So frustrated for DD

[sophiesocks]

Any news? Thinking of you both

[Katymac]

She is feeling good; we spent the evening looking at DVD's of her dancing & she feels confident she can do better (different?) tomorrow.

I just sent her to bed & she is busy choreographing an audition piece for the Garage later in the summer.......I think I could become fed up of El Tango de Roxanne (a tap/ballet/tango segue.......is segue the right word?)

Tomorrow night I will know more (I hope)

[Katymac]

So far I have.....

"It's really good, it's actual dancing!"

[Katymac]

& they played "Tchaikovsky"

She is in heaven

[letitshine]

How did it go ....been thinking of you x

[Katymac]

Nope

Not a thing

The teacher said she had done better but nothing about what class she is to be in

[bruno2]

Any news ? Good luck my fingers are crossed for you both .

[Katymac]

The letter was posted yesterday......so today or tomorrow

[Katymac]

Same class

I am devastated
DD is insistent that she will still go

Her 'outside' dance teachers feel if she isn't good enough to be with her own age, she shouldn't be there

Her grandad is going to go ballistic

I am speechless

[JTBmum]

Her tutor sounds like a *****!!!

[Katymac]

I wonder if it's cos she doesn't fit.

The teachers there are probably right about her level; they must be seeing something I don't in the other children who have moved up.

But I really must question the teachers outside of that school; they all think DD is really, really good - to the point that they subsidise her classes. If I paid in full I'd worry that they were telling me DD was good in order to get money off me; but if they don't charge for some of her lessons and give her private lessons at a discounted rate I hadn't worried about that.

I'm so confused - I thought getting a Grade 5 in 8 months was quite good, from virtually no Ballet at all

I really am confused

[jasmine2]

I would question the school and ask why she has not gone up, bearing in mind all the other teachers think she is more advanced than that....
It seems a bit unfair to me...good luck xx

[riverdancefan]

I would query the time,effort and money that is going into this - you can say no, don't feel it's what you should be doing if it's not right!
and it doesn't sound right to me.
Having said that, they must know what they are looking for, to be fair, it's not all about getting the grading in ballet, you can go through the motions and learn the syllabus and get through exam work, but maybe the flair and technique isn't there? I can look at a class of 25 ballet students, they may all pass their RAD or ISTD but the differing strengths and ability between them all is significant - I don't know of course I am just surmising.
Also contemporary and modern are completely different disciplines to master, I don't think your DD does those?
Sometimes we are told what we really don't want to hear as far as our kids are concerned.

Then again they might be seriously underestimating her ability? if that is the case then you have every right to be peed off....I would be!!
The only way you will find out is by having a serious and calm discussion with the course tutors.....

[Katymac]

Sometimes we are told what we really don't want to hear as far as our kids are concerned.

I so, so agree

My dad thinks maybe contemporary isn't her 'thing'; I'm less sure. She has done fine in her BTEC as far as I know which was a mix of styles. Why would her Ballet teacher give her free lessons if she wasn't good she says "little children are our bread & butter, but older ones cost us money but we have to encourage them if they have it"

She was at a class earlier in the week that she hadn't ever attended. They said she could 'try' the beginner class - they asked her to stay for the improver class & have invited her to the advanced class; she demonstrated a step with the teacher that he told the class it might take them ages to learn & he was "Oh well DD has done it before" then he double took and said "You haven't DD have you?" and she agreed it was the first time she had done the step - he was really shocked

My dad thinks it's about music; she needs melody rather than beat & contemporary is all beat (or at least it is there).

She has listed 4 children and said if any of them have gone up, she will leave as she knows she is better than they are so we will see

[LivingTheDream]

If your dd isn't enjoying herself then it's not worth it. She hasn't given up, she's stuck with it and given it a fair trial (well done her for that), but the last thing you want to happen is for her to stop enjoying dance. We get on well with some places and not so well with others- it's human nature. I would put this one down to experience and look elsewhere.