Anniedancemum

Dd wears tendu convertible, never had them ladder but they do lose their colour. However I do just bung them in the washing machine with the whites so that could be why. My dd is still young though so might not be as good for older dancers.

The shouting is not Abby Lee level.

The kids are well behaved (except one or two) so the shouting is not generally about behaviour. The couple who are less well behaved are told off. The vast majority are dedicated and focused.

I’ll try and clarify the shouting. Yes, there is the usual ‘loud voice over music’ that you might expect. The contemporary dance teacher does this too. It’s more like loud instructions than shouting. It’s quite a strict/firm style of teaching, but I wouldn’t say it’s abusive. But there is also other shouting too at times eg ‘NO NO Annie. I said Left foot, LEFT. COME ON!’ And ‘What’s the matter!, you need to be centre stage! CENTRE! You’ll make everyone’s spacing wrong! You’ll ruin the routine if you don’t get this RIGHT!’ It’s mainly aimed at age 10 onwards. She’s also pulled dances last minute that she doesn’t think are up standard. But it’s not like this every lesson. It much worse near a comp or when a routine has been cleaned, but then there are still corrections. When they’re learning a new routine, or new section, there’s not this kind of shouting.

Thank you everyone. Lots of really good points made and things to consider. Plenty of thinking to do before September.

@mumtotwoballerinas great to hear that things worked out well for you. Unfortunately my dd is adamant she doesn’t want to leave. Tonight dd told me that they won’t be good if the teacher doesn’t shout (ie shouting makes them good) and they don’t want to be rubbish. This is obviously concerning. However, dd does have other teachers, and the seniors, and none of them shout. It’s just the principal, and only comp classes. Not every time, but it’s especially bad when they’re on a run up to a comp or show.

The kids do like winning too though. I think the teacher does genuinely care about the children. But she does push them hard and is very competitive. She doesn’t shout every lesson, maybe I’ve given that impression. She can be really nice, but if it’s near a comp it ramps up. Strangely the kids do really like her, my dd included. I can’t really explain it.

I can see how it comes across like that, but it isn’t anywhere near as brutal. There are plenty of kids who just come for classes and don’t do comp/solos. They’re never shouted at. The school instills a good work ethic, and everyone is expected to try - they can’t stand about chatting for example, but these kids aren’t shouted at. It’s only comp kids. And my dd hasn’t been shouted at particularly, but others have. It’s a lot of the older ones. My dd just doesn’t like the shouting. They do take comps seriously and go to win though. The teacher doesn’t see the point if you’re not properly competing. And she loves to beat other schools and get good feedback from the adjudicators. They usually do win.

Sorry, yes. Jazz pirouettes. Not ballet. As I said she’s not good at them. She can do quite a nice single though.

The other school does have a comp team and does solos too. But it’s by invitation from age 10. They also do exam work though and I think this is more their main focus. They also do Janet Cram awards. They teach in age groups as far as I can see. Some pupils attend other associate schemes too. As I said before, my dd is very young still. She’s 7, just going into year 3 in September. She’s old in the year group so will be 8 soon.

I’ve just checked again. The website doesn’t actually use the word ‘permission’, so that’s my mistake. But it does say the existing school must be told that the child is coming for trail classes. So it still leave me in the same situation. They do have some other teachers e.g ballet, contemporary and Acro, but the seniors take whole classes too. As I’ve said, there are good things, but some issues too. Thanks so much for your advice and thoughts everyone.

Yes, permission from their existing school. It’ll be obvious dd has danced before so I can’t lie (and wouldn’t anyway). But it’ll open a whole can of worms if I mention a trial somewhere else to my existing school. The teacher is fine with associate classes, but this would cause problems, especially if we chose to stay. Not really sure why they say this. The other school that I could look at is further away. At least 20 minutes with no traffic, but it’ll likely be more because there’s a very busy junction and traffic builds up busy times.

Yes it does. It specifically says you must get permission from your existing school to attend a trial with them.

The last minute changes are down to the teacher’s personal circumstances most of the time. Or it’s because she wants the kids in extra because of an upcoming comp. Other times, classes aren’t moved, they’re taken by seniors instead. Again, lots of good comments made and things to think about. @taxi4ballet you’re absolutely right about the misgivings. I’ve been having a look at another nearby school, but it says they’ll only accept pupils for a trial if it is agreed by their existing school. I’m not sure I want to open this can of worms. If dd doesn’t get on well at the trial it’ll make it hard to stay. I don’t want to go from the frying pan into the fire.

Thanks for your comments everyone. It really is helpful to hear your thoughts. I agree with the points that have been made, and they’re all the reasons why I’m thinking about potentially moving my daughter. But there are lots of good things too, which makes the decision hard. I don’t think I could approach other dance schools in secret (and probably shouldn’t), and I think our current school would be really annoyed if I told them I was thinking of leaving. It would cause a big fall out. And if I made a mistake, I couldn’t go back. As for qualifications, I’m not sure. I’ve never asked. I’d just presumed the real teachers had qualifications. I know a couple of them teach at a few different schools/colleges. I know that the chaperones are all trained, registered and DBS checked and know who the first aiders are. Comps are properly staffed and all paperwork completed so it seems like everything is done properly. The seniors don’t have qualifications though. I do sometimes wonder about first aid in these situations. They could well have done a course, but I don’t know. If my daughter wanted to move, then I would, but I know she doesn’t.