hfbrew

Yes! Many years ago this happened to me. In more recent times Ive known people turned down for RBS who were accepted the following year. And Ive had one or two pupils in same situation for other places. So it does happen.

I am a dance teacher and I absolutely agree with Harwel and Pups Mum.

Thank you Janet!

Sorry,no it isnt but yes it is hard to find! Ive just experimented with googling BalletTheatreUK1 you tube and got it that way! First saw it on facebook and only seems to have been put on today- I believe ds is blissfully unaware of it! Unfortunately cant use my mobile device to post it here!

There is now a trailer for Ballet Theatre UKs Swan Lake on You Tube. Shows lovely dancers! I may have viewed it once or twice......

I had to have the Epley manoevre done a couple of times and was also given exercises to control the condition.Cant remember them now as its 15 years since my last major attack of vertigo. So I would recommend trying the Epley manouevre again, maybe by a different person. Its not pleasant, I remember two people treating me. But it was worth it. Its a horrible condition.

There does seem to be a greater awareness by sport coaches as to the fitness benefits of Ballet. DS and I were invited in the summer to work with a local mixed diving team. They now do regular lessons. The coaches were impressed with how hard we made them work! And we was actually the girls in the group who were initially hard to convince about the merits of Ballet training.

Particularly like the last sentence about the focus being on Ballet rather than exam settings! So true!

I was lucky enough to be one of the first student teachers to learn the old intermediate foundation as Sara Neil, one of its creators was one of my teachers. We were told that the syllabus was designed to train talented students from grade 3 upwards (from about 9yrs old). We had to learn and devise training exercises as teaching purely syllabus was frowned upon.Even now therefore, where I teach, capable students in grade 3 are invited to start studying IF. After a couple of years they are either given the option of moving straight to inter or take IF exam which afterall is not a compulsory requirement for progressing to inter.

Very wise words. If there was a button for really, really, really like Id have pressed it! Only yesterday I had a mum adamant that her daughter had all the necessary requirements to go to the Royal Ballet and it is obvious she really doesnt realise how stiff the competition is. But you really do have to experience the process to appreciate how tough it is. But with an open minded approach it can be enjoyable too!

I dream of having my own studio! Sadly have to make do with a myriad different venues varying from scout huts to school halls! And even if the timetable allowed for it most children in the area I teach have many other commitments (brownies, flute, tuition, karate, football, netball, swimming etc etc). Ballet to many is just a once a week hobby! Come to think of it, its a miracle any of my students have gone to vocational school!

Sadly not, possibly due to Vienna Festival going in October. Some theatres are reluctant to have more than one Ballet company per season. In our area some local Theatres always choose a certain touring Russian company if the "same" Ballet is being shown. Which I do understand from a programming point of view. What makes me cross is the assumption by some that Ballet has to be danced by Russians!

Dates for this tour are out at last and can be found at Ballettheatreuk.com.

Sounds to me you are being very sensible and listening to what your daughter wants right now as well as double checking that she is sure about all this! One thing Ive learnt over the past 10 years is that going at 11 doesnt guarantee a dance future and that many who are accepted later to train full time soon catch up and are, in some cases better because of excellent local training. At WL especially the first 3 years were, I found, the most stressful due the appraisals. I had a pupil who did not start until year 10 thereby missing out on all the stress of wondering whether they would last the course because once in year 10 you are entitled to year 11 too. And think of the money that students parents saved too! So please dont worry if your dd really does want to stay as she is for now. The best thing you can do is enjoy her company and start saving for 6th form because thats when it really gets tough financially. Finally, I too hope you feel better soon.

My ds was very privileged to have been taught by Miss Young, a truly fabulous teacher. It is true about her eyes, she can convey more with a turn of her head than a whole class of students can with their whole bodies. Watching her teach always made me feel like dancing again myself...

And I sadly have to bypass the demonstration bit these days oh cursed arthritis!

He he dont worry! In my time Ive seen two car loads worth for some folks! Youve done very well to get down to two cases! Enjoy the excitement and the well earned cuppa ( or something stronger) at the end of the day. And congratulations too on being able to let your dd go, its the hard part of parenting but also satisfying when you know you are doing the best thing by your offspring!

Yes, this is probably what I meant! We are probably all outraged on Mels behalf and my gut reaction was to march (or courru?) en masse but that would probably be counter productive!

I agree, this is disgraceful. Is there anyway this forum can help? Afterall many of us have been following your attempt and it certainly doesnt deserve mockery.

I feel very sorry for that 15 year taxi! Most of my students take exams if they wish, I am often more pleased with those who against all odds squeeze a pass than the one who always get distinction! Certainly wouldnt push students through the old grades if it wasnt necessary especially if it meant compromising on doing non syllabus work. It was far better for my IFs (all high merits and distinctions) to use their limited lessons to pass that exam rather than push through the old grade 5.! I too wouldnt hold talented children back and am lucky to work with schools that cater for both vocational and recreational students. Obviously everyone has their own way of doing things for perfectly valid reasons! But I do like all students to have as many opportunities as possible. Ok so this means that my exam results do indeed range from 40- 90 but I'd rather that than exclude any student who was not guaranteed a good mark!

Totally agree, I ve just had lovely IF results from pupils still working on grade 5 ( partly due to the new syllabus which wont be examined until January anyway). But although they are very able I do feel that they are not mature enough for grades 6-8 yet.And I too have advanced students in grade 8 who also find it light relief and less pressure whilst still being very demanding. The schools I teach for however are not slaves to syllabus so a student will generally take longer to cover all the grades especially factoring in biannual shows! We do like to ensure students know a lot more than exam exercises and of course most of our students are recreational. However those in the vocational grades will progress very much according to ability and will be entered for these exams if ready regardless of their non vocational grade.

Great post Julie, I was also reflecting on our 10 year journey! My sympathy to all you parents carrying your mobiles all day long waiting for any contact at all! My ds first text was "fine". Yep just that, didnt even bother with a full stop! Whilst remembering every student away from home deals with the situation in their own way its also worth remembering that they are also being normal in that for some its normal to phone every 5 mins, others not at all! Not sure which is worse....

Anjuli rest assured that many teachers do all what you say and more. You are so right that one never stops learning. CPD is a compulsory element of maintaining registration now in UK but I am sure that I am not the only teacher on here who already was committed to continuous learning- indeed one of my own sources of information is this wonderful forum and your own excellent posts- my students have benefitted from much of your wisdom. My own teacher training resulted in qualifications from both ISTD and RAD but was so much more than that. I was lucky to have wonderful teachers from all over the world that trained me for a professional career both as performer and dancer. You talk about a wide array of teachers, well obviously! Do you honestly think that our courses are only ever delivered by one person ? Having mentored several young teachers on the RAD course I can assure you they are very much encouraged to get as much experience as possible from as many different sources as possible. "Only" teaching syllabus is definately a no no, all teachers are expected to have a profound knowledge of classical ballet and to be able to construct classes accordingly to the students requirements. Young students have to start somewhere and the modules are designed to do just as you advocate, to be constantly seeking " a wider base of knowledge" to quote part of your post. Once they are qualified, students are told that it is indeed " just the beginning" and that a good teacher never stops learning. I know that you have been unimpressed with syllabus teaching and teachers in the past and rightly so but it really has been a very long time since merely displaying a syllabus knowledge qualified someone to be registered with one of the main dance societies. However it is still the case that ex professionals can and do set up classes without some sort of training. And this is risky both to themselves and their students. Its only common sense surely to at least get acquainted with safe teaching practises, however glittering ones career might be? You are clearly an amazing lady and teacher Anjuli, your students are so lucky to have had you. However I fear that many well meaning dancers go into teaching without, as a previous poster has said an idea of what students of given ages and abilities can safely do. And in my mind anyone who has taken the trouble to do some further training in order to teach more effectively is the one Id rather employ or send students to. My advice to SwanPrincess is the same as I give to all dance students, see as much as you can, get as much experience as you can, dance as much as you can, read about dance as much as you can, watch as well as partake in classes by different teachers and never ever stop learning! And the courses people have described will all encourage the same things and more!

Congratulations to your dd on her gcse results. Sounds as if she has had a well deserved holiday and seen a bit of life away from Ballet. And her body will have had a well earnt rest before the rigours of sixth form. As long as she now starts preparing herself gently before Elmhurst she should be fine. And if she finds herself a bit stiff, well its not a bad time to discover that in future it may be prudent to maintain dance fitness during long breaks. Good luck to her!

Yes and a registered teacher is usually a sign that they have undergone teacher training too. And this means an in depth knowledge of the dance genre registered in. In the best courses this does not mean learning a syllabus, in fact this is only a small part of the learning required. It is possible to teach dance without formal qualifications. And indeed, professional dancers can and do go into teaching, sadly some dont even bother to learn first aid! I think the best ones are those who take professional dancers teacher training courses. Swanprincess have you thought of applying for one of the RAD degree courses?