Pups_mum

I agree. One thing that has always impressed me about EYB is how they do the choreography so that every single participant is dancing for a decent amount of time. My DD has also been a mouse/mirliton in Nutcraker and she definitely felt that having the lovely mirliton tutu compensated for being hidden under the mouse costume in Act 1. We can't tell which mouse is her now if we watch the DVD!

The principal of my DD's school hardly ever takes holidays - she's a (wonderful) workaholic! The school officially closes at the end of the academic school term, but then there's a week of summer school, and after that whilst there are no "normal" classes there is private or small group teaching throughout the holidays, particularly for students with exams coming up. The principal does take a week or two off but there are 2 other teachers too and there's usually at least one of them in teaching on most days through the holidays. Apart from if we are actually away on holiday ourselves my DD has lessons pretty much all year round. I hadn't realised that this wasn't the norm, sounds like we are very lucky -I must tell DD to give her teachers extra hugs this week!

DD has one of the pink PVC ones with a picture of a dancer in black on it - not sure of the make but they are often on ebay and online dance shops. There's a sort of pouch inside that you slip the totu in and a strap that goes through the middle of the tutu that fastens with velcro to secure it. (sorry, it's hard to describe but it's obvious how it works when you see one. I bought the carrier when she was 5 and she's now 14 and it's still in perfect condition except for a few lipstick marks! I've often put 2 tutus in - one inside the pouch and one on top of it - and there's plenty of room for them. I was advised by our dressmaker when she little to buy the adult size bag even though her tutu was tiny then, as it would save me having to buy another when she got bigger. That has proved sensible advise!

Going off the topic a bit I know, but every time I see the title of this thread I can't help wondering, how can you have an independent associate scheme? Isn't that something of an oxymoron? Associate implies a connection with something or someone else, whereas independent means stand alone,or not connected to anything else, so I can't quite see how you can be an independent associate!

That's a really good point. I confess I looked at the photo and went "ewww", but your comment made me re think.

And me! Mirrors do it too....I can't understand it!

Well she came out of the studio with a big smile on her face and says the examiner said some very nice things to her, so hopefully those are good signs. It was me who was getting emotional actually as obviously this will be the last ballet exam she does at her "home" studio. It only seems like yesterday that I was sitting anxiously in that same waiting room whilst she did her pre-primary and now all the grades are done. Of course it's not the end of dancing, or even of exams, but it's the end of an era and I must confess to having a litle sniffle. (Good job she was the last exam of the day so there was nobody there to see me! )

In that case i would definitely stick with the ISTD syllabus as the teacher is bound to be more expert in this syllabus. I'm sorry to hear that your son is being bullied about his dancing. That's such a shame, especially when he's so young. My daughter has a number of male friends who dance and though they have all experienced this type of thing at some point, it's tended to be when they are bit older so perhaps better equipped to deal with. It's very unfair. My DD has a number of friends (girls) who have what would generally be considered male hobbies, like rugby and cricket, but they don't seem to come in for the same stick as boys that dance. Hopefully the tide is turning though. My DD did English Youth Ballet in Newcastle earlier in the year and there were 13 boys in the cast. Although that's still a small number compared to the girls, it's a lot more than there have been in the past, so hopefully it reflects a generally increased number of boys doing ballet. There are quite a few parents of boys who post on here regularly so hopefully they will be able to let you know what kind of things have been good for their boys, but I would say that the most important thing right now is to make sure he's doing classes that he enjoys.

I agree completely with spanner. At the school my daughter attends quite a lot of the students have private lessons alongside their regular classes but the principle does not allow anyone to have only private tuition. There is an awful lot to be gained from dancing in group classes. Also, from a purely logistical point of view, remember that if he is the only pupil doing RAD exams in the school then he will have to go elsewhere to do exams. As I understand it, a teacher has to put together an exam schedule that lasts a certain minimum amount of time in order for an examiner to come - a school couldn't run an exam session for just one pupil. From what you've told us, it sounds like your son is attending a basically ISTD school. That being the case, I would stick with what the teacher knows best and follow the ISTD syllabus. If you really want him to do RAD exams then I think it would be better to switch to a school that teaches the RAd syllabus regularly.

Oh dear Maisie Lou - I hope your DD is feeling better soon. I'm pleased to report that my DD's PE teacher was actually very understanding about her not participating in sports day and put her to use setting equipment up instead, so she wasn't too bored.

I'm a bit confused...does the teacher regularly teach both syllabi, or would she be running an RAD class specifically for your son? I would tend to go with ISTD if it's what the teacher generally does, as s/he will probably be better at teaching that, especially since the RAD syllabi for your son's age group have recently changed. Personally, I wouldn't do both at 6. I think older children and adults can manage and may benefit from learning different syllabi simultaneously, but at 6 I think it would be confusing. That's just my opinion though, I'm no expert!

My DD has always done RAD but I know children who have done other syllabi and are beautiful dancers. I think it's probably the quality of the teacher that matters more than the syllabus. If they are both offered at the same school I would ask the teachers which they feel would suit your son best, and if it's two different schools I'd opt for whichever teacher you think is better. Both RAD and ISTD are well regarded organisations so I doubt you can really make the "wrong" choice. You can of course do RAD ballet and ISTD or IDTA tap/modern etc - you don't have to be confined to one examination board forever.

Spanner, when my DD first started her periods she was a bit anxious about dancing so I got her a little black tie on chiffon skirt to wear over her leotard and she and her teacher were happy with that. It's another option you may like to consider for those delicate times! Anyway, I didn't really start the thread to debate the pros and cons of wearing knickers. I know some teachers don't allow them but others obviously do as dance shops sell them and I've seen people ask about them on here. I was merely suggesting a potential cost saving to those whose girls do wear knickers under their leotards, unitards or festival/show costumes etc.

Thanks for the good luck wishes. She's very nervous. Not sure why, she's usually reasonably relaxed about these things but she was like a cat on a hot tin roof this morning - I don't think she was this nervous before Intermediate.

I've just spoken to her ballet teacher, who has phoned the headmaster and all is well. Thank heaven's for great teachers!

EYB usually return to venues every 2-3 years so you may have to wait a little or travel a bit further away. It's a bit late now I know, but EYB will sometimes accept video auditions if there's a good reason why a child can't attend on audition day - just something to bear in mind for the future.

Thanks! As sod's law dictates, we must be the only place in the country where it's not raining. Forecast for tomorrow is 16c, sunny intervals. Still, they often get it wrong.....I hope!

My DD has her grade 8 exam tomorrow afternoon. I asked for her to be scheduled late on in the day so that she didn't have to miss any school as she's already had a few dance related days off this year and I don't want to push my luck. Now I am kicking myself as I have just realised that it's school sports day in the afternoon - something that I would be very happy for DD to miss. Now I am getting in a tizz about it. At best she'll be tired and sweaty when she gets home and she'll be running on a grass track so the worst could be a significant injury. I'm not sure what to do. My husband thinks I'm over reacting and even DD has rolled her eyes a bit but I'm thinking of asking her to be excused from sports day. Unfortunately I'm not sure that her PE teacher really understands how important dancing is to her or how incompatible it is with many kinds of sport. Arrgh.....what a nuisance! Pray for rain tommorow afternoon please everyone!

Ladies, but the size 6 ones look pretty small.

I was in the lingerie department in Debenhams today and noticed they were selling "invisible knickers" in a variety of styles. They had them in white, black and nude from size 6 upwards and I thought they looked as if they'd be ideal for under dancewear. The price wasn't bad either - about £5 a pair I think. Of course as is always the way, I've just ordered several pairs of nude knickers fpr DD from an on-line dancewear shop at rather higher cost so I didn't buy any, but I think I'll get her some to try next time she needs some. Just thought I'd pass the message on as there seem to have been a few queries about knickers on here recently and I thought these may be of use to someone.

I find videos like that quite disconcerting.. No matter how talented a child is, I really can't believe that they are physically mature enough for pointe work at such a young age. I'm surprised that YAGP allows children this young to compete en pointe and I don't think it shows the competition in a good light. In this country, children are not allowed to compete en pointe in dance festivals until they are 13. (At least that's been the rule in all the festivals we've ever been to, and I know that's the rule for the All England finals.) I presume this is for the safety and well being of the children. I'm surprised that when even small local competitions take this stance an internationally reknowned competition like YAGP does not have similar rules. I suppose it's possible that there are some differences in the age at which people of different nationalities reach skeletal maturity, but I struggle to believe that that difference is a large one. Yes, the little girl in the video does look happy, but what does that mean? Children (and adults!) enjoy all sorts of things but just because something makes us happy doesn't mean it's right, or good for us. A child of that age is, in my opinion, highly unlikely to be able to understand the potential long term effects of pointework at such an early age, and I doubt she is making a truly informed decision. I think organisers of competitions at all levels should be protecting children and discouraging this type of practice by refusing to accept entries from very young children en pointe.

I've just been looking at Dance Direct's Facebook page and saw a photo which made me think of this thread. If you're on FB,have a look. It's a photo of 4 girls in white leotards at the barre. My personal opinion is probably unprintable, but see what you all think.

From personal experience, I would counsel against letting your DD become attached to a make of shoes that can't be purchased (relatively) locally unless it's essential to do so. I would explore all available reasonably local places before setting off on a trip to somewhere like London. A family trip to some distant city to purchase shoes is fun the first few times you do it, and when pointe work is limited such that a pair of shoes lasts quite a long time. But the novelty wears off, and when you add the cost of travel, food and other activities whilst you are there, it makes each pair of shoes a very expensive purchase, especially when they start wearing out more quickly or your child is mid growrth spurt. Sometimes I'm sure it is essential to travel a long distance but I would recommend you check out all the nearer places carefully first. Once my DD's feet have stopped growing I will be buying two pairs at once and alternating them as Anjuli recommends. This will limit the number of journeys needed, but she's growing so fast at the moment I don't think that it makes sense to do that yet.

I'm pretty certain I've seen them on ebay if you can't find a local shop that stocks them. Good luck to your grandaughter in the show - I'm sure she'll have a wonderful time.

Well done to her - that's a fantastic achievement. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be dancing at such a high level and learning such a tricky language as russian alongside too.