hfbrew

Phew!

Wise words. I know several adults who bitterly resent their parents for not allowing them to continue dancing as it was felt that an academic route through university was preferable. Some of these people had been told by their teachers they had potential, one had to turn down a place at vocational school, other would have just liked to continue dancing alongside their studies (but were made to stop). All of them now wonder "what if".... It was especially hard for them as it was not finance that stood in their way. I really appreciate now what my mum did for me all those years ago although she doesn't understand the Ballet world one bit and many of my even close relatives think its my hobby. I started at Hammond just after my father died and in hindsight she could really have done with me at home but she loved me enough to let go. And I am so thankful that my ds had a clear vision of what he wanted achieve, backed up by plans a, b and c too! Like all the young people we are still in touch with who started the WL journey with him , he is a delight to know. Not all decided to continue dancing but all as far as know are happy and successful in their lives. Actually I think us parents should all smugly pat ourselves on the back..... whilst still we wait by our mobile phones for news....

The times you do spend with your son will be even more memorable and precious. And yes his brother will have your full attention too! You can enjoy sending funny post and getting favourite foods ready for homecomings... Its a wonderful , hard, emotional, joyous, at times unfair, confusing, expensive, satisfying, funny, heart breaking, rewarding journey! Enjoy. Make the most of it- when they turn professional it doesn't get easier- in fact I miss my ds more than ever despite being one of the lucky ones who get to see their offspring regularly- many go abroad..... The very best of luck to you and all others starting this journey!

I don't think any ballet student in any country thinks of the money- rates of pay are low everywhere. The successful students are usually the most passionate, this is true of any Nationality. And there are many, many British dancers out there- they just don't happen to be dancing with the Royal Ballet. This thread was originally about Miss Brind's observations about the current crop of RB principals but it has developed into a discussion about British training . I've been fortunate to know dancers of all Nationalities and backgrounds. I have also seen many classes, competitions etc where there have been quite rightly a good mix of all Nationalities. Some are excellent, some are not but this is not down to what Nationality they are! Firstly on the whole the top. British students who began full time training at 11 are not behind at 16 compared to those who started training earlier i.e. at 9 . In classes I have observed at various Upper Schools many are in fact better- just as able to do all "the tricks" but with a far greater understanding of safe technique and musical awareness. I have seen both outstanding oversees students and British students but real talent is rare regardless of Nationality. It is incredibly hard to become a professional Ballet dancer! Sadly I have also seen shocking faults and bone deformities in dancers who trained intensively from 9, Many of these dancers will not make it , this is true in all countries. There have been plenty of discussions before on this topic. Whatever the Nationality, very few of a given age group will continue training all the way through - drop out rate is no different in other countries. Fortunately in Britain there is possibly greater awareness of the need to have a good education to fall back on. Even those few with successful careers will find themselves looking at career changers in their 30s. What happens to a student who has been trained intensively at something (eg ballet, gymnastics, football) to the exclusion of all else if they then get injured or have a change of heart? Only recently I was very saddened when my ds told me of a very beautiful dancer who wished their life hadn't been so blinkered but felt they couldn't change career path because the only thing they knew was Ballet. Becoming a Professional Ballet Dancer is one of the hardest things to do and I applaud all who make it regardless of Nationality. And I am sure all dancers like to know that they are in a company on merit .

Firstly too many teachers only teach the syllabus (eg RAD, Istd, Cecchetti) of whatever level their students are at with the view to doing an exam. These syllabi are exam syllabi and meant to be supplemented by far more than is required on exam day. Unfortunately too many children, even in the very best schools only get to learn the steps required to pass an exam. And its not necessarily the teachers fault as many British people measure success by the number of exams passed rather than quality of training received. The RAD, like many other dance societies designed their vocational grades to be studied from aged 9, alongside whatever grade (usually grade3) they were currently at, One of the schools I teach at start to invite the most able students to begin these more intensive classes from this age. Then we run into another problem- most parents think once a week at 45 mins is enough and are horrified if a lesson lasts n hour and a half. Then getting them to try summer schools or go and see live performances is also very difficult. Especially in affluent areas where every student is also doing extra maths, tennis, flute, etc etc. Having said that I know many wonderful young British dancers who are dancing professionally all over the World and UK. I am glad they are not restricted to the Royal Ballet. Incidentally two of my favourite dancers, Laura Morera and Ricardo Cervera , whilst not British, trained at White Lodge and attended RAD summer schools when they were younger so British training obviously worked for them!

I had a army of responsible senior girls to look after my son whilst I was teaching. At one point I was ready to give up but didn't as my baby was thriving on all the attention! Was very lucky to have understanding bosses and a very placid child who loved nothing beer than being next to the piano! On the few occasions he cried whoever was caring for him simply took him out...or the pianist played a waltz....

I will be there in spirit! Very glad you are seeing this cast as besides Hatter,David gets to really dance as a card. You will see what I mean!

This reminds me of a story dh came back from jas with years ago. He and my ds were on the train home and there were a group of girls with buns all talking very loudly and obviously very full of themselves with boasts about their Ballet lives. My ds quietly removed his jacket to reveal his cherished Royal Ballet Sweatshirt whereupon the whole carriage fell silent!

Alice- Jessica Hill Knave- Joseph Mackie- Graves Hatter- David Brewer (don't forget to cheer for me! ) Queen- Claire Corruble (great fun) Dormouse - Julia Davies March Hare- Luca Verone White Rabbit- Kazuke Oike Cheshire Cat- Natalie Cawte Caterpillar- Vincent Cabot Obviously this is subject to change but as far as I know all are fit and well so this should be the cast you will see. And all the company dancers as usual will be performing multiple roles (except of course whoever plays Alice) . I've only listed the main character roles but all 12 dancers feature prominently-no such thing as a performance off for any of them! Very pleased to see such a goodly number of people going to Tunbridge Wells, if only I wasn't exam coaching..... Enjoy everyone!

Could it be to ensure the same shade? They do vary. I had a student wearing a new pair last week that were very pink indeed...

One of the schools I work for charges a one off fee per participant(less than amounts quoted above) and they pay £10 for additional dances. This covers most of the running costs and we recycle our vast store of costumes as much as possible. Then we pay remaining costs from ticket sales. The rest all goes to charity.

Just re read this and realise that I can no longer edit it,! Sorry but when I put the word "should" I meant that this is the cast due to be at 2pm at the Beck Theatre.(and do bear in mind things can change last minute!) Not this is the cast you "should" watch. They are all brilliant at all roles! Hope this make sense?

So glad you enjoyed this wonderful show, a master class I think in what you can do with a tiny budget as this company is self funded. Thank you so much for posting. The cast you should see is as follows- Alice- Julia Davies (just stunning and such fun) Knave- David Brewer (who played Hatter in the performance 2dancersmum saw and has an incredibly expressive face, look out for his poker faced Butler ) Hatter- Joseph Mackie-Graves who is also hilarious as the Duchess Queen- Jessica Hill who as well as being a great Alice shows her versatility with a deliciously wicked Queen! I do hope you enjoy it.! There is another thread in the news forum which is where derails of where BTUK are performing have been posted. They are in Tameside tonight and Tunbridge Wells on Sunday which has sold wonderfully well, the theatre has certainly done their job well there. Can't say the same for Watersmeet in Rickmansworth were the company are performing on Friday June 21st at 7.30pm. Its accessible by tube so if anyone out there within easy distance of this venue fancies spending a pleasant 2 hours watching a top class touring company perform a fresh new production, they would really appreciate your support! And its perfect for families.

I happen to know one of the people who validated the degree course and was told that it was excellent, offering brilliant facilities and definitely on a par with other vocational courses. This person (who has been instrumental in vocational Ballet training for years) strongly recommended it ,

Morera for me. All her performances are terrific- one that springs to mind is Manon, equally good as Lise, fantastic in my Brother, my Sisters etc etc. And David Brewer's extraordinary performance of Scrooge with BTUK in their production of Christmas Carol. (and its not just me, several reviews mentioned it!) Which brings to mind Jeremy Kerridge with Northern, sadly retired from dancing now but that company is full of terrific dance actors!

Google- I think! When I click on your link I get the new form but still the weird half photos covering the writing! I tried searching under Norton and yahoo and got same results or none. But it works on my ancient laptop! But as long as customers are not getting problems then that's a relief!

Thank you to those of you who have sent in forms! I'd like to know if anyone is still having trouble accessing the website because its only thanks to Spanner that there is a link to this years forms on this thread- whenever I google the summer school, not only am I getting last years form but also a mysterious half photo on each page hiding the writing! Needless to say it doesn't look professional but I don't want to complain if its just peculiar to my lap top! And if it is just my device does anyone know how best I can access the correct pages?

And in our case far more than the cost of driving ds ourselves and also more than what we had to find in fees...

Hi Bluebird, its quite a dilemma isn't it sometimes knowing what best to do for your students but you sound like you are doing a good job. I don't think it would hurt to write a short piece on vocational training so that your pupils can access it (something I've been meaning to do for years!!). As others have said the decision to go to a full time school at 11 is up to individual families but you would be surprised at the general lack of knowledge that most people have about what it entails to became a dancer. Many do not know of vocational schools, the availability of grants (even I didn't know about MDS ten years ago!) and the fact that the standard of academic education is good. Many people said to me "well what about his education" when they gathered my son was off to "ballet school"- they honestly thought he'd do nothing else! You sound brilliant and my advice is to keep giving your students and their families as much information as possible. The mother of one of my sons friends at WL said the reason why her daughters joined relatively late was that their dance school did not tell them about any associate schemes or vocational schools, never mind encourage them to audition! I also send a plea to ensure the students and families watch as many live dance performances as possible but I'm sure you are doing this already. It frustrates me that I know families who regularly support sporting events, eg football, because their sons or daughters also play but don't think about the theatre, ballet in particular for dancing offspring.

Yes

Very impressed by your points Carriecrafts. Seething at the reply- especially the tosh about the not academically gifted. Apart from the fact that dancers have to be extremely intelligent to succeed its basically saying that if you are not academically minded you can't get benefits/loan. Not really expressing myself clearly I know but its madness that a 16 year going to say Central, or Rambert can access loans but those going to DaDa institutions can't get any benefits at all- not even family allowance in some cases. aaaaaagh!

Am so with drdance on this. I also get concerned when I hear of very young dancers who have already got to the higher grades or later vocational grades- its as if they have only ever been taught syllabus exercises taking exams every year which is not ideal all round training. But getting back to the forum topic. Advanced 1 is hard even for older students- indeed my professional son declares it to be very good technical exercise whenever he joins in as some of the settings are more akin to torture than dance! I am not surprised that a 14 year is struggling with it. The problem for many teachers is that in many part time schools only a handful of students get to this level making it uneconomically viable to have separate classes for those just beginning this level and those who have been studying it for longer. In the case of one of the schools I teach at we also haven't got enough hours in our hired halls to accommodate any more classes. Our solution therefore has been to encourage students to attend non syllabus senior ballet and pointe work classes plus syllabus classes at RAD head quarters and other schools. Then in our own advanced syllabus sessions students work on their own level of exercises as there are two teachers! For example the advanced foundation students do their ports de bras at the same time as the advanced ones. Sounds complicated but with careful planning its worked. We make sure each student knows what they are meant to be doing, also that that they are happy with it. Communication at this tender age is vital. An unhappy student is not going to progress and my advice to such students is to allow a time frame, say half a term, to see if, with help things improve before considering giving up as sometimes persevering through pays off. As a teacher I've seen many students go through a wobbly stage before enjoying dancing more than ever and it frustrates me when pupils give up too quickly.

The dancers in my sons company, Ballet Theatre UK are all very beautiful, expressive ,techniquely gifted and healthy with varying physiques . Very good role models indeed!

So glad you enjoyed it! Mad woman cheering Hatter was me and family....

I now know that its common for theatres to not make all areas available from the outset. I wouldn't mind so much but some theatres, rather than put "currently unavailable" , put "sold out" instead. And I do wish they wouldn't leave it so late before releasing new seats- I know of a friend who, having thought she'd left it to late to book (not wanting to sit in the stalls) has now made other plans for that day. But to those of you who are going. Enjoy, you are in for a treat!