn't really say no. And Cathy, yes I am very interested in that musical as a young friend of ours has a call back from the original audition. I hope they can go ahead with it.

Sorry if any of this doesn't make sense as I am heavily under the influence of drugs and using a brand new samsung tablet which iisn't a good combination. I'm in hospital having had a spinal surgery this morning and feeling a bit sorry for myself. Just wanted to thank all the balletco team for providing this site. I am lying in bed reading all the interesting enjoyable and varied posts and its really lifted my spirits. Keep up the good work everyone!

Congrats to you and your son Kathy. I hope this is the start of many more successes. It must be really stressful as a mum to see all this happening and not to be able to influence things. I know my sister was distraught when my niece graduated last year (not dance related) and couldn't get a job despite having gained a first class honours degree in midwifery from a well respected university. It's heartbreaking when young people have worked so hard and things don't go their way but it makes the successes all the more worth celebrating when they do come along. I hope it was worth waiting and this opportunity proves to be your son's dream job.

My DD wants to be a teacher. Until recently she was certain that she wanted to be a primary school teacher and maybe teach dance in an after school club or something. However, she has recently started helping out at her dance school and is planning to register for the DDI as soon as she is old enough and she is absolutely loving teaching dance. So now she is talking about becoming a full time dance teacher. At least she was until this week when she started work experience in a primary school - she is having a fantastic time there too, so it could be back to plan A! I am pretty sure she will teach in some way though as she does seem to have quite a flair for it. Dance training, whether vocational or not, encourages other talents besides performance and develops many transferable skills. There are other forms of work within the dance world, as evidenced by some of our fantastic members here, but dance training can be helpful in many other walks of life. Not to mention that simply having a hobby which you love, keeps you fit, helps you relax and so on is bound to improve quality of life, whatever you earn your living doing.

Well they've been to Wales before now haven't they,so maybe NI and Scotland will get their chance soon. Southern or Central Scotland would suit us very well I must say! Waiting with bated breath for the announcement now!

I know there won't be anywhere less than 2 hours drive for us - one of the (relatively few) downsides of living in the country. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed for somewhere within 3 hours drive. Somewhere in Merseyside would have its merits as my in laws live in Liverpool so it would save me a lot of money on accomodation. DD's first EYB was Southport - I can't work out whether they may be due another visit next year? But DD really enjoyed herself both times in Newcastle and made some very nice friends, so another north east venue would be lovely too. Well, to be honest, anywhere that we can get to would be lovely!

Well the last audition for 2013 is on this coming Monday so I'm hoping that they will put the dates for 2014 up after that is over, as otherwise there will be an empty page on the website. The only clue I have seen so far is that Stockport is mentioned for June, but that is a non starter for us due to GCSEs. I share Cathy's disappointment re Newcastle and am desperately hoping that there will be another northern venue chosen that we can manage.

Does it have to be either/or? Could she do both or maybe alternate weeks. I agree with Spannerandpony - both would have their merits and she would gain different things from each. It sounds like you feel that the Intermediate class would be daunting for her, but I doubt the teacher would have suggested it if she felt that she wouldn't cope. Could you let her go along a few times and see how she feels?

She has done very well - good luck to her for the future. The competition for places on midwifery degree courses is fierce so she certainly sets herself big challenges. My niece graduated in midwifery last year so I know that it's certainly no easy option.

Sorry to go off the topic somewhat, but speaking as someone who was bullied at school i cannot let these comments go unchallenged. I was bullied in the "tied to the school railings and left there for hours" sense of the word and I most certainly do not encourage a victim mentality in my children. It is a ridiculous over generalisation to suggest that this is widespread behaviour amongst mothers who were bullied as children. In fact if anything I have to remind myself to take my children's concerns seriously enough on occasion as I perceive them as minor compared to my experiences and I have to control my tendency to tell them to pull themselves together and not make a fuss about things. Yes, children do need to learn resillience and to take the rough with the smooth. Life isn't always fair and they need to learn to get on with things, true enough. But there is a fine line which must not be crossed. Many bullied children, myself included, keep their problems to themselves and if we encourage our children to take everything on the chin and dismiss their concerns as whinging then we play into the hands of bullies. I don't want my children to develop a victim mentality, but I don't want them to keep years of abject misery to themselves either. To avoid the latter we must be willing to take concerns seriously, even if they don't seem it to us. Sometimes the correct answer is to gently tell them to pull themselves together, and often it's to help them figure out a way to deal with things themselves rather than rushing in to protect, but I don't think it's ever right to ignore their upset. I would like to think that those who know my children in real life would see them as pretty resillient, despite the fact they have a mother who was bullied! I also suspect Sarah Vine is over reacting in this instance and I don't believe that "running away" is often the right answer to a problem. There will also probably be an element of exaggeration for dramatic effect - she's a journalist after all. But to effectively suggest that she is neurotic because she was bullied as a child is not on. Sorry for the rant but adults who were bullied in the past often have enough to deal with without the suggestion that they are creating pathetic children en masse.

I think Swanprincess has made a very good point about clashes of commitments if one joins too many different things. My DD has no expectation of a career as a ballet dancer so maybe I see things rather differently to those whose children do. Whilst I totally agree that we are the paying customers and that we should not allow teachers to dictate to us what our children will and will not do,I think that we need to consider more than just what our children get out of their lessons in technical terms. I view my DD's dance school as a community,which she gives to as well as takes from.Whether she ultimately pursues a career in the dance world or not, I think she will have gained a lot from being part of that community. She's made great friends, learned how to get along with people from many different backgrounds. She's learned a lot about team work and the importance of commitment. She has shared triumph and disaster with her friends and most of all, she has had a huge amount of fun over the years. I think that if a child takes part in too many different activities and attends many different schools they could potentially miss out on a lot of those kind of things. Its good to be part of the wider life of the school and to "belong".If a child has multiple commitments at different schools it could be hard to develop that sense of belonging and lead to conflicts if events and lessons clash. Just another perspective to consider.(Though I recognise that we are lucky to have 3 very different but equally wonderful teachers who complement each other brilliantly at our school.)