Pups_mum

What my DD's teacher always says about forgetting, is that nobody in the audience will know that you have forgotten unless you tell them - either with your body or your face. So keep smiling, keep moving and listen to the music, as it will tell you what to do. Falling over is less easy to disguise of course, but all you can do is get up and carry on. My DD fell over in fairly spectacular style in one of her dance school shows a couple of years ago. It was unmistakeable, flying through the air, landing on her backside, legs in the air sort of falling over, like when someone slips on a banana skin in a cartoon. There is no way she could have pretended it was meant to have happened, so she just stood up, smiled, found her place again and carried on. I think I was more proud of her than I would have been had she danced perfectly actually. Hopefully nothing so dramatic will happen to your DD though. I hope she enjoys herself and it goes well.

So pleased to hear that there has been some improvement. I hope things continue to get better. DD and I think of you both often x

Ooh, that is good to know. I have always felt that there is a bit of a gap in the market for girls like my DD who are still passionate and quite "serious" about ballet but with no aspirations to go to vocational school. Maybe there just aren't many youngsters in this category? Anyway, thanks for the info on this. She is going to the RAD to do the adv foundation exam course in August and I can't run to another summer course this year, but will definitely look into this one next year.

You know, I wouldn't worry too much about having a "passed down" dance if it is a good one. My DD has been doing festivals for about 10 years and I have seen many dances recycled very successfully. Our teachers usually alter dances slightly to suit the particular dancer anyway, so they are never identical, and a well cheoreographed dance can be "owned" by more than one dancer I think. I agree that if a dance is passed on immediately, completely unaltered, to a child very close in age it can be a bit awkward as it it is likely to be associated with the previous dancer by the audience and other competitors - but even then the adjudicator isn't likely to know. But a dance that has been resurrected from the past can feel like new, or if an older child has had it for a few years and then it goes back to a younger one it's not likely to be an issue. I have seen dances that I thought were brand new that someone has later told me "used to be so and so's". But when "so and so" was doing it in E section my DD was in B, so I never saw it and don't associate it with the previous dancer. In fact my DD and her friend have just stopped doing a duet that they have been extremely successful with for quite a few years and only the other day another mum told me that she hopes our teacher doesn't pass it on to someone else as "nobody could ever dance it like those two, it really is their dance". And she's right, in so far as nobody would do it exactly as they do, but that doesn't mean no-one else should do it. In fact it was another couple's originally, and when they stopped doing it everyone said the same thing, but nobody remembers them now! After all, professional dancers often dance roles that were originally choreographed for other people and still manage to put their own individuality into them. If your teacher has any suggestions of dances that she has done before but maybe are not in current use, it might be worth considering those.There could be some fabulous dances from the past that your teacher could suggest. Good luck anyway - I think characters are the hardest to find.

I agree with this with one proviso, which is that if you are committed to festival dances that affect other children such as troupes or duets then those dances should be a priority.

Yes, we are struggling to think of a new character for my 15 year old DD She is adamant that she doesn't want to die or have anything else tragic happen to her. She wants to take a stand against the generally miserable nature of senior character sections!

How about Jessie from Toy Story?

Personally I think its very healthy for dance not to come first all the time. No matter how dedicated a young dancer is they need rest,friends and other interests. I hope your DD enjoys the break, has fun with her friends and gets back to enjoying her dancing next term

Most of the dans-ez leotards have quite high cut leg lines. My dd's legs aren't very long and this is her favourite brand of leotards as they are quite flattering to her body type.

Another good company is Esme Dancewear. I have used them a few times now, both for costumes for my daughter and bulk costumes for her school shows. The ladies who run it are lovely and really helpful. I had a disaster when another supplier let me down less than 2 weeks before a show and phoned them in near hysterics - I ended up with better, at lower cost than what I'd originally ordered, so i can certainly vouch for this company. Would something like this do? http://www.esmedancewear.co.uk/dance-costumes/ballet-contemporary/lyrical-ballet-dress-costume-children-adult-adele.html Or they might be able to do you a "one off" if you want something a bit fancier.

Depending on how much you want to spend, try Benefiss. Can't post a link to their website as I'm on my phone and haven't figured out if it can be done sorry, but I'm sure Google will find it. They are in Moldova but definitely ship throughout Europe and the USA so probably worldwide too. Their costumes are lovely and I have always been impressed with the service too. Not cheap unfortunately though, but you may be able to choose to pay in either euros or USD and save a bit by picking whichever has the more favourable exchange rate for you at the time. When i first started shopping there, the £ was worth more than 2 dollars and I got some fabulous costumes for very good prices, but sadly those days are long gone.

i think she is wise to wait in that case, particularly for the Intermediate as it is a pretty demanding exam from what I can tell. Especially if your DD wants to teach I'm sure she will want to be sure of passing her Intermediate (and getting a pass is no mean feat - I know quite a few girls who have consistently had good distinctions in the grades to struggle with Intermediate). She is young, so still plenty of time to do these exams, and better to get it right first time, so to speak. I think she's made a mature and sensible decision.

As others have said, in the great scheme of things exam marks aren't that important. No ballet dancer's career ever turned on whether she got a merit or a distinction at grade 3, and audition panels make their decision on what they see, not on certificates. Apart from possibly for older students where the UCAS points gained may tip the balance in acceptance to a course, or a would be dance teacher who needs to pass certain exams to be able to continue training, the outside world doesn't worry about dance exam results. However, in the world of the dance school changing room, they can be, at least transiently, very important. I would take your teacher's opinion and combine it with your own expert knowledge of your DD's personality. For some kids, a lower exam mark than they were hoping for/used to could be a devastating blow to self confidence, to others it will be water of a ducks back, and yet others will be spurred on to do better next time. For some, the need to do as well as humanly possible is a big thing, but others have the need to do things at the same time as their friends as a high priority How do you think she would feel? The point that has already been made about being secure in the technique is an excellent one. I would talk to your teacher about this. A "lower mark" that comes from a lack of polish with regard to the specifics of that exam is nothing to worry about really. Yes, it may be disappointing and be the subject of a few tears and even a bit of teasing from friends at worst, but it will soon be "last week's news". But a low mark resulting from not being secure in the technique which that grade requires may lead to problems progressing with harder technique, which whether your DD wants to dance professionally or recreationally in the future may prove disadvantageous.

Congratulations. I hope she has a wonderful time there.

How about"I know him so well" from Chess? Or one of the Abba songs that were used in Mamma Mia?

If you want something to go under a leotard or just for modesty under a thin costume then all the previous suggestions are excellent. But they are definitely underwear and the material is quite thin. If you want an actual leotard in the normal thickness then these are pretty hard to come by as i discovered when looking for costumes for a show recently. I did eventually find a seller on ebay who does nylon lycra leos and catsuits in a wide range of colours including a selection of quite neutral colours like sand and caramel which work very well as costume bases. Not sure if i should be "advertising" on here but will send you details if this is what you are after rather than the underwear type.

Just thought I'd up date re the concert. Well it was this weekend, and as expected he was very anxious and not at all keen to do it but didn't want to let his teacher down so reluctantly agreed to try. And he was GREAT! He was clearly the youngest participant and he played his piece flawlessly. It did help that the piano was positioned such that he had his back to the audience, so he said he just pretended he was at home doing his practice and that there was nobody there! I am really, really proud of him, not just from the musical accomplishment point of view, but because he managed to do something that he was extremely scared of, mainly out of respect for his teacher, which I think is a very good thing.

I'm sorry to hear about how sad you are feeling Pointytoes. We also live in a fairly remote rural area, and whilst it is without doubt difficult for everyone, I do think there are additional barriers for those who don't live within a sensible distance of a major city. I've not let my DD audition for any associate schemes, CAT schemes etc as I know that even were she successful, we just couldn't manage the travel. So I sometimes feel I've let her down. However, we are fortunate to have an excellent local teacher and as well as her normal classes my DD has 3 hours per week of one to one tuition. When she's moaning about missed opportunities I sometimes have to remind her that there are lots of other young dancers who would kill for that. Are you having any private lessons with your own teacher? Is there any possibility that you could start or increase private tuition. I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but my DD has quite a number of friends from her school who have offers and final auditions for next year, either at 16 or 18,at respected schools (not all classical though it's true) and none of them have been associates or done CATs, but they have all had private lessons on top of their regular classes. I don't know if it's feasible or would be right for you, but just thought I'd throw it out there as something else to consider. I hope things work out for you, even if it's not in the way that you currently envisage. Have you ever read "Welcome to Holland"? It's a short essay that was actually written for families coming to terms with having a disabled child but I think it has something to say for all of us, and I like to re read it whenever my life seems to be taking a direction that I didn't plan.http://www.our-kids.org/Archives/Holland.html

Well done! The first rehearsal is the casting and you just need to take your pointe shoes along to that. Everyone who is on pointe gets the chance to show what they can do at the casting so don't worry. You don't need to tell them in advance. I can promise you that you won't get a very small part - nobody does! Everyone who participates in EYB gets a good amount of time on the stage and everyone is in 2 acts and the finale. It's one of the best things about EYB in my opinion. Casting depends on what you can do, but also on you size, as obviously the groups need to be made up of similar sized dancers, and you do need to fit the costumes too! The swan group is big, so if you are an average sized teenager you may well be in that group. The big and small Mariinsky dancers and the 3 princesses were the other groups on pointe when my DD did it, along with some of the courtiers and nursemaids, but there will be some variation from place to place. They change the choreography slightly at each venue to suit the cast. But whatever part you get, whether on pointe or not, I am sure you will have a lovely time and a great experience.

Great - thanks ever so much for your quick answer.

Since the intermediate foundation and intermediate syllabi have already changed,I'm assuming that the advanced foundation syllabus will be next. DD is currently working towards this exam and is planning to do it this summer. I was just wondering how many other chances she will get if anything goes wrong this summer.(I know that sounds paranoid but I am having a run of really bad fortune at the moment and it gets you that way.)I am sure the information is on the RAD website but I find it really difficult to navigate so would appreciate it if anyone can tell me when its due to change. Thanks in advance!

We have bought quite a few tutus from Benefiss via their website - they are not cheap but the quality is excellent. It does take quite a few weeks for made to order costumes to arrive, but whenever I've been in a hurry and let them know the date that something is required for they have always been very helpful.

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear that she is struggling. What about books - a biography of a dancer who has overcome adversity of some kind perhaps? Get well hugs from me and DD - hope she's back to full strength soon.

I probably have a different perspective, speaking as the parent of a child who has never auditioned for a vocational school and probably never will, but I do find it terribly sad to read talk of students "wasting their time" if they are not being successful at auditions. Probably it's not meant the way it comes across, but I think it's a concept that needs to be challenged. To my mind, if someone enjoys dancing and it brings pleasure to themselves and to others, how can that ever be a waste of time? Of course it is wonderful for those students who are ultimately able to earn their living doing what they love, but there is so much more to it than that. As previous posters have said, only a tiny percentage of students will "make it" as classical ballet dancers, but that doesn't mean that the rest have wasted their time. If my DD is anything to go by they will have had numerous life enhancing experiences and brought a great deal of enjoyment to other people along the way. I think that sometimes in the fiercely competitive world which many students inhabit, it is all too easy to forget that ballet is an art form and to see a lack of progression to the next desired stage as "failure". I really don't think that's true and think it is marvellous that so many young people are filling their lives with this beautiful art form, wonderful music, physical effort and artistry. When you think of all the bad press that youngsters get nowadays, it's brilliant that we have such hard working, expressive and dedicated children. Whether they end up as principals in internationally famous ballet companies or dancing on stage in a local theatre, or just in the studio for their own pleasure, ALL of our children are wonderful and none of them are wasting their time.

My DD has tried a couple of different types as she finds pirouettes in bare feet hard, but she hasn't really taken to wearing foot thongs either. Sometimes she wears them, sometimes she doesn't - I don't think she has strong feelings really. If your DD isn't happy in bare feet then I'd say they are worth a go, but if she's ok how she is, I wouldn't bother. For something that is basically a small piece of suede and a bit of elastic, they are quite expensive, so unless she actually feels she needs them I would save the money for something more important!