Pas de Quatre Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 (edited) It is very sad to read in today's Telegraph the report that Yat-sen Chang was set to appear at Westminster magistrate's court today for a bail hearing. According to the article he has been charged with 14 sexual assalts at West London School of Dance between Dec 1 2014 and Dec 31 2016. He joined ENB in 1993 and later was a principal dancer until 2011. I thought very hard before posting this, but it is in the public domain. As the mother of a dancer and teacher of many young dancers, some of whom went on to Vocational schools, I feel it is necessary to speak plainly about such matters. If a young person feels intimidated by the fame and renown of someone taking advantage of them, they need to know that such aggressors cannot hide behind their fame. Edited January 9, 2020 by Pas de Quatre grammar 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Yes, it’s right to flag this report (which, as you say, is in the public domain) but it is important to remember at this time that these are only allegations. We shall have to let the legal system take its course. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 Yes I agree, it is important to remember that an accused person is innocent until proved guilty in a court of law. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canary Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 ‘The welfare of the child remains of paramount importance’ and Every Child Matters, my thoughts are with the victims and their families at this very difficult time 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Alleged victims, at this stage. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeepDancing!! Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 There was also the conviction of Stephen Beagley, ex royal ballet principle in november last year for sexual assaults of students he gave private lessons to over many years - he is now serving a ten year prison sentence. I agree Canary, the welfare of children and vulnerable young adults remains of paramount importance. We all trust the teachers we put our children into the hands of. Sometimes, this trust is abused. From what I learned reading the various newspaper articles about Yat Sen Chang, the magistrate has referred the case to the crown court, due to the serious nature of the charges against him, and the CPS have brought the case now after 3 years conducting their investigation and building their case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glissade Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 I posted several times about Stephen Beagley in this forum, but all posts were removed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 17 minutes ago, glissade said: I posted several times about Stephen Beagley in this forum, but all posts were removed. Your post in “News” is still there, glissade. I expect News was deemed a more appropriate place than Doing Dance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Dancer Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 (edited) On 10/01/2020 at 17:01, KeepDancing!! said: We all trust the teachers we put our children into the hands of. Sometimes, this trust is abused. I thought about this news in swing dance class this week, as my teacher came and adjusted my posture and straightened my shoulders, which is a thing I'm completely happy for a teacher to do. Dancing can be a very intimate thing with a lot of physical contact. I'm a middle aged. middle class professional with a reasonable degree of confidence who pays for dance classes for my amusement. When I did a tango class with a teacher who I thought was being inappropriate I told him to piss off and never went back. It's a lot harder to do that as a child or teenager who depends on their teachers more and looks to them for support in a career journey. It's even harder if a predator grooms the child to accept unacceptable behaviour. So I think parents definitely have to be careful to make sure their children are being protected. Edited January 11, 2020 by Tango Dancer spelling 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecatsmother Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Not in anyway to be linked to the names mentioned in this thread but just to make people that do not know this aware that if anyone has any concerns re abusive treatment and young people etc this can be reported in confidence through the NSPCC helpline. So often people feel unable to say anything at the time and it comes out later so it is useful to know you can do this anonymously. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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