Stitch Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Most kids in a conservatoire municipal are there for the fun It's a mine field for parents of serious dancers but it's a great system for recreational dancers... Afab, thank you for expanding on the nature of the conservatoire. Your comment about kids in a conservatoire being there for fun may help to reconcile Window's experiences with these two teachers. I first began to wonder if the conservatoire was "recreation oriented" when Window mentioned her daughter's displeasure with not being able to "make up her own dances" as she apparently had become accustomed to doing. Could it be that her conservatoire is in fact recreational (very healthy for children ages 5-7) and that the second teacher of "full on" classes simply represents a more focused (and,yes, more disciplined) course of study? And wouldn't that be appropriate for the daughter as she matures into adolescence? Could it be that Window and her daughter are merely experiencing a "jolt" as they transition from recreation to study? And could it be that the "strict" teacher isn't so bad after all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afab Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Hi Sitch, I think what Window's daughter is experiencing is partly what you describe as you don't start ballet in France and especially in a conservatoire before the year you turn 8. So Window's daughter must have been so far in a pre ballet class called Initiation here... In those classes you play with rhythm and music and yes you play a lot while learning... From 8, one does real ballet, much stricter, even though still fun if done well but not the same fun... The teacher Window is talking about is no fun whatsoever! She once spent an hour long private lesson seeing if she wanted to take my DD, then 11, as a full time student by constantly correcting her, stopping her to tell her she couldn't do much, she wasn't doing things right, telling her she couldn't jump (it's actually DD's thing), etc... We're talking a kid who has spent a week of the previous summer at RBS... My daughter was close to tears and the teacher then told me she was brave because she didn't cry and then offered her a year long place at her school! An offer we didn't take on, surprisingly enough!!! There will be a jolt in transition between pre ballet and ballet I agree but going from from pre ballet to that teacher would be more like electrocution to me! Lol 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitch Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 My daughter was close to tears and the teacher then told me she was brave because she didn't cry Yes, that's going too far. Imagine evaluating students on the basis of whether they cry or not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dance*is*life Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Seven is still very young and honestly, I don't feel that your daughter will lose out by not starting serious training at that age. Give her another year or two to decide how important dance is to her, before sending her to a more focused environment. I am definitely a teacher who goes for the positive approach - I want my students to love ballet as much as I do, because I believe that you work harder at something you love and get pleasure from, than something that you are forced to do. Some children are ready for serious, dedicated training earlier, others later. Listen to your child - she wants to have fun and make up her own dances - I agree with the other posters - I would let her :-) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Afab the end of your post made me laugh .....hence the like ......but not sure if I like the sound of this teacher. Is she fairly old? Some teachers do teach exactly the way they were taught .......especially in ballet because of this tradition of "passing on knowledge" from one generation to the next ......but I would have thought in our 21st Century and with more demand for teachers to be trained properly (in how to work with children) that this would have changed by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 Hello again, This is such an interesting conversation. I don't think my daughter was in initiation actually as she got 'put up' a year by the teacher. So she was with girls who were older than her. Next year she is going to go into 1P3 (not sure what that means...) It fascinates me how ballet teachers seem to be so focused on body type and not whether you can actually dance. Nobody's actually mentioned if she's particulary musical or not, its all about how long your legs are and whether you can turn your hips around. One of the old teacher's said its like being picked for modelling! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afab Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Yes LinMM, I suppose the teacher I'm talking about is in her late 60s if not more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellogoodbye Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 (edited) DD is 8 and quite similar. She adores dancing - it's all she ever does at home, from waking to sleeping - but when things get 'hard' she loses confidence and doesn't like doing it. It drives me nuts, as I tell her if it was easy there'd be no point in doing the class! ETA: I wouldn't know what to suggest to you as I don't really know what to do about it myself. It's a tough one. Edited September 10, 2014 by hellogoodbye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 (edited) Hello all, I just wanted to come and update as you were all so helpful. My daughter has stopped going to the 'hard' class. She is still doing the local class (x2 per week) and that seems to be going fine. One of her teachers had also gone to classes with the 'scary' teacher when she was yound and confirmed that its a very old school approach and that it was by no means the only route to dancing (not that my daughter want to be a dancer at the moment anyway!) So thanks again and good luck to all!! Edited November 10, 2014 by Window 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I'm glad things are happier for you both - good decision! ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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