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Hellloooo! Can anyone help? Just decorating DS's bedroom and he'd like a big print of a male ballet star. I know of Carlos Acosta, Sergei Polunin and Steven McCrae but I'm struggling to find one in print. whatever happened to that poster shop, Athena in the 1980's???? 😂😂😂😂 xxx

Hi guys, Met up with an old friend this week who I danced with back in the 90's. Long story short, she's offered to do some free 1-1's with DS. Only prob is we were trained in ceccheti ballet many moons ago and DS is taking classes for RAD exams. Would it have a negative impact on his style? At the minute, I'm thinking, he's just 10 and any extra ballet has to be good, right?? The only other consideration is if it will be ok with his teacher. Tempted with the cost of these things to say yes, but don't want to get anyone's back up! ? What would you do???

Hello, I have been lurking for a while, and learning lots from you all, so thank you in advance. DS (7) has sidled into the dance world almost without us knowing it, having started off loving drama, added musical theatre, and has then been asking to do more and more dancing to go alongside that. Having done tap and modern for a while he finally asked if he could stay on after his other classes to join in with the girls ballet, and go early to musical theatre to do a limbering/conditioning class. He has been the only boy in all his dance classes for the last year, which he has been fine with, but would clearly love to find some other boys to dance with. He is clearly conscious that some of his friends 'don't get it' - "I'll tell xxxx about dance class this week, but not xxxxxxx because he will be silly about it." We are up in Yorkshire, but his grandparents live near Tring and mentioned the Boys Kick Start programme there which he was beaming and bouncing about, but can't join for another year. Are there any 'experience' type days aimed at boys, or any other places dancing boys are lurking that we haven't found?! Don't mind a bit of travel for an occasional one off, but clearly a regular thing would need to be northern. He is not sufficiently experienced to be hurled into anything requiring knowledge or technique in any depth so many of the Boys Days of Dance would be a bit much for now. He's not about to give up because of the lack of boys, and he gets on fine with the girls, who are lovely, but it would be nice to reinforce that he is not alone! Anyone got a suggestion, or does he just go into 'dance zone' and ignore the social limitations?

Hiya guys, How is everyone doing? Just a check in and a few question for parents of older dancers. My 10 year old DS is struggling with these long limbs that have appeared out of nowhere! He's developed a clumsiness that would put Bambi to shame and it's like his brain hasn't caught up with how fast he's growing!!! Bit of a problem for a dancer! ? So what age did your boys and girls catch up with their limbs?? Were there any particular spatial awareness exercises you came across? How can I help him through the Bambi/Goofy stage with his street cred! ??

Looking for good condition size 3/3.5 boys tap shoes. Any lace up tap show would probably be suitable. Thank you!!

Have just seen this - https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1463264903719717&substory_index=0&id=767113100001571

Hiya guys, Quick question on behalf of the little fella! Any more boys coming to the JA's audition in Manchester on 4th May @10am? He's very excited, mostly about having a day off "boring school" as he calls it! ?? Will be travelling up from North Wales...? S xx

Hello, it's my first post and I've loved reading the posts regarding junior associates at the RBS. I was wondering if anyone has any advice especially for a boy auditioning for a year 4 place. He's absolutely loves his ballet and is very focused on his training. We went to the insight day in London and he really enjoyed the class. I've told him how difficult it is to gain a place, especially at the London centre, but he is still keen to give it a go. Is there anything specific they look for in boys or any other advice for boys would be greatly appreciated. X

A question for parents of boys! How does the JA programme compare with Elmhurst for boys? Which does your ds prefer if he does both? If your son is a JA, how does he find the length of class compared with the Elmhurst class (2 1/4 hours JA, 1.5 at Elmhurst) Dd is already an Associate at Elmhurst so we have seen the girls classes. Ds might be interested in auditioning-for the experience as much as anything, as he knows how many children audition! Are the boys programmes as "barre work" focussed as the girls classes? Or is there more of a focus on jumping/strength/keeping them actively engaged etc in the boys classes? I can imagine that boys might get bored much more quickly with barre exercises than the girls do? Any insight into the boys classes would be great! Thank you so much in advance.

Are there any other boys doing this summer school?

Details on Elmhurst website of a boy's dance day.

The Hammond are holding a day of dance for boys aged 13-19 on 31st January. The application form is here http://www.thehammondschool.co.uk/dance/boys-masterclasses/ And here is a youtube link showing boys dance at The Hammond. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nLHREDNGhQA&feature=youtu.be

http://londonchildrensballet.com/training/ballet-boys/ From the above:- Registration for Ballet for Boys is now open!We are delighted to announce that Erico Montes, First Artist with The Royal Ballet, will once again lead the Ballet for Boys sessions for us this coming year. Dates: There will be 8 classes on Sundays between January - April 2016 First 4 classes: 10, 17, 24, 31 January NB. Occasionally classes might have to change due to Erico's busy timetable. If this happens we will email you so please make sure to clearly write your email address. Venue: TBC Times: Sunday afternoons, exact time to be confirmed Cost: The cost per class is £6, totalling £48 for the term. In cases of financial need we are able to offer grants for the programme. If you wish to apply for a grant please do not submit this form but contact the LCB office instead. In cases of financial need we offer grants. If you would like to apply for a grant, please request a form from us when registering. *DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: MONDAY 21 DECEMBER 2015*

Hi is there anybody else with a DS doing Elmhurst Associates and then JA's in Birmingham?

Here is an interesting report from The Economist on why girls are doing better than boys in almost every subject in the school curriculum. It is happening not only here but in many other countries of the developed and indeed much of the developing world. The explanation seems to lie in the following paragraph: "To see why boys and girls fare so differently in the classroom, first look at what they do outside it. The average 15-year-old girl devotes five-and-a-half hours a week to homework, an hour more than the average boy, who spends more time playing video games and trawling the internet. Three-quarters of girls read for pleasure, compared with little more than half of boys. Reading rates are falling everywhere as screens draw eyes from pages, but boys are giving up faster. The OECD found that, among boys who do as much homework as the average girl, the gender gap in reading fell by nearly a quarter." It is not just reading where girls do better but also physical exercise. As the Victorian schoolmasters used to say mens sana in corpore sano. They might do better if they were less sniffy about their sisters' ballet classes or at least made an appearance on the cricket pitch or rugger field. Girls in many families are often given greater responsibility than their brothers at an earlier age with simple domestic tasks in the home. To correct this imbalance in educational attainment between the sexes we need to make a radical shift in attitudes.

Hello lovely people, just here to ask for your thoughts and feelings on the following: As a male dance teacher, I am drafting an article about the experience of boys growing up in female heavy dance school environments and how I always detested being shown 'special treatment'. I am entirely of the view that gender is irrelevant in dance and that boys should be treated, judged and assessed by the exact same standards as girls. In my younger days, I always remember the feeling of embarrassment at festivals; whenever I was pulled forward by an adjudicator, simply because I was the token boy. Or worse, I remember a number of occasions when I placed higher than girls that I knew were a better standard than me, because the adjudicator thought it would be 'encouraging' and help my confidence. I know a number of examiners who also admit to marking boys higher than girls for similar reasons. If anything I find these things counter productive and yet they are still happening, even in this day and age when more and more boys are engaging enthusiastically with dance. I have discussed this topic at length with other male dancers I grew up with and the consensus of opinion is that, we wanted to dance and we would have stuck at it either way. Do you have a dancing son and have you experienced this? Is it mainly women who do this, or have you experienced the same thing from male teachers/adjudicators etc? How does this kind of thing make you feel as the parent of a dancing son? Do you think boys need this kind of special treatment? What other ways are there of keeping boys engaged with dance if they are the only boy in the class?

In the United States, we have always had a shortage of males signing up for ballet class. I think what partly explains that, is that many boys simply don't want to put on a tight white t-shirt (the color of underwear) and black tights. Might it be helpful (at least in the beginning) to allow entry-level boys to wear clothing that more resembles what they wear for other activities - like baggy shorts and baggy t-shirts? I understand that we need to be able to see the body as it is being trained, but you can't train the body that hasn't signed up for class, and any teacher with an experienced eye should be able to discern if turnout is coming from the feet or the hips regardless of what the student is wearing. So I'm curious. How do others view the attire boys wear for ballet?