hfbrew

Depends on the school as to when pas de deux starts for real, At WL the students do a lot of partner work from the start (year 7) but actual pas de deux doesn't start until years 10/11 and this is mainly supported adage. The boys do upper body conditioning classes to help prepare them. At Tring 6th form my DS found that he was doing very complex pas de deux pretty much straight away at aged 16 whereas others training elsewhere had to build up more gradually. Basically if a male or female dancer just can't do lifts then they are unlikely to get far in the professional world!

The female dancers in my ds company are beautiful, healthy ladies. My ds certainly has preferred to partner girls who are not like dancing stick insects. He needs his partners to be strong and musical- he says if the timing is right then most lifts are achievable. He personally finds very small, petite dancers the hardest as the centre of gravity is lower and he has to bend down further in the first place, especially if they don't have a natural spring and just expect the man to lift a dead weight. Incidently I was tiny once but although I easily weighed the least in my company I was a dead weight myself. Others who were physically much larger and weighed more were actually easier to lift!

Ive observed both boys and girls at WL not being able to do either front splits, box splits or both. What matters is whether they have the capacity to eventually achieve this. I remember seeing very flexible boys at my ds first JA audition, boy did they flaunt it! I never saw them again. But years later my ds who had musicality, performanceship , good co-ordination and obvious capacity to work hard despite the restrictions in flexibilty coupled with lack of strength (grew tall very quickly), well he has a good contract for the foreseeable future. Incidently he still can't achieve full box splits but simply does not need that ability in any of the choreography hes been asked to do. Yes good flexibility is desirable but its not the whole story!

I ran a ballet class for adults many years ago but just couldn't afford the inconsistency of attendance.

Absolutely correct, it doesn't matter how soft the box has become as the work has to come from the feet managing the actual hard, full sole of the shoe. And even the softest of blocks feel very different to normal soft shoes both in terms of physically standing in them and in the action of working through the foot correctly to achieve a good stretch.

Well for a start soft point shoes are much more difficult to dance in than soft shoes . If a students has been wearing split shoes then its even more difficult to make the transition to pointe shoes. A dancer performing one of the big classics eg Swan Lake, Giselle is in pointe shoes the whole time, and they will use up to four pairs per performance. Anyway back to students. Even just standing in 1st position wearing pointe shoes requires a much greater awareness of correct placement. One of my advanced students commented on this only last night. She was finding it all too easy when wearing soft blocks/pointe to allow her feet to roll when in plie as she is used to dancing in split shoes that allow her feet more floor contact as opposed to a full soled shoe. Then of course a dancer has to be able to pointe her feet effectively which is much easier in split soles, twice the effort in full soles especially pointe shoes whether hard or soft. As a teacher me and my colleagues has noticed that many students are just not as strong on pointe as former pupils at the same level were. And we attribute this to over use of split soles. This term we have insisted that those who are seriously wanting to be considered for intermediate entry next year wear soft blocks and we have helped several students break down old shoes. It was immediately apparent to the students how much stronger their feet needed to be just to do normal class. And the improvement in actual pointe work is now also notieable.

Some of my boys wear long sleeve t shirts when cold. Others wear sweat shirts- but never for long as they get warm very quickly!

We found the open days very useful but this was 3 years ago. They all vary in terms of what you get to see and who you get to meet. But if you are thinking of auditioning then yes do go to the open days. But please don't get too put off if you perceive current students to be of a much higher standard to you. Obviously it will give you an idea of what kind of students suit which place but remember that at audition you will be judged as much on potential as on current standard.

When my ds toured Freeds factory on a school trip he saw all the shoes that had been made for the all male ballet company Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo!

Banana shaped, very strong feet would be ok for Gaynor Mindens. And certainly an experienced, capable student well used to doing lots of pointe work correctly should know whether they suit or not. I was cross about what happened with my student as I had specifically advised that these shoes would not help a student how to work their feet correctly. She then had to rehearse all day in them with EYB, something I would have cautioned against knowing her lack of experience but alas by the time I was aware of what was happening the damage was done. On talking to other teachers and students from othe schools I found that sadly this problem had occurred with others too. I also know older very experienced dancers who love their Gaynor Mindens because they feel that they flatter their feet but I stress that these are people whose feet have stopped growing for starters and were at advanced level.

Am actually with Michelle on this one. Yes its great, and far more preferable to attend class if one is available, I certainly have always worked at home if absolutely necessary. In the summer my ds and I occasionally worked with each other. He and his fellow dancers could n't afford to go to class every day between contract, lots of dancers find themselves in this position especially if it involves a considerable commute to a decent class. I had to do a lot of work at home as a student due to a rural location but I had an excellent teacher who was able to advise what was safe to practice and what was not- I also was very strict on myself about careful placement etc. Each lesson that I saw my teacher she was careful to point out any adjustment that needed doing and I was armed with many theory books (no ballet.co and Anjuli in those days.) Result was that when I got to vocacational school I was placed in a higher classical set than some who'd been there since aged 11. I would not advise anyone though to do any ballet practice though unless they have a thorough understanding of what it is they are doing.

I personally don't think they are suitable for young students because of their shape, fine for students who know how to use their feet. One of my students, when doing EYB a few years back had her big toes go completely black after rehearsing in Gaynor Mindens because the shoes allowed all the weight to bear down on the toes and the feet weren't doing any work. Its a sad fact that pointe shoes do wear out quickly, its an expensive part of a female dancers life. My feet ended up being phenomally strong because I could only afford one pair a term, luckily I have fat, square, robust feet!

Lucky, lucky you!! Sadly I've never seen this ballet and its not coming close to me any time soon. Oh well, I look forward to your reports!

Sometimes having a parent in the know doesn't help- I tried everything to put my ds off!

Absolutely. I'm very glad my mother didn't see one or two of the places I lived in as a professional dancer but wow, I sure had a good time! Back to open days. I do hope that this thread will help those who are attending ask the questions relevant to them. That way they will get a feel for whats right for them. My ds, at 16 did have a choice and chose the place that best suited him at the time. He focussed on training first, accomodation second being aware that young dancers generally only get one chance to get the training that suits them whereas hopefully he can be more picky about where he lives in the future. But for 11 year olds it is different and yes , whilst I agree that they are going through a selection process I would caution against going somewhere if they are not absolutely sure,especially if its the only choice they've ended up with. So do ask questions, ask to meet staff, parents and pupils alike. And get your dcs to do the same. My ds on talking to a Tring student (this is 8 years or so ago) was told in no uncertain terms that WL was awful because it only did Ballet! Result? ds chose WL! Incidently when he got the place I refused to accept it until I'd been given a proper look around and insisted on talking to the students. I really didn't care that it was the Royal Ballet School, there was no point in allowing my ds to go if I felt the atmosphere was wrong and I personally couldn't gauge this on audition day when all the current students were off site leaving what was then a disappointingly shabby shell. A school isn't a school without its students! I stress this was years ago, WL looks fabulous now!

Plans are made to be broken!! I can probablycount on the fingers of one hand the classes that went exactly as planned as I much prefer to respond to whatever is before me. However I guess that years of experience has given me the tools to deat with all sorts of situations and people. Probably one of the main things I've learnt is that you can't please everyone! Anyway having re read the original post on this thread asking for advice, I'd like to say please try and address all your students by name (in an encouraging way!) at least twice during any class so that no one ever leaves without feeling valued and important. They are all customers at the end of the day regardless of ability and personality. And its a great way to find out about students, whether they like to be largely left alone to just enjoy dancing (I fall into this category!) or whether they want and need lots of attention and correction.

Funny enough it was seeing the rolled up sock on the floor in one of Trings dormitories that convinced my ds he wanted to go to boarding school! He ended up at WL and was among the last couple of years to live in the accomodation as it was before the new blocks were built- he is very glad to list that experience to many happy memories! And we found the new buildings more than satisfactory. The pastoral care is what is more important though and I cannot praise the WL staff highly enough. During ds time there new pupils came from both Hammond and Elmhurst who preferred the set up at WL, not least because of the wonderful grounds that they have the use of. Incidently ds was well looked after at Tring too during his short time there. I should add though that his home bedroom is tiny so most places are luxurious by comparison! At the end of the day comparatively little time is spent in the accomodation anyway. As long as its warm, clean and has sympathtic staff then great. And it really doesn't hurt to learn how to get along with others- something I felt very important for my only child. And as to academics well I can vouch for the quality and dedication of the staff at WL. OK so he didn't do 13 subjects like his cousin but actually who really needs that many? For the record hes ended up with 9 gcses,1 as level. 3 A levels (courtesy of the excellent choice on offer at Tring) + his dance diploma!! And after all that he didn't need any of them for his current job but it is hopefully a safeguard for the future.

This is very good advice. Afterall I've known perfectly lovely teachers that others have literally hated, and vice versa! I do think its important to be true to yourself and accept that not everyone will necessarily like your style. A good teacher should be able direct students to other good teachers if necessary, for example sometimes a class dynamic may not be right for a very serious student attending class with less keen ones. Having said that it pays to be adaptable so that classes are tailored to the students needs. My first class this morning was with a group of year 8s who'd bought along their own music to choreograph to. They wanted very little interference but by the time I got to senior boys tonight I was working on foot placement (boys do tend to prefer more precise detail) and having to give lots of individual encouragement and correction. I've also been to the seaside today with my "babies" , the jungle with year 4s and then tried to stop lots of hyper little girls from standing like gymnasts.... never a dull moment! Communication of what you intend in the lesson helps, for example if you are having to rehearse a dance that doesn't include everyone then its a good idea to warn the class that 10 or so minutes will be spent on it and also then set the "watching" group a task be it some sort of exercixe , encouragement to also learn the dance or even help with positive ideas on how to improve it.

If only it were closer, I'd go too!

Thats made me chuckle, especially as my ds might as well be in Timbuctoo the amount of contact I've had from him lately! And if he jumped into my arms I'd be flattened... Anyway managed to get antibiotics into db first go tonight before he sulked under a table all evening! Definately sneezing less though! (db is dancing bunny btw!)

Thankyou,! He knew something was up as this morning he ran away rather than jumping into my arms as normal... Finally did the deed though and must have got some down as he ran straight to his water!!

One tip I got from a very well known teacher was to only give one, maybe two corrections at a time so as not to overload the students. And having explained to the students what aspect I want them to work on I then repeat the exercise. No point in giving lengthy worthwhile corrections after an exercise only to then move on without letting the students get a chance to apply them if they are specific to the exercise being discussed. It can also be helpful to have specific themes ie" today we are focussing on correct placement, turnout, posture, breathing, musicality, presentation etc " (not all in one go of course!!) Do also remember to try and let the students just dance such as a grand allegro because the feeling of just dancing is so important. Sometimes I've seen very beautifully schooled children who really just can't "let themselves go" because they are being so careful that all spontaneaity is lost. And I also try to be in the positive camp ie instead of saying "don't lift heels off the floor" I say "heels down!" Praise is good too. I remember being mystified by one group of girls every now and then holding fingers up to each other, turned out that they were having a competition to see who got the most "goods" from me!!! Finally please remember very few teachers can please everyone, so don't be downhearted if some students don't stick with you. There are many reasons why students discontinue dancing, most of which aren't necessarily to do with the teacher.

Even my little dwarf bunny has a cold, vets put him on oral antibiotics! - thats going to be fun....

I once saw a class of WL students do 32 each on pointe- they were all 15/16 and had done gcses earlier in the day!

Brilliant. Absolutely fabulous teacher and one of the reasons why DS nearly chose to continue his training at Central. And he also helped one of my male students enormously, he genuinely cares about his students.