Festivals

[Pixiewoo]

Good morning,

 

I know there have been a few threads lately about festivals, and how beneficial they are ( or not ) and I just wanted to say that DD has been at a festival for the past 4 days, and it has been the most positive, friendly experience. All the dancers were fantastic, and lovely with each other, and all the dance schools chatted together.

 

It really makes all the hours and time and energy spent preparing for festivals ( as a parent ! ) worth while, when you see all those happy faces.

 

 

 .... now to sort out the myriad of costumes, tights, hair decorations and shoes!

[TooTu]

I'm glad your DD had a great time & a positive festival experience. My DD loves going to festivals to meet up with all of the friends she has made over the years from different dance schools.

 

Enjoy sorting out the aftermath of costumes etc.... That part is not so much fun

[ParentTaxi]

Agree. This is also a festival week for us, and it's a great and friendly experience. Very, very few of the participants will go on to dance professionally - but each will gain a lot from performing, succeeding and failing (and keeping their faces for both) and mixing with others who share their love of dance.

 

I particularly love group / team classes - absolutely the best of the festival world.

 

I can see that for those on this forum whose primary goal is to achieve as professional ballerinas, festivals are largely irrelevant. But for the vast majority of 'good recreational dancers', they are a little glimpse of that world of performance, of striving, of getting feedback both good and bad from an unknown 3rd party, that dancing wholly within a single dance school doesn't give.

[ParentTaxi]

(I would also say that different festivals have different 'cultures' - this week's one is my absolute favourite of the year - well organised, well run, immaculately timetabled for sensibly-sized classes in a clean and welcoming venue, and with dancing of a very high but not unattainable standard. I mean, watching a class with 18 in it, of a uniformly enjoyable standard but where any of 9 or 10 dancers could be placed, is much more fun for me that either a class of 8 with the winner obvious from the start, or a class of 25-30 where half are very poor.)

[Pups_mum]

This was a strange week for me - the first October half term in 13 years when I haven't been taking DD to our favourite festival. I've had a strange mixture of emotions. Partly sad that something that has been such a big part of life is over, but also it's been strangely liberating to be able to do other things with the week. My boys have definitely benefited. We did sneak in to watch a couple of sections at the weekend for old times sake, and whilst I enjoyed it I didn't feel envious of the parents of the dancers. I guess we have moved on! I might volunteer to help, once my boys have grown up as I do love it and reckon I could be useful, but for now, my dance festival days are over.

Good luck to the little dancers and parents who are just starting out. Enjoy yourselves. There will be ups and downs,great days and rotten ones. But keep it all in perspective, take what works for you and disregard the rest, and that way you will gain a lot and be left with many happy memories in the coming years.

[BlueLou]

Good morning,

 

I know there have been a few threads lately about festivals, and how beneficial they are ( or not ) and I just wanted to say that DD has been at a festival for the past 4 days, and it has been the most positive, friendly experience. All the dancers were fantastic, and lovely with each other, and all the dance schools chatted together.

 

It really makes all the hours and time and energy spent preparing for festivals ( as a parent ! ) worth while, when you see all those happy faces.

 

 

 .... now to sort out the myriad of costumes, tights, hair decorations and shoes!

Sounds like we have had a very similar few days! On 2 days I had to leave my 14 year old dd there without me, and for much of the time there were no other dancers from our dance school there either (small school!), but all of the other children were so friendly and welcoming that she had an absolutely lovely time and made lots of new friends. She normally trains seriously 15-18 hours a week, so the 3 festivals a year that we do are really fun light relief for her.