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.

@glowlight you’re right, the last minute changes are a total nightmare to deal with. Me and my husband both work and it’s so hard to manage. But we have to otherwise we would be seen as not committed, and it would make it harder for our daughter.

They’re only in a bit of the routines - the easier sections. I think some probably end up leaving in the end. They’re very successful at comps.

@taxi4balletthis is a very good point. They do huge amounts of work towards comps and I often think they’re not doing the basics. That’s what I mean about ‘just do it’ and if they can then great, but if they can’t they’re not in the section. For example, my daughter can sometimes do a double pirouette and sometimes can’t, it’s not secure by any means and the technique isn’t great. They don’t do it over and over to learn properly because there’s not time. So we end up trying to do more at home, but I don’t really know what I’m doing,

Ah that’s interesting to know. She is very academic, although young she is at the top of her class and ‘greater depth’ across the board. I hadn’t realised the dance exams can be done see towards UCAS points. The classes are in mixed age groups. It’s not a huge school so dd is in with older children for normal classes and comp is mixed too. But some routines are just for seniors.

Yes, it provides all round classes. Lots of dance genres, singing, drama and Acro.

Can I ask what it is you don’t like about dance schools that do competitions? Genuinely interested, not having a go at all. Thank you.

Thanks everyone, lots to think about and I really appreciate your comments. And those of you saying would I put up with it at an academic school make a very good point. I hadn’t really thought about it in that way before. There is a proper teacher for ballet. The seniors take other classes and are in charge of the solos. Dd says she wants to go to dance college at 16, but she’s only young and looks up to the older girls, so this could easily change in the future. Tbh I think dance will end up being a good hobby than her career, but we’ll see. It’s hard to know what other schools are like locally. I think there might be one or two that are good. One is about the same distance away. The other is a good 20/25 minute drive. The other schools do exams, which our current school doesn’t do. Not sure how I feel about this. Not sure if my daughter would like it or not. Those who have progressed onto dance college and then professional training seem to have managed fine without them. And the dance teacher thinks they’re unnecessary.

It’s very shouty at times and my daughter is terrified of being told off. She never is though. She doesn’t like the shouting, but I think this is probably pretty standard.

Hi everyone, I’m really torn at the moment and need a bit of advice. There have been a few thing’s recently with my daughter’s dance school that I’m not 100% happy with and wondering whether to just get on with it or whether to look to change schools. My daughter is only young and does a lot of dance. She’s in the comp team and competes with solos too. She’s reasonably good, but not a protege. My issues are that: 1 - the dance teacher changes class times and adds in extra at very short notice (eg day before), but also cancels at short notice too (sometimes on the day). We aren’t charged for extra lessons, but we are expected to drop everything and attend. This is very stressful because we have busy jobs. 2 - another pupil my daughters age has been given a very similar solo. Same theme and almost identical costume. There are definitely favourites and this girl is one of them. 3 - class uniforms are changing. The new ones are very expensive. Sometimes very little consideration is given to cost. 4 - some classes and solos are taught by seniors. Maybe this is standard? But I feel like sometimes technique is missed. It’s just a case of ‘do this’ rather than proper teaching iyswim. 5 - it is very heavily focused on comps and winning. My daughter loves the comps and loves winning. But I do wonder about this element sometimes. If they can’t do something straight away they’re not in the section. They’re not really taught how. 6 - one of my daughters ‘friends’ is actually quite mean to her. Says really upsetting and belittling things. The teacher is aware. She took it seriously, it was better for a while, but has carried on. Maybe this is just the dance world and my daughter needs to toughen up? The teacher is very busy so I can’t really talk to her about it. There are loads of good things too of course. My daughter has loads of friends, she has been given opportunities older than her years. The teacher is very committed and gives extra time. My daughter would hate to leave. It’s probably the best school locally and the parents are nice. Also, the girls that want to go on to professional training seem to manage to. Thanks everyone.

Thanks everyone, I used some hand sanitiser and cotton wool first to try and get rid of the blackest stains. Then I’ve hand washed the top part using a white cloth and vanish whites powder. It seems to have got the worst if it off. They’re drying on the line now so fingers crossed they’ll be ok.