hfbrew

Yes. I envy students now- I would have loved splits soles as a student. BUT, and I am talking as a teacher here about female students. I have found that generally vocational level students are just not as strong in pointe shoes if they are doing all other classes in split soles and I seem to remember saying this on a similar thread a while back. Just the very act of standing correctly is different between the different types of shoes just as there is a difference in bedroom slippers to ordinary footwear! For young men though I think splits soles help because generally male feet are not as flexible, especially when they are fully grown. They should wear full soles whilst young to encourage full use of the feet (my ds had to wear hard soles for a while at WL to build up strength) but as they get older it definitely makes sense to wear shoes that are as flattering as possible. Unlike female classical ballet dancers they have not got the constant change whilst dancing from allegro for example to pointe.

I I've just ordered it too- I was thinking only earlier that I'd wished I'd seen Nerina as Fille . What would we all do without Ballet.co!

Lucky you, have a super time x

This is hard! Especially as I have a lot of recordings from TV that are not available publicly. But out of official DVDs I guess it will be 1. La Fille Mal Gardee (Acosta and Nunez although I like Collier and Wall too!) 2. BRBs Still life at Penguin Café 3. Northern Ballet s A Simple Man 4. Northern Ballet's Christmas Carol 5. The 1st compilation DVD by Ballets Trocadero de Monte Carlo! I like serious ballets too but figured I'd want to keep optimistic if on a desert island!

Had text whilst teaching." Does being offered 32 lessons mean a yes?" !!!! This is for a year 6 place and first attempt following encouragement from my ds! Don't think my grades 3s could quite believe the good mood I was in.......

Having just seen the fabulous pictures on their facebook page I wish I could see it too but teaching commitments dictate otherwise! I might try and catch the last night...

Only five more chances to see this clever and innovative production! TODAY Fri 14th at 7.30pm - Theatre Royal, Margate - 01843 292795 Sat 15th at 7.30pm - Assembly Rooms, Tamworth - 01827 709618 Sun 16th at 3.00pm - South Hill Park, Bracknell - 01344 484123 Fri 21st at 7.30pm - Watersmeet, Rickmansworth - 01923 711063 Fri 28th at 7.30pm - Middlesbrough Theatre - 01642 815181 I do hope its ok to post this information. Probably more "news" than performances seen but thought it best to stick to the one thread.

Sad to hear the theatre was only half full. All these touring companies (especially the UK ones!) need as much support as possible. Apart from being worthwhile viewing anyway (and there are lovely dancers in Ballet Cymru) by supporting them we are ensuring possible future work for young dancers currently in training.

Julie you forgot to say lovely, smiley friendly face!

The premiere of this show is at Andover today. There are only six shows in total, tour dates on website. The pictures look great! Also only a handful of Alice performance left!

You are a friend, of course you can go. A couple of years ago I e-mailed to ask if I could come (my ds being ex pupil) and not only was I told yes but once I was there I was told that I'd never need to ask again! But they understandably just don't want Joe Public to turn up in droves...

Its very hard when one of the pupils is your own child- I tried to avoid this as much as possible. I've known lots of friends and colleagues who had their offspring in class and we invariably found that we were harder on them or ignoring them so as not to be seen to favour them. But however impartial we tried to be there were still always some dissent from someone rightly or wrongly perceiving favouritism. However, giggling and whispering etc at an individual is not acceptable behaviour even in the most informal of classes. I'd ask myself if I would handle the situation differently if the child being laughed at wasn't my child? Everyone handles situations differently but I certainly would have challenged these students- "might I ask what you were talking about?" and then berated them for talking whilst someone else was dancing. And I also get students to apologise if they have been a distraction to someone else through inconsiderate behaviour. Another tactic is to get the person who was laughing etc to then take their turn, on their own, without help as "because you were talking you so obviously must know what you are doing..." My methods may seem old fashioned to some but I can not abide bullying and my class sizes stay constant, in fact some of my most difficult students ended up my most loyal... And yes, getting students to work as a team and respect each other is a good life lesson. Witnessed some lovely behaviour this week as students applauded each other performing solos in class. I do agree with what Anjuli says about that fact that some people will laugh and poke fun whether you are making progress or not so you may as well continue to make progress. However in a class the teacher should certainly take control of the situation regardless of whether the students concerned are related or not. But its not easy and I do admire you Clara for having kept your natural motherly instincts under control but you would certainly have been well within your rights as a teacher to have admonished these students for talking and giggling whilst someone else was dancing.

It is perfectly possible for different dances to be shown in the exam. For example in grade five there is a choice of classical, tarantella or free movement. (Character being compulsory in this grade.) . And I have certainly had sets of 3 students all doing a different dance! In grade 6 the classical can be done to 6/8 or 3/4 and we've often entered sets whereby one may be doing 3/4, the other 6/8 the other candidates free movement for example. Teachers have a form that they fill in and give to the examiner explaining who is doing which dance. Sometimes time constraints mean there isn't time for a teacher to have taught all the dances but the schools I teach at do try and show the students off to their best advantage. My advice is to ask nicely whether your dd can learn the classical but then be guided as to which study the teacher thinks suits her best (the free movement can look super with the right student!)

The iron on labels sound great- they weren't that efficient 9/10 years ago. Laundry pens were useful on white socks ! I must admit I didn't mind the name tape sewing- it made me feel motherly and gave me something to do whilst watching dh at sports events- also my ds and I had good chats over the task. I do strongly advise vocational school students learn to sew - even without names tapes there is still the small matter of shoe elastic or pointe shoe ribbons... In fact as a teacher I take great care to praise any student who has dealt with shoes, hair etc themselves (howver messy). Any secondary aged student who says "my mum hasn't got round to doing my shoes" or "my mum/dad can't do my hair" gets the response to do it themselves as parents are busy enough as it is!

Wish I could go! I sure everyone will remember your gorgeous ds! And returning as a fully fledged professional ballet dancer too... xx Have a lovely time and say hi from us too!

Definitely. I got my ds to do the pillow cases and sheets which was excellent practise for him. They have to become self sufficient quite early on, sewing not just name tapes but shoe elastic too. Offering to come and do the sewing was a great way of getting to see my ds! (He was frustratingly independent and didn't even pretend to be homesick!)

As someone has already posted the reality of being a professional dancer will not necessarily live up to expectations. Even if a dancer is lucky enough to stay injury free its a tough life, you are unlikely to choose what you dance or what role you play and if you are in a short term contract there is no guarantee of future work. And if you are in a long term contract you may not get job satisfaction if you are only ever in the back row of the corps. And then there is the travelling if you are touring plus a class ,rehearsal and performance at the end- the audience don't care if you've just travelled the length of the UK! As a parent I am thrilled my ds is dancing professionally (and he is loving it by the way) but he has already got plans for the long term future as he says he wants to retire before his body wears out! I fully support him in this and will not mind at all, he has already achieved so much. I rather suspect that the young lady's parents will be as proud of her becoming a midwife as they were of her becoming a ballet dancer. Not only has she been in a fabulous company (I love BRB) , she has been there a good 5 years. And she is being so wise to retrain in another, very well worthwhile profession whilst still young- if she was my dd I'd be so proud. Her vocational training won't be wasted at all, it will stand her in good stead. And what an interesting life already! The sad fact is that many dancers working lives are short and they don't necessarily all want to teach or choreograph. And its better to have something else to focus on rather than suddenly realise that your dancing days are numbered but there is no alternative that appeals... I will never ever begrudge my ds going away at 11 and training for so many years even if he announces he is quitting tomorrow (and that nearly happened only last year!) He once said that he didn't want to dance, he NEEDED to dance and having felt that way myself I was more than happy to see where the "journey" took him. Its his life and as long as he remains a decent human being I will be happy for him in whatever he decides to do.

Good for roses! My horse riding friend used to deliberately stop by my house (30 odd years ago) and my dad would be waiting with a shovel!!!

Have sent you pm!

Totally agree with this. Other dance styles won't hurt by the way- I think its best not to be limited to Classical Ballet. Having more than one teacher can be beneficial. But its best to be open from the outset. Some schools don't mind students supplementing lessons elsewhere but do get upset if its done behind their backs. Its not so much about competition but more about ensuring that any extra lessons students attend are of good quality- sadly there are unregulated teachers out there. Sometimes schools are unnecessarily possessive about students which I find sad as its not always in the students best interest.

So glad you enjoy your classes Rosy. I find it near impossible to plan for senior/ adult classes because they vary so much and I think its important to meet the needs of the class in front of me. Sounds like your teacher is just the same Very often the mix in an adult ballet class varies from week to week. I for one like to be guided by the students in a class many of whom just want to dance for an hour and forget the world outside.! More serious adults integrate into upper grades or vocational classes- I have a fantastic grandmother in advanced at the moment. She is doing the class for personal achievement having decided not to do more exams (she passed grades 6-8 thse past few years.) Incidentally I remember the use of recording equipment in studios back in 1980s, its not new. Certainly only last term some of my seniors used their smart phones to record choreography. But quite apart from the minefield of regulations these days regarding filming I certainly would prefer to teach than stand behind a camera.! And for those students of mine following syllabus work I direct them to official dvds- so much better than watching an arthritic old teacher who can't do 3rd never mind 5th.... Come to that I'd like my students to watch any decent Ballet...

Good luck to all these wonderful dancers in their new careers.

Thanks for posting dates Janet, another few visits to the Ballet at Sadlers Wells beckon....

Gosh, thank you and well done Swanprincess - I will make sure my little pupil knows!

http://grandpachris.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/review-alice-in-wonderland-ballet-theatre-uk/ Just found this nice little review of one of the performances from the Beck theatre. Only 10 or so performances left, date on Ballet Theatre UK website. And surely there must be more ballet goers near Rickmansworth? (21st June 7.30-9.30pm !)