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Elmhurst Summer Show 2016


Billyelliott

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How diisappointing was this prerfonrmace ,,the choreography of most of the items was poor ,Elite needs good performances a hard ballet to get across even with pr.os

I was also not impressed with the standard of the lower school ,poor foot work and port de bras

It is my opinion ,many will have love,d it

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How diisappointing was this prerfonrmace ,,the choreography of most of the items was poor ,Elite needs good performances a hard ballet to get across even with pr.os

I was also not impressed with the standard of the lower school ,poor foot work and port de bras

It is my opinion ,many will have love,d it

It's a very critical opinion and may quite rightly offend or upset people whose children were dancing in the performance.

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Whilst you are perfectly entitled to your opinion I would like to know on what grounds you are qualified to comment on technique & development of dancers in training.

 

Poor choreography is one thing & is quite subjective. There was choreography in the show I saw at my daughter's school last week that lets just say was not to my taste.

 

And in actual fact my dd tells me that if I had seen the first matinee performance I would possibly have a low opinion of other stuff. They are kids after all, stuff went badly wrong as it can do with any performance in any school.

 

These young people are not finished products they are a work in progress & should be congratulated for their achievements.

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I enjoyed it very much of course , but then I have a personal interest !

I watched it twice - different casts ... It was a bit too long to hold my interest 100% when very tired on the second viewing , but still many of the performances were outstanding and most of it very enjoyable .

Glad I saw it twice as some of it was so fast I'd missed bits !

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How diisappointing was this prerfonrmace ,,the choreography of most of the items was poor ,Elite needs good performances a hard ballet to get across even with pr.os

I was also not impressed with the standard of the lower school ,poor foot work and port de bras

It is my opinion ,many will have love,d it

 

Well you jack.b, have poor grammar, can't spell, or at the very least are the victim of appalling lack of precision 

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Whilst you are perfectly entitled to your opinion I would like to know on what grounds you are qualified to comment on technique & development of dancers in training.

 

Poor choreography is one thing & is quite subjective. There was choreography in the show I saw at my daughter's school last week that lets just say was not to my taste.

 

And in actual fact my dd tells me that if I had seen the first matinee performance I would possibly have a low opinion of other stuff. They are kids after all, stuff went badly wrong as it can do with any performance in any school.

 

These young people are not finished products they are a work in progress & should be congratulated for their achievements.

 

Pictures, I agree with your last comment and as you say, choreography can be a matter of taste but 'poor' is a judgement which should be made with at least a modicum of training in that area, of which I have none.  However, I did see the first matinee performance and came away with a sense of pride for all of the children I know or have watched develop, and anticipation for the future accomplishments of the younger dancers as they move through the school.  I'm not sure you're not doing the same as Jack.b implying that a low opinion of these hard working students would have been fair.

 

I didn't see Elmhurst show this time but I'm sure those children all worked incredibly hard.

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No I'm not implying a low opinion would be fair, things went wrong behind the scenes apparently & individuals felt they didn't dance to their best apparently on that particular show but what I was trying to get across, perhaps not clearly, is that these things happen. Dancers are human, even professionals never mind children in training (Jack.b particularly mentioned lower school of the Elmhurst show) & I find it very difficult to comprehend that standards could be as low as that.

 

He is entitled to his opinion but I would like to know if he has any credentials that entitle him to comment on this so called poor technique or even what children of a certain stage should be achieving as I am sure the Elmhurst teachers know what they are doing & have a long term goal in mind.

Edited by Picturesinthefirelight
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Well, I'm no doubt going to be in a minority here, and I don't approve of the way in which jack.b expressed him/herself, but if posters are not going to be permitted to criticise the standard of dancing at school shows at all then I question how useful threads on school shows will be if they are no more than warmly congratulatory. It is taken for granted that the students work hard but there is a reasonable question to be asked about the standard of dancing on display. A year or two ago there was a (nicely worded) criticism (by a teacher) about the footwork of the Tring students who were performing in ENB's production of Nutcracker at the Coliseum. Those students were in the lower school. Was that criticism unfair because they were young? I don't think so. They were not students from local schools but students in full time training (as far as I am aware) who were aspiring towards professional careers - plus these were professional performances for which the public were paying a lot of money in some cases. I myself criticised the singing one year and I felt that this was a legitimate thing to do given that these were professional performances.

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Posting a critical review (and of course everyone is entitled to their opinion) may perhaps have been better in the Performances Seen and General Discussions area of the forum, rather than in Doing Dance, where it is likely to offend the many parents on the forum whose children were taking part in the performance. 

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How diisappointing was this prerfonrmace ,,the choreography of most of the items was poor ,Elite needs good performances a hard ballet to get across even with pr.os

I was also not impressed with the standard of the lower school ,poor foot work and port de bras

It is my opinion ,many will have love,d it

I will state up front that my daughter is in year 11 at Elmhurst and is now moving to another school for the final years of her training and my elder daughter also attended Elmhurst from Associates to end of year 9 before moving to another vocational school.

 

The Summer Syncopations show of 2016 was in three Acts. Act 1 was Elite Syncopations by Sir Kenneth MacMillan and delightfully delivered by two different casts over three performances. Hardly 'poor choreography', additionally the grads performed Paquita by Marius Peptipa, which was delightful on all three performances. Other ballets were choreographed by Elmhurst staff, all high regarded ex professional classical ballet dancers and very experienced teachers and choreographers and I really enjoyed all the classical pieces.

 

In the past I have felt that the 'jazz' numbers haven't always been 'up there' however this year they were exciting and well executed with choreography from Sarah Moore for the grads and the year 7's, all very age appropriate. As always Miss Lewin choreographed a delightful folk/character dance for the year 8's enstiling strong national dancing in the young dancers vocabulary with a wonderful Mazurka to Paquita.This year saw the contemporary programme strengthen with pieces from teacher Jenny MacNamara, and guest choreographers Becca Thomas, Hannah Lockyer, and James Rooney, you can google them to see their excellent credentials.

 

How could I forget the 'Flamenco'!!!! Three sections, two very traditional, but different styles, one by year 13 the other year 11, then the third an Asian/Spanish fusion, all with live guitar, percussion, vocals. Very lucky students to have access to these musicians and choreography.

Additionally in Elite Syncopations the on stage musicians were students from the Birmingham Conservatoire and should be congratulated by their phenomenally professional performance. My friend is a musician and especially commended the trombone.

 

The performances were ended with the wonderful Grande Defile.

Nana lily

Edited by Nana Lily
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How could I forget the 'Flamenco'!!!! Three sections, two very traditional, but different styles, one by year 13 the other year 11, then the third an Asian/Spanish fusion, all with live guitar, percussion, vocals. Very lucky students to have access to these musicians and choreography.
Additionally in Elite Syncopations the on stage musicians were students from the Birmingham Conservatoire and should be congratulated by their phenomenally professional performance. My friend is a musician and especially commended the trombone.

 

edited for spelling

Edited by Nana Lily
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I loved it !

My family and friends loved it !

And most importantly my lower school daughter loved performing in it !

Offended ??? Not at all ! Bring it on ! If they were perfect there would be no need for training.

Even RBS and BRB get panned accasionally ????

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My daughter, an associate, danced in last night's show and loved it. Feedback from the Artistic Director was that they did brilliantly.

We watched again today and it was fantastic.

Well done to all and to the staff.

Several of the students were in tears at the end of the Grand Defile and nearly had us in tears too! Wonderful performances!

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My daughter, an associate, danced in last night's show and loved it. Feedback from the Artistic Director was that they did brilliantly.

We watched again today and it was fantastic.

Well done to all and to the staff.

Several of the students were in tears at the end of the Grand Defile and nearly had us in tears too! Wonderful performances!

 

It was very lovely to see the Associates during the Friday evening performances, so young and yet so composed and beautifully delivered, ages just 8 to 11. Really lovely to see them included this year X

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Lovely to hear your kind words, Nana Lily, and lets hope that perhaps the Associates can be included next year too! I feel that the experience really brought the children together and has inspired them so much, as well as bringing the parents together much more too. We are all so scattered location wise that its nice to all come together like this and really feel part of the wonderful community that is Elmhurst!

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Well, I'm no doubt going to be in a minority here, and I don't approve of the way in which jack.b expressed him/herself, but if posters are not going to be permitted to criticise the standard of dancing at school shows at all then I question how useful threads on school shows will be if they are no more than warmly congratulatory. It is taken for granted that the students work hard but there is a reasonable question to be asked about the standard of dancing on display. A year or two ago there was a (nicely worded) criticism (by a teacher) about the footwork of the Tring students who were performing in ENB's production of Nutcracker at the Coliseum. Those students were in the lower school. Was that criticism unfair because they were young? I don't think so. They were not students from local schools but students in full time training (as far as I am aware) who were aspiring towards professional careers - plus these were professional performances for which the public were paying a lot of money in some cases. I myself criticised the singing one year and I felt that this was a legitimate thing to do given that these were professional performances.

That's a fair point, aileen. However, there is a big difference between an informed and constructive review posted in "Performances seen", and a short and wholly negative criticism of a school performance in "Doing Dance".

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No I'm not implying a low opinion would be fair, things went wrong behind the scenes apparently & individuals felt they didn't dance to their best apparently on that particular show but what I was trying to get across, perhaps not clearly, is that these things happen. Dancers are human, even professionals never mind children in training (Jack.b particularly mentioned lower school of the Elmhurst show) & I find it very difficult to comprehend that standards could be as low as that.

 

He is entitled to his opinion but I would like to know if he has any credentials that entitle him to comment on this so called poor technique or even what children of a certain stage should be achieving as I am sure the Elmhurst teachers know what they are doing & have a long term goal in mind.

 

I think that jack.b was implying that the Elmhurst students are poorly trained and that their teachers are not up to the job of preparing them for a performance worth watching, rather than commenting on the odd mistake by individuals.  It is a very English/British trait to begin a point by also making criticism of oneself (or daughter's school) before making the real point but it wasn't necessary. Whatever happened behind the scenes, these students also deserved enormous credit for what they achieved, even on the matinee.

 

I have always marvelled at the wonderfully polished performances of White Lodge students yet wished that they were allowed to attempt more difficult repertoire (not this year and absolutely no criticism of the amazing, hard working children training there because a few of them will become our ballet stars of the future).

 

What I love about the Hammond and Tring is that the students get to learn many other genres and also have a great deal of fun working on choreography which they are not yet all able to perform in a professionally polished way but which makes for an exciting and varied end of school year show.  Congratulations to each and every one of them!

 

I love that I have seen the shows for many of the top schools because each time it is wonderful to see what one school does better than the other.  It is useful to know these things in order to direct your own child, if ability, physique and cold hard cash allows.

 

I'm going out on a limb but I think that quite possibly jack.b is a disgruntled parent with a child at a different school who wishes to express that he/she didn't want their child to train there anyway, thank you.  We all get a frustrated at times if we feel that our child deserved a place in a school or that another child got a part that we would have wanted our child to perform but rubbishing a whole school performance, technique etc is way too harsh in the Doing Dance section where parents will almost undoubtedly see it.

 

Well done to Elmhurst for allowing the students to perform Elite Syncopations.  Wonderful to hear.  Sad I didn't get to see it because I know many of the students performing in it and I bet it was wonderful to see.  Are they BRB etc yet? No but again, some of these students are the stars of the future....

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Quite so !

I was wishing everyone well for the long awaited shows and not expecting negative reviews , though constructure criticism is always welcome !

 

Thank you Nana Lily for your super and detailed and accurate description of the performances - there was a lovely sense of family about it all as well . I love seeing the progression year on year ....

I was far to tired to describe the show on both nights after travelling long distances and packing up rooms and organising extended family ....

A huge well done to all staff , musicians and students for the hours of rehearsal blood sweat and tears !

Your love is dance, music and performance was evident on your faces

Thank you xxxxxx

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I am another Elmhurst Parent and my son loved the chance to take a role on the Friday in what is indeed a very sophisticated ballet - Elite Syncopations.

 

The whole show is a learning experience - from the performances right back to initial rehearsals, dress rehearsals, casting, being cast, not being cast! timing of entrances and such like. Remember, they are still learning.

 

It was 3 hours long, but I also remember complaints from vocational school parents that they never see their children dance (i know you were not complaining Billyelliot). Whatever method is used will always be some form of compromise. But when a year 7 parent, it was great to see what will be done in future. Now a 6.1 parent, we enjoyed remembering the first steps 6 years ago and seeing those starting the journey. 

 

Indeed, part of the learning experience may well be that performances after the last night of school (for some, their last night at Elmhurst), with the lack of sleep that entails are unlikely to be the best! It was a unique one-off to have the last performance after the last night of school and I am not sure it will be scheduled that way in future. It was difficult for many reasons. 

 

With respect to the Jazz, as nanalily, I have never felt it to be the best part of Elmhurst. But then, there is plenty of other provision for those wanting to spend more time on jazz or musical theatre. It will never be Elmhurst, which is quite openly a classical ballet school and increasing the 'classic-ness' (whilst keeping versatility and also strengthening the contemporary).

 

Congratulations to all involved. 

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Stirrups36 you make a good point about the Jazz.  I have felt that it is not the strongest part of Elmhurst's shows but since Mr Parker came in, wanting Elmhurst to at the very least be an equal partner to Royal Ballet School, it is never going to be the main focus.  Go to Hammond if you want to be equally proficient in Jazz, tap and ballet.  I am so happy that my younger DD has had that opportunity  :)

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