Elmhurst figures & physical requirements

[taxi4ballet]

It can be very easy for children to get the wrong end of the stick sometimes, particularly when remarks are made as a joke.

[Evie]

My dd only grew to 4ft 10ins but loved performing, when all her taller, thinner friends went off to dance schools at 16 and 18, she was left floundering! What to do now! Thank god for Disney, she was ideal for playing all the shorter characters and danced in the parades and had the time of her life!!

[Fonty]

Just picking up on this thread again. Mr Fonteyn and I seem to remember a documentary about one of the foreign schools (was it one of the Russian ones?) where they stated that they could not fully judge a child's physique until they had gone through puberty and had reached the age of 16. At this stage, it would be obvious whether a child would be too tall/short, and what their proportions and final build would be likely to be.

 

Does anyone else remember this or know anything about it? Try as we might, we cannot find anything about it. It does seem to be a sensible solution if the school can afford to do this, as adult growth does tend to come in strange spurts!

Edited May 1, 2012 by Fonteyn22

[Fiz]

My DDs's teacher said the same thing, Fonteyn 22.

[Pas de Quatre]

Most good ballet teachers know this - that you don't know how the physique will develop until after puberty. This is I think why many people are puzzled/frustrated by some of the almost arbitrary decisions that seem to be made by some of the vocational schools. Lots of children suffer changes to their abilities during growth spurts, but a bit of patience is all that is needed and in most cases it sorts itself out. Ballet training is a long term business and if the school has any confidence in its initial selection procedures, it should be able to work through any problems in puberty.

[Anna C]

That is EXACTLY what dd's highly experienced dance physio says. :-)

[JulieW]

Most good ballet teachers know this - that you don't know how the physique will develop until after puberty. This is I think why many people are puzzled/frustrated by some of the almost arbitrary decisions that seem to be made by some of the vocational schools. Lots of children suffer changes to their abilities during growth spurts, but a bit of patience is all that is needed and in most cases it sorts itself out. Ballet training is a long term business and if the school has any confidence in its initial selection procedures, it should be able to work through any problems in puberty.

 

Certainly turned out OK for ds who was assessed out of WL due to his lack of flexibility (he'd grown 10 inches in two years - you'd think that would be pretty obvious). Miss Stock has been quoted as saying in a couple of interviews that they "assess out" children who, in their view, don't have the potential for a classical ballet career. Perhaps if they had been prepared to help him in the way that Elmhurst did they would have discovered that he could improve his flexibility (granted, he'll never be the most flexible dancer, but he makes up for it in other ways) and as he is soon to start a classical contract, I'm happy to say that on this occasion they were wrong.

 

This is not a moan about the RBS, or the system of assessing out, it is what it is, and he loved his time at WL - it's just that Pas de Quatre struck a chord with her post.

 

Rant over.....

[Anjuli_Bai]

Sometimes when one holds the keys to an envied castle it fosters a rarified atmosphere of unquestionable correctitude. This is reinforced by the numbers knocking eagerly on the door for entrance.

[Anna C]

The thing is, losing flexibility during rapid growth spurts is not unusual! My dd is hypermobile but her teacher asked me to get the physio to check her lumbar spine as it seemed not to be very flexible. After a thorough examination the physio pronounced it to be a temporary problem resulting from such a rapid growth spurt. Nothing to worry about!

 

I wish Vocational schools all took the view that although puberty isn't a short term thing, most dancers could in fact be guided through it with patience and care, and emerge on the other side as wonderful dancers!