Risk of going en pointe too early

[ParentTaxi]

balletbean,

 

The problem with that can often be standardisation across different examiners. DD has received distinctions for every exam she has taken (ISTD), but the marks have been highly variable, from 81 / 100 to 96 / 100. Looking across the school as a whole (it is a centre by itself, so there are a lot of grades to compare), the proportions of P [very, very rare], M and D remain relatively constant, and the type of grade each individual child gets as they move up through the school remains relatively constant. However, for some examiners, the majority of Distinctions will be around the 82-85 mark range across the board, while for others the majority will be, say, between 87 and 95, and simnilarly for some examiners the majority of merits will be high Merits, for others the marks will be lower.

 

I know that the board works hard to standardise GRADES between examiners. Having to ensure the exact MARKS given to all students will be consistent across all examiners is potentially a much, much harder task and may not be worth it, if that makes sense?

[user_less]

With a 9 year old dancer. It is good to see that our Ballet dance teacher had this article posted on her Facebook page. Under no rush for points.

[balletbean]

ParentTaxi,

 

Thank you and yes, I totally understand what you are saying. At my DD dance school it is 'known' who will be awarded M or D. Even if they end up with different examiners. The excitement is when they find out their actual Marks. 

 

I was trying to look at the bigger picture (some might say nosy) and beyond the stats that RAD publish. A clearer breakdown of the marks within the awards, not really looking at individual examiners because as we all know they can vary. 

 

Now I hope that it is me that makes sense

[annaliesey]

I don't know how they managed that then as the RAD regulations state that although during the transition period there were exceptions they will now only be granted if a candidate misses the age by a very small amount & if it's because they took exams previously before the 2011 policy changes.

 

So for IF a candidate has to be age 11 on 1st sept if taking the exam between Sept & Dec & 1st Jan if taking the exam between Jan - Aug

She was 5 months younger than the requirement as at 1/9/15

[annaliesey]

She was 5 months younger than the requirement as at 1/9/15

... And I think she got a distinction

[Moomin]

I haven't seen any of the rad work but they do seem to be a little out of kilter with other syllabi who start if after grade 5 or 6 and have minimum age of 12. Anyone starting pointe needs the strength etc but isn't the specific issue that the growth plates aren't closed in younger girls and micro trauma or a break is much more dangerous for them?

[dramascientist]

My DD went to a very reputable RAD school in Bangkok who refused to allow their students en pointe as per the RAD guidelines. Another school down the road put students en pointe at 8 and 9, I cannot tell you how awful it was watching these young girls wobble around, not even getting onto full pointe but still my DDs school lost a lot of pupils to this other school because they would not compromise. The principal was RBS trained and said she would rather lose students than put them in danger of injury and problems in the future. DD also trained at a Vaganova method school in Eastern Europe starting at 11, the girls did not go en pointe until after the "Easter holiday" the first year to give them two terms of daily classes to build up the strength. IMHO there is nothing worse than watching someone who does not have the strength and technique trying to dance en pointe!

[drdance]

Just a note about bone health/ossification/growth plates - This is a long slow drawn out process lasting right into adulthood; some growth plates do not fuse until as late as age 21. It is not as though a child wakes up on their 11th birthday and their bones have suddenly matured 'enough' to start pointe work. Ossification of bone is a linear process and bone maturity varies from person to person.

 

I've just come across a fascinating website which gives the ages of when the growth plates appear and when they finally fuse (indicating the end of growing). http://nothinbutapeanut.com/anatomy/osteology/ossification-centres/ if anyone is interested!

[dramascientist]

Wow Dr Dance that is very interesting, I had no idea that these bones were so late in "joining the body" fascinating!

[mumof6]

Just thought i would say i started pointe at 9 and had to have my shoes specially made as my feet were so tiny i think i was an 11 or thereabouts, i am now 39 and still got small feet size 3. my feet grew in a very pointed shape and i have a very high arch i dont know whether my feet would have grown that way or not. I started ballet at 2 and was put with children older than me as i was advanced and i remember lots of discussions first between my parents and ballet teacher. my friends my age didnt go on pointe till a few years later i rememeber them being very jealous and wanted to try mine but their feet were too big and couldnt fit in them. to be fair gymnastics has ruined my body more but i did gymnastics at a very high standard (british team) and i wouldnt change it for the world, i think we need to just do what we think is best at the time

[Anon2]

Lisa Howell's The Ballet Blog has a new video 'The Dangers of Teaching yourself pointe work'. Covers a number of issues raised in this thread.

[Katia05]

My DDs old dance school encouraged everyone to start on pointe after their grade 3 RAD exam, whatever their age or size or shape... My DD was just turning 11 but hasn't started her growth spurt yet at all and is very small for her age. So... we deliberated long and hard and moved dance school, which caused a lot of soul-searching, as she'd been there since she was 2. But now 3 months later it's liberating to have made a good choice for DD and still have all the time ahead to do pointe when her feet have developed more and she has more core strength overall. Each child can be so different and we're glad we took the step to change, though it did make me feel unpopular at the time.

[sarahw]

Crumbs katia05 - think you made a very good decision there.

[balletbean]

My DDs old dance school encouraged everyone to start on pointe after their grade 3 RAD exam, whatever their age or size or shape... My DD was just turning 11 but hasn't started her growth spurt yet at all and is very small for her age. So... we deliberated long and hard and moved dance school, which caused a lot of soul-searching, as she'd been there since she was 2. But now 3 months later it's liberating to have made a good choice for DD and still have all the time ahead to do pointe when her feet have developed more and she has more core strength overall. Each child can be so different and we're glad we took the step to change, though it did make me feel unpopular at the time.

Tough decision but wholeheartedly agree with the correct decision being made. Wish more parents would do so as well. 

 

I would like to know of what purpose the teacher had in suggesting pointe at just grade 3. Not just strength both in feet and core but also technique still in the very early stages of development.  She is taking a huge risk of her pupils health and future well being. For what.............! 

[Cara in NZ]

DD is entering a big Australasian competition in Easter 2017 (Alana Haines Awards), and they have changed the rules since the last comp (2015) so that now the 13-year-olds have to dance one of the set variations en pointe, with the 14/15 yr olds. In 2015 the 13-yr-olds could choose to dance on flat with the 11 & 12 yr olds, but apparently it was too complicated to have 13-yr-olds dancing in either Junior or Senior groups so they standardised it. My DD started pointe at 11.5 but didn't do much in IF. This year she has done Intermediate syllabus work but still not a lot of pointe apart from that. The pointework required for the AHA variation is considerably harder than any of her syllabus work, and I think it is a bit unreasonable to expect this of 13-yr-olds. But I guess it means fewer applicants (they always have too many)!