Balletmumfor2

Not surprised they are struggling with space for the gala. Apparently they were stopping people going in yesterday even though they had purchased tickets as there were no spare seats! We have returned home today after a successful last section last night where my daughter and her friends took 3 gold medals. All in all fantastic results this week for her school with many medals won and 2 through to Young Dancer this afternoon so not finished yet!

My daughter has this bag and has spent the last 6 days wheeling it from our hotel across the underground and to the All England finals in London. It does tip occasionally but compared to lugging around all the kit she has in it, it has been fab! Would definitely replace it with an identical one when it wears out. She also uses it for class on a daily basis with the handle tucked in.

Could you take a bottle of Johnsons floor polish instead (as I know this is what many use instead of shellac) or would it pose the same problems? It is a wax rather than a glue but has the same effect when used in pointe shoes.

Fab_feet and drdance have sent you a PM.

I've no idea 'alongfortheride' but when it was changed a few years ago I thought I would buy an old bottle on eBay only to find it was going for £25+ in some cases as it was also used by serious model makers for polishing plastic windscreens and the like! What's good enough for royal ballet if good enough for us however, so new Klear (now called Pledge floor cleaner) it is. Thanks to all who have replied!

Thanks for your reply too Spannerandpony. I did look at this but its often the sides of the shoe that go soggy and I wasn't sure whether this was better for hardening the actual block.With the Klear or Papillon she swirls a bit round the whole toe area, wipes off the excess then leaves to dry. The royal teacher on the course was surprised that so few girls had been taught pointe shoe maintenance but I suspect its not necessary until you are doing several hours a week. I remember my daughters teacher coming our of a private with her week old shoes saying these have gone and my horrified look until she explained they merely needed hardening!

Thankyou Tabitha. We are off to All England regionals today and I put the new version of 'Klear' in just in case. Good to know it works if she needs to use it to sort out her shoes for the following day. It is much cheaper and also easier to get hold of than the official stuff so its great that it still works. Will let our dance teacher know too as she used to stock Papillon hardener in the school shop but has had to look for a new supplier. Maybe she can sell the 'Klear' instead! Thanks again.

My DD used to use Johnsons Klear floor polish to harden her pointe shoes as this was recommended on a pointe shoe course a few years ago. Shortly afterwards however, Johnsons changed the formula and renamed it Pledge. We have used Papillon or Freed hardener since but it is not easy to get except via mail order which is expensive due to p&p. Has anyone tried the new Klear and is it successful? My daughter has 3 pairs of shoes on the go at once but needs hardener to prolong the life of them. Would love to know what anyone else uses. I know EYB suggest wood hardener but we've never tested it!

Thankyou. Do you know if the venue is near a main train station please?

Hi Rachelballet 12. Can you tell me what time the mids class is in Newcastle please. X

Obviously every injury is different. However I asked the consultant if she was okay to dance with the cast on. I was told that if it was gentle, as a lot of ballet is then there was no problem. There was more likelihood of her getting it knocked whilst wandering round at school! My daughter was told to make sure she used her hand to keep it limber and the muscles strong. She did lots of barrre work to keep in shape for her exam and sat out for things like jumps. Check with her doctor and then ask her dance teacher if she can do what she can in lessons even if it is watching the class and plies. What seemed a disaster at first ended up nowhere near as problematic as I anticipated. Children are resilient and bounce back quickly. It's us adults who stress more I suspect!!! Hopefully in several weeks time you will wonder why you worried so much.

My daughter broke her wrist 5 weeks before her RAD grade 5 exam and we had the same panic. She was able to dance in the cast however as they are often much lighter nowadays. The cast was off in 4 weeks and she took her exam the following week still scoring in the 90's. We were told that breaks are common in children just from simple falls and so on as their bones are still very soft when growing. However, unlike adult breaks, the bones knit extremely quickly and usually with no lasting problems. Hope this reassures you.

I would suggest you go and get them fitted as they all fit differently. My daughter had Bloch initially but found them quite firm and noisy as has also been mentioned by others on this forum. She now has Freed which she finds softer and more like soft shoes. She wears them for SA's and also for her Advanced 1 lessons.

Our teacher gets us to spray water onto the leather soles of the ballet flats to stop them slipping. Or you could step in the rosin used by those on pointe. Put a bit on the floor and step on it to coat the soles. Good luck! Xxx

My daughter is a current SA at Birmingham. They wear soft blocks for the majority of the lesson then pointe shoes of course. As far as I know they are allowed whatever make suits them best. I would stick with what she has for now as the teacher will let her know if she doesn't think her current make of shoes suit her.

Have sent you a message about the leotard.

Froggy legs - sit on the floor and put the soles of your feet together in front of you with your legs bent to each side. Gently push down your legs to see if your knees can touch the floor. I am told this gives an idea of turnout.

Hi. Know it's been months since you first posted this but before I purchased new, just thought I would check you no longer had them.

There are 8 year 11's leaving Birmingham so presumably 8 places there to be filled with either new year 11's or year 10's. In London the year 10 class (approximately 14 someone thought) will move up so will create this number of places there so quite a few places although some will be offered to current year 9 mids.

Kat09, that is exactly my understanding of the programme too. My two love it and feel priviledged to be part of it. However, I know some people were disappointed that it had not led to anything further. I think it helps to know what the competition was then they realise what an achievement it was for the 3 SA students to be asked to finals to compete for upper school places. The girls must have been very talented. Maybe we will bump into you on the path for their dream next year!

Hi Kat09. I assume that is because there are two classes in London. In Birmingham there is just one class which this year had 3 year 10's and about 8 year 11's. The year 10's were obviously new but there were also several new year 11's. To my knowledge 2 from Birmingham made upper school finals and 1 from London so I assume the standard is similar. Incidently, my daughter heard that 7 upper school came from WL, 7 from the Prix de Lausanne and 1 from the Northern CAT's scheme so not much chance for associates this year.

Thanks Kat09. Birminghams are in May so a while to wait but good to know we will get the results quickly especially as we will be waiting for the results from the mids appraisal the week before too. How many year 10's were there in London this year please?

Oops, just noticed the 15 is part of the user name!!! How many year 10's are there in London? Is it unusual for SA's to be assessed out? We know of only a couple of MA's who were advised that they weren't suitable for further RBS training. Most children left when they re-auditioned for the next phase,of associates.

Were these all London year 10's? There are only 3 year 10 SA's in Birmingham and it is several weeks before their appraisal. Are they informed by letter? At least it seems quite soon after.

Yes, Manchester mids was on. 9 out of 13 girls made it but there was no snow at all in Manchester. Having done associates for several years now, I know that girls often miss several sessions anyway due to other commitments such as festivals, competitions or school activities. The lesson will be postponed if snow makes the centre difficult to access. There were only 2 SA's in Birmingham yesterday probably due to people being nervous of the weather conditions, snowed in or having 6th form auditions. There are a couple of girls from Sheffield who regularly attend Centrepointe during the week and they only miss during very bad snow spells.