LinMM

My father had vascular dementia which he didn't show any really bad signs of until he was 79!! He died eventually at the age of 83 of a type of heart failure or could have been a small attack ......a blockage in one of the arteries .....which they couldn't do anything about because of his poor health at the time (he had smoking related emphysema at the time). He died one morning luckily while I was there. The reason I know he had vascular dementia and not Alzheimer's is because when he started these signs they were at first not too bad but getting worse than the usual forgetfulness .......eg a fridge full of bread because he kept forgetting he had bought it already......but a couple of years down the line when he was 81 and forgot to write cheques for bills .......something he was a real stickler for.....and couldn't remember we had just eaten breakfast etc I brought it up with some nurses who were coming in to dress an ulcer on his ankle. Because he was friendly and pleasant to talk to and they only saw him for five mins a week they didn't really believe me at first. I wanted to get some care for my father in place .........which I'm sure if he had had cancer lots of things would have happened more quickly. It was only when a neighbour backed me up saying he was letting some local kids in "who were desperate to go to the loo apparently" and then were stealing any money he had lying around that they agreed I should get him tested.........though I knew it was probably a bit too late for medication by then..... He eventually had a brain scan which confirmed the vascular dementia. In the next two years he was going downhill fast and doing quite dangerous things like leaving the gas on or oven on etc and absolutely refused to have meals on wheels as he didn't have insight into his own condition in the end and this is a real problem. I will forever be grateful to the Alzheimer's Association in Woking who were wonderful and helpful to me.........even though dad didn't have Alzheimer's. I don't honestly think there's any hard and fast rule about exactly which age either vascular dementia or Alzheimer's strikes......early signs can be missed because we all get mildly forgetful well before old age!! However it is extremely distressing for carers who see the people they love deteriorating in this way......and early onset Alzheimer's particularly distressing because it advances so quickly and best wishes to Terry Pratchetts family in their bereavement especially as I think he did a lot for the awareness of this awful disease.

There seems to be a bit of a confusion between Alzheimer's and senile dementia.......although some symptoms are similar. Most people from late seventies and in their eighties etc suffer from senile dementia which is largely caused by diminishing blood supply to the brain.....cause by arterial decay etc. Most people with this also eventually die from other health causes..... which may or may not have been caused by having senile dementia......though often the two can be closely linked. Alzheimer's is altogether a different disease and the early onset kind is usually the most vicious. Often people with this form can get violent but not always. This can eventually destroy ones ability to breathe or swallow etc (as happens in MS and similar but from different processes.....so affects the body's physical processes more (eventually) whereas senile dementia affects more just the mental processes......but which can often lead to neglect of oneself physically which can result in malnutrition and pneumonia etc.

A word for pianists in ballet classes. In our Wednesday LAB group a pianist .....who has been absent for many months due to hand injury has at last returned. Just so wonderful to have such a brilliant pianist ( used to be a concert pianist) playing for class just gives such a lift and makes one try that bit harder......just to do the music justice..... I won't mention his name as haven't okayed it with him to do this but anyone at LAB will know who it is!! Just so grateful to him that he plays for us

Whoops didn't see your post SP! Thanks

http://www.opesballet.co.uk/#!course-info/cjg9 Hope this link works!

Ive heard of a summer school called OPES which may be less crowded...I need to check where it is but not as far north as York. This could be suitable for your DD This same friends daughter is doing Natalia Kremen's summer school as well this summer. This is in and around the London area....in fact I can't make out from the website EXACTLY where it is taking place!

Looks like Pisces is a good sign for dancers

I'd better be sparing with the Rose Eau de toilette I sometimes use then......don't want anyone passing out. Beryl Brighton Station is a NIGHTMARE at the moment. The Sam happened to me a couple of weeks back when coming back one Wednesday evening.....where the hell was bus stop D.....the only one the message said that buses were going from. Eventually found it halfway down Queens Road....slight exaggeration but it felt like it when I knew the last 27 would be round the corner any minute!! Actually you have to laugh ......that night I'd also had a problem in London .....the bus went sailing past the Highbury and Islington Station only to be told by the driver that the bus stop there was out of action .......they're doing something to the rail bridge there......so had to run back to the tube as again against the clock on getting to Victoria to get the train that links with the last 27 Phew I feel exhausted all over again just remembering it all!!

Sorry to hear about your brother in laws death. There are days when one is either just physically tired or mentally exhausted ......and sometimes both together. You work very hard so perhaps be a bit easier on yourself for a couple of days and I'm sure it will all come together again soon. I really never can tell with pirouettes .......what is going to happen .....but recently I have really been concentrating on putting less force into the turn (which is a sort of panic reaction) and this has been helping with control.

Sorry slightly off but connected.....what happens with young people in an apprentice scheme? Do they lose this benefit as well?

Well I think dancedancedance's story should give you every encouragement!! It is possible for some amateur dancers to get proficient on pointe given enough time and commitment!! Once you are ready I'm sure you will find the right teacher too. I don't know where you are based but if in UK then I'm sure many here could point you in the direction of such a teacher and I do know a couple myself in London and London area. Here in Brighton there is a BBO school for adults to learn ballet and the same rule applies here to adults as if to younger children. If absolute beginners adults want to progress through the grades (though not necessarily taking the exams) they can attempt pointework when they reach Grade 6.

It has just occurred to me of a confusion that may arise with beginners ballet and pointework etc If one sees a "beginners pointework" class advertised then one could assume this is aimed at "beginners ballet" The difference is that the pointework class will be aimed at people who have been doing ballet for quite a while ........some may think that pointework is introduced at the beginning of ballet learning not realising that some experience is required first! Just a thought as adults new to ballet and the ballet world may not realise this and then wonder why a teacher is reluctant to teach them pointework as a "beginner" if they think the two go together right at the beginning. Hope this clarifies......but on reading above hope it doesn't just add to the confusion! Must be a downward phase of the moon

Well I had no idea child benefit was dependent on doing A levels and the like! I thought it was just payable until the child reached the age of 19 no matter what they were doing studying or not.

Anyway I will try to leave as discreetly as possible on the 9th and I know I'll be very irritated especially if it's been a fantastic performance to miss most of the curtain calls and not be able to show my appreciation etc. Still I'm luckier than many who come from much further afar and have to fork out for hotel bills. The odd taxi fare is not much to ask in the end and I can stay over most times.

Yes I can understand that attraction to get on pointe once you've started ballet ......whatever your age! There is something mystical/magical about it. And I suppose I too have already earlier in my life in my 20's and 30's dancing as an amateur done a fair bit of pointe work I must say in the end I got fed up with it ......sometimes very sore feet and in growing toe nails and the like etc ......and in the end it was a relief to say bye bye to my pointe shoes!! The problem is when starting as an adult (I had also first learnt this between 12-15 as well) .....is that to get any good at all on pointe it would take ages. And if you are trying to learn a really nice enchainement AND worrying about staying on pointe etc it's really hard to concentrate on dance quality at the same time. The Professionals can do it so easily because of the YEARS they have spent doing it. But for an amateur starting as an adult.......and especially if they did not do ballet as a child.....I would say the best thing once you are ready .......and a responsible teacher won't hurry this just because the pupil is in a hurry .......so find a teacher who is cautious (not against) about pointe work I would say......is to do a SEPARATE pointe work class ......which may start out as only 30 mins initially though.....so you can use other classes to concentrate on dancing and other aspects of ballet. (Sorry about this sentence structure!) I said in the earlier post that I'd rather see someone who is dancing with real style and conviction and I might add musicality .......well that is a big enough challenge as it is for an adult beginner or older returner to ballet!!

I also have an aesthetic thing where if someone is on pointe they've got to look good.......obviously as well as properly strong enough! To be honest who wants to see someone with knees all bent hobbling along in the centre(when they should still be at most on the barre still) just to say "I do pointe work" pointe work does look beautiful......but only if done correctly and with enough general training in ballet etc. I know I'm going to bore everyone who reads this thread regularly but there is just so much more to ballet for me at any rate it's NOT JUST ABOUT POINTEWORK!! I'd rather see someone actually dancing with real style and conviction NOT on pointe than someone hobbling around in the centre when they are not really strong enough or ready to on pointe. Sorry if this is not a very popular view but it's only my take on it all. This not to put you off. I hope you will make it one day but try to enjoy all the other aspects of classical ballet first.......Then you will look more beautiful on pointe eventually!!

Well it's cutting it fine for the last bus Alison that's all!! The 11.07 gets me back by midnight but the last bus will have gone by then. I can probably get a train from Victoria up till 12 and get back at 1 am but then it's the expensive taxi fare!!

I very much agree it is a very individual thing. You are still comparatively young at 31 but first things first. You have only been dancing a few months and even if you are very fit(sounds like you are though) you need to give it time before thinking about pointe work. In my opinion and actual experience it is not just the feet and ankles but the whole of the back muscles and core must be strong enough so as to prevent the body weight sinking into the feet when on pointe. I do see adult learners on pointe who in my opinion should NOT be!! However there are teachers who will teach you especially if you live anywhere near London UK or other major cities in the world which have some ballet tradition there. And you yourself could become proficient on pointe ........even just being able to do some bourrees correctly across the room will feel great.....but you may need to have some patience. Again every individual is different slightly but as a general rule I would advise doing ballet for a mimimum of two years before considering pointe work. If you're really hooked you'll still be doing it in two years time anyway!! But that's just a guide. When much younger people are learning (who because their feet are still growing so even more important to do safely) they usually have to get to an RAD grade say .... of grade 6 ....before pointe work is introduced so that means for most at least five or six years of ballet learning first!! I definitely think it could at least be a possibility for you though. It's just a case of "not running before you can walk" as the saying goes

I haven't seen the Two Pigeons for years so that would be very nice indeed. I'd have Dances at a Gathering every year if I could arrange it and again Anastasia would be great as another ballet haven't seen in ages. Also Enigma Variations hasn't been around for a bit.......wouldn't mind seeing that next year. Otherwise I'd be happy with anything else ........but perhaps even giving Swan Lake a rest for a year!

My friends DD from Oz did this in 2013 when she was 13. In Sydney at that time two years ago she was not a vocational student but coped well. At that time she had just passed her RAD Intermediate exam. They are divided into groups anyway and initially she was put in the younger age group but then changed to the older group. The older group level was certainly hard work and there were quite a few RBS and Elmhurst students there but some were like my friends DD just keen on ballet but attending normal schools and fitting their ballet in after school etc. The standard is high but if in the right set for ability she should be fine. I think if your daughter was with the younger age group set she would be able to cope in my opinion......though of course I don't know your daughter!! In the show at the end the younger group performed more of a national dance type dance but on the last day you could watch your child in class as well as the afternoon performance. Or it could be arranged if you had a problem to watch class on another day. Everyone seemed very helpful and friendly. My friends DD is now 15 and is wanting to do this course again this summer when she comes over from Oz for 2yearly visit so inspite of NOT being a vocational student and being one of the younger ones in the older group she loved it and wants another go!! This time she wants to board there as last time she went in daily while we stayed on a farm and whose delightful dogs she fell in love with!! Do keep us informed what your DD chooses in the end.

So do the Rambert down on the South Bank......run classes for kids of all ages.....mostly on Saturdays but can't remember if there are some in the week too........probably not. Their classes are more contemporary orientated and look fun. They also do workshops for kids of different ages too. Perhaps the South Bank is a bit far but it's just behind the National Theatre so well served by bus and tube....and even boat!

The good thing is we are all human The bad thing is we are all human!! I know how you feel ......you just can't win some days! And it's so annoying when 9/10 times you are well switched off before everything starts and then there's that one time in months when you get behind etc and somebody's having a go!! I must admit I do get annoyed with the instant shushers.......sometimes I didn't hear anybody making a noise but do hear the very loud shushing going on!!

Hmmm what about the jam in a Victoria sponge cake!!! Is that stretching things a bit far? Ive got a thing about M and S Victoria sponge slices at the mo ......yesterday I bought one which was a double slice .....delish!! Ive cut back on the alcohol but seem to be making it up in cakes!!

Well I'm very lucky indeed to be able to stay over in London if really necessary....... but otherwise the problem for me is linking with the last bus from Brighton Station to where I live about 5 miles out of Brighton. Otherwise I get into a very expensive taxi fare of £16 plus which is ridiculous when Ive paid only £3-50 both ways for an Advanced fare on the train from Brighton to Victoria. On the 9th April I'll be seeing Swan Lake and this usually finishes around 10.30 ish The last bus in Brighton for me is 11.40!! Well I'd be lucky to be on a train at Victoria by 11.30 that night( can't stay over then) so will not only have to dash at curtain call but will end up having to pay for a taxi......still much cheaper than a hotel in London......making it a very expensive Swan Lake!! I usually hate missing curtain calls etc and having to rush to the station .......for me it spoils the whole evening .....but luckily I can stay up 90 per cent of the time.......but do have sympathy with people having to rush for trains etc

I could normally do Cambridge but can't do that weekend unfortunately .......though think I would pass on that cygnet dance!!!