Changing dance school

[balletmum13]

My dd is 14 and for some time we have been unhappy with her training and teachers.

 

We are considering moving her to a new dance school either from September or January. 

 

She has a trial next week but I was wondering what you think of this time table.

 

Monday: 1.5 hours of ballet, 1 hour of pointe.

Tuesday: 1 hour of modern, 1 hour of ballet.

Wednesday: 1.5 hours of ballet, 1 hour of character.

Thursday: 1.5 hours of ballet, 1 hour of tap.

Saturday: 6 hours including ballet, pointe, contemporary.

Sunday: 1.5 hours of ballet, 1.5 hours of pointe or partnering or rep.

 

What do you think of this?

 

Thank you,

 

BM13

[MrsMoo2]

That's a lot of training!

At 14, does she participate in any of the associates or vocational schools? 

Whats her favourite style of dance? At 14, there are so many other distractions, I think I'd make sure first and foremost she was happy, then take it from there. 

Whats her goal? Does she want to dance professionally? Teach? 

My DS is only 9 and he does 4 hours a week. He has just started asking for more, and seems to be keen on the idea of it being more than a hobby. To do this we may have to access a bigger dance school.

Hope it works out, whatever you decide...??? xx

 

[Picturesinthefirelight]

That's too much. 

 

Dd is at vocational school & there they insist the students have one day off per week to allow their bodies to rest & recuperate. 

 

It should be quality over quantity, when will your dd do her homework (which can be up to 2 hours per night at some schools during GCSE's or simply chill.  

[Nicola H]

26 minutes ago, Picturesinthefirelight said:

That's too much. 

 

Dd is at vocational school & there they insist the students have one day off per week to allow their bodies to rest & recuperate. 

 

It should be quality over quantity, when will your dd do her homework (which can be up to 2 hours per night at some schools during GCSE's or simply chill.  

How many hours a week of dance does your DD have on her time table... as the OP looks to almost as much in the week as is timetabled at the vocational schools based on what i've read on this site and on the schools own materials.

[balletmum13]

We are thinking of making it slightly less but will see if we enjoy the trial first. How much would do at vocational school as she is concerned that she doesn't do enough compared to others! 

[taxi4ballet]

Does she want to audition for vocational upper school training?

 

My dd changed dance schools at 13 and that's similar to what she was doing at her new school from 14 upwards before she went to vocational school at 16. She also threw in EYB for good measure as well! The only issue really is the GCSE years, when things like homework become a bit of a struggle, particularly in Y11, when there will be auditions on top too.

 

Maybe give it a go and see how she manages? 

[balletmum13]

She does want to audition for upper schools and her favourite is ballet.

 

How far would be the furthest you would travel to a dance school? 

[Picturesinthefirelight]

2 hours ago, mph said:

How many hours a week of dance does your DD have on her time table... as the OP looks to almost as much in the week as is timetabled at the vocational schools based on what i've read on this site and on the schools own materials.

 

The hours Monday - Friday look comparable. But dd only does 3 hours on a Saturday & has Sunday's off completely. 

 

Reading a bit more closely i see that the OP's dd does at least have Friday's off which is better than I first thought. 

Edited July 2, 2017 by Picturesinthefirelight

[BlueLou]

This year my dd (15 now) has done 4 nights plus Saturday, similar to your timetable above but without the Sunday. She has found the Sunday off to be essential - she sleeps half of it, does most of her homework, then catches up with friends or watches tv in the evening. 

[Pointetoes]

DD is 16 and starting vocational school in September. This year she has danced Monday, Wednesday,Friday evenings. Saturdays have been a mixture of dance and music ( her other passion) but all day and Sunday afternoons. Plus GCSE dance at school. She has used her free periods at school and thought nothing of working after classes, during breaks. She has done EYB twice and other dance shows or music concerts. We have just worked out she hasn't had a half term this entire academic year. She is exhausted but I can not praise her enough for the way she has handle year 11. She is lucky because she is naturall bright and has had the most amazing support from her academic school and friends. 

 

What i I am saying is, yes it's possible to do that much but have the correct support in place. Plus it's not only your DD that needs it, your own personal friends and family need to understand the commitment and the impact it will have on all of you. 

 

 

[Anna C]

It also depends upon how far away the dance school is, whether she wants to do any other activities like music/choir, and how much homework she will get at academic school.  Even if a student makes it all the way through upper school without injury, and gets a contract in a ballet company, the ballet career is short in comparison to "normal" careers so I really think qualifications are a very necessary backup.  Juggling academic school, GCSEs, homework, auditions AND dancing 6 days out of 7 can really take its toll age 14-16.   Try it by all means but quality training 4 times a week, and maybe an Associate scheme added in, might be easier and better in the long run. 

[dancefanatic]

Also, the vocational schools tend to offer 2 hours ballet Monday through to Friday, plus an additional 2 hours dance Monday to Thursday (this will include pointe, tap, contemporary, jazz etc).  My DD goes to Elmhurst who offer a further 1.5 to 2 hours RAD class on a Saturday.  Nothing on a Sunday.  And Friday afternoons they have 2 hours enrichment instead of dance were they have a number of things offered over the course of a term from makeup, nutrition, circus skills, swiming and other more normal PE options.  As others have said, it really is important to ensure your DD has rest time as well as time to do homework and catch up with her friends to do more normal teenager activities.  It really is more about quality of teaching rather than quantity.  Good luck to your DD, she sounds very determined which can only be a good thing.

[Kate_N]

There is a day off - but it's a Friday, not a Sunday. 

 

It looks OK if your DD works up to it gradually! And I'd be looking at what the 6 hours on a Saturday comprises. 

 

But most of the posts I read here (and on other ballet sites) from UK-based dancers (or their parents) are about not being able to have access to enough hours of quality training, rather than too many! This looks like a sensible timetable in that pointe is only ever after a proper length of ballet technique class ie 90 minutes. At 14, maybe an hour pf pointe is too much - 30 minutes would probably be OK, especially as it's 3 times a week.

 

But your DD is fortunate to have access to ballet 6 days a week - which is pretty much on track for a serious 14 year old, I should have thought.

Edited July 2, 2017 by Kate_N

[ArucariaBallerina]

I wish there was a school that offered this where I live! Always quality of quantity I suppose though, but quantity is still good!

[taxi4ballet]

6 hours ago, balletmum13 said:

She does want to audition for upper schools and her favourite is ballet.

 

How far would be the furthest you would travel to a dance school? 

By car we did 30 minutes each way to regular dance school (3 or 4 times a week), an hour each way once a week to another school, an hour each way once a fortnight for associates; and an hour each way once a week by train for the other associates. A heck of a lot of travelling come to think of it, I wouldn't want to do it again... (and I don't even want to think about how far away the last EYB was!!!)

 

DD's academic school was only a few minutes walk away though, which helped.

[Pups_mum]

My DD travelled about 40 miles to dance classes for a while. Our local school closed at very short notice and the nearest school that was able to meet her needs was that distance away. Living in a rural area we are quite used to having to travel for most things (academic school is over 20 miles away for instance) so it wasn't a huge issue. That said, I jumped at the chance when a new school opened much nearer home, as there's no doubt that a long journey either side of class makes things harder. I think whilst you are doing it it seems OK, but when you stop you realise how tiring it was.

I don't think there's a right answer though - everyone has to weigh up the costs and benefits and how far it's worth travelling will depend on things like how much better the more distant training is, effects on the rest of the family, ability of the DC (and driver!) to tolerate the travel and so on. 

[Guest]

My dd has probably done a similar amount since age 14; she generally has had 2 evenings a week free, but a longer session on Friday evenings and all day Saturday. All day Saturday is not as bad as it sounds, especially with reasonable breaks between classes. The older students manage to fit in trips to local shops (especially the cake shop)and often do informal homework sessions. The only caveat I would add, is to find out if the students are ever expected to do extra sessions over and above the time table. e.g. extra classes for exams, or additional rehearsals for festivals or performances.  Also it depends on how big an increase it is from what she is currently doing - it might take her a few weeks to adapt if its significantly more. On the other hand as an energetic 14 yr old it might not bother her at all. As longs as she knows to tell someone if she does get very tired or starts to get aches and pains she should be fine.

[balletmum13]

I think we will try it and see how it all goes? What is the furthest that you would travel?

 

Thanks for your input everyone!!

[Anna C]

For a good Associate scheme you will find that people travel very long distances.  

[dancingboy65]

We travel for an hour on the train each way for DS associate scheme, not including the 20 minute car drive to the station or the 20 minute walk from the station to class!

[sarahw]

We did 2 1/4h drive for Associates - not sure I'd do it again....

[taxi4ballet]

6 hours ago, balletmum13 said:

I think we will try it and see how it all goes? What is the furthest that you would travel?

 

Thanks for your input everyone!!

What time in the evening does the last class finish? Add 10 minutes on to that for chit-chat, changing etc before leaving, and then add on the journey time home. What time will you get home? That might be the decider.

 

The actual distance wasn't really the issue for us, it was the timetable of the classes in the evenings on school nights, some of them finished quite late.

[balletbean]

My DD is just finishing yr10 (turned 15 on Tuesday) and trains for on average 15 hours a week. 

It is difficult to compare the amount of training at a regular ballet school and an academic school against a those attending a vocational school. 

Lessons are taken during the regular working hours for a start, unlike our DC who balance school lessons and train in the evenings. Often forgoing evening meals until later on. 

It is therefore very easy for DC to reach physical and mental exhaustion trying to maintain the balance as they can get so caught on the cycle of school, dance, homework, eat. sleep, repeat. 

Teachers at their academic schools have one focus and one focus only, GCSE Grades and league tables. The pressure will be on. Not just for dancers but other teenagers that take part in sport at county level or above. Schools may appear supportive but only to a certain level.  

We've already had the discussion about which lessons to pull back on at the studio to allow revision in yr 11. Revision hours that are not done too late at night and to ensure enough sleep hours are maintained. We as parents also can't avoid the fact that GCSE's play an important part in our children's lives even if they are adamant that they will spend their whole career dancing. They need their GCSE's, 1) For some funding, many ask for  5x A-C grades (now 9 - 5 Grades). 2) GCSE good grades ensure that the pupil has a better chance of succeeding with their Trinity Diploma or BA(Hons). These qualifications will be studied whilst away from home for the first time, so will be totally independent with their studies and won't have a parent to support them quite the same as they would at home. Higher GCSE Grades will help them on this one. There is quite a considerable amount of written work required for both qualifications.  My eldest DD completed her Trinity Diploma last year, thankful for her GCSE's and A levels, unlike many of their peers. 

Try to find the healthy balance, as all children do need down time either by themselves or with their friends.

They need to develop those important social skills as well as time with the family. 

It won't be long before they spread their wings and leave the nest.  Nobody ever said it would be easy. Good Luck.

 

 

[sarahw]

I agree balletbean about how hard it is for non vocational students to juggle the commitments and this does need to be taken into account. It's better to do a little less and be on top of things....

[Guest]

We have just come out on the other side as my dd left her academic school in the last 2 weeks and is now waiting for GCSE results (I lie - don't think she gives them a second thought). Yes it can be tough at times, trying to juggle everything, but if dance is your passion you will enjoy it and won't be watching the clock. In my dd's case it has also been her social life, as her non-dancing friends long since gave up inviting her to parties etc as she was never available. Accept that you cannot have everything and don't be too hard on yourselves. Also consider that at least your dc are not wasting hours of their lives in playing computer games or hanging around shopping malls. Its actually very easy to fritter away 15 hours a week on something totally not worthwhile. My dd survived by getting early nights whenever she wasn't dancing (8.30pm early) then getting up at 6.30am to do school work and her stretching exercises. And a really good diet is absolutely crucial to maintaining health and fitness, especially during growth spurts. And before you know it, its all over!