Why did they let her do pointe class?!?!?!

[taoofpooh]

I was waiting to pick up my DD today at her SI. One of the studio doors was open and the Elementary class was taking pointe. There is a girl in there that I noticed a couple of days ago. To say the least, she seems out of her element. She appears to be about 15-16 but her technical training appears to be lacking. Here she was in pointe class doing echappes in the centre and her legs were bent and she could barely get up on pointe. I was horrified because the teacher completely ignored her!! Couldn't she at least suggested that this girl do the exercise at the barre??? I told my daughter about it later and apparently she had been moved down twice, once from Advanced to Intermediate and then from Intermediate to Elementary. I think she belongs in the Pre-El class or not at the SI at all. I don't have all of the info of course, but it really upset me to see this girl struggle, she really could have hurt herself!!!

[NutsaboutBallet]

Dolly Dinkle SI???!

[Mel Johnson]

Sometimes, you see this, and without a detailed knowledge of background, it's not possible to know what's going on. Best to bite your tongue and say nothing. I've had to do this so many times, I've got calluses there.

[ondine88]

I agree Mel - sometimes you really have to bite your tongue - I wouldn't slam the SI - sounds more like a "stage mom" lurking in the background. Sometimes you can tell someone until you are blue in the face that a student should not be on pointe yet...........

[Siegelife]

Knock, knock.....parent of DD under 13......

 

I agree as well with biting your tongue. Sometimes I can't believe how blind some stage moms/dads can be. Not even just the pointe thing. Sometimes just plain lacking technique. We had a recent student enter my DD's school that is clearly lacking technique. She is a few years older than my DD and the rest of the class. This mom is outraged that her DD is not in a higher level class. She is lucky, or should I say unlucky, to be in my DD's class the way it is. It is not doing her any good when the basics are lacking. There is also another student that it is so clear that this is mom's dream. This mom even yelled into the class one day at the child to do what the teacher said. I don't know how parents can act like this and feel normal. Anyway, even if these parents were spoken to, it wouldn't matter. I just wish that the school wouldn't allow this to happen and embarrass them back. The door should have been closed when that mom yelled into the class. Especially when some of the rest of us try to hard to be silent. The other child should be in the level she needs to be in. Especially when the ones in her current level have worked so hard to get there.

[taoofpooh]

So NOT Dolly Dingle SI, that is what concerns me. This is my DD home studio. This teacher would have been my son's teacher had he not been going to NBS this fall!!!!!

 

You may be right about the stage mom thing. Or perhaps they are trying to spare the student's feelings. To he** with her feelings!! What about her feet!!! The other thought is do they care at all about the student and only care about the $$$. Sad thing is that there are 2 weeks left in the SI to go!!!

[dance1soccer1]

Or maybe this is a child who works as hard as she can, comes to all classes, and practices at home, but has some mental or physical challenge that we don't know about and is not immediately visible. Maybe, even with all her hard work, this is as good as this kid will ever be, and the teacher recognizes that, and is rewarding the work ethic and allowing the kid one little piece of her dream, under close supervision?

[lovemydancers]

I'm wondering about the original placement--she has been moved from advanced to elementary and is still struggling? Who on earth placed her?

[tutumonkey]

There is no audition process for this SI, dancers submit a brief history of their dance training, pictures and a letter from their primary dance instructor. So a dancer who looks good on paper might not be what the teachers expect when they see her in person. DD is in the elementary class and says there is a real range of abilities so someone with weaker pointe skills is a definite possibility. Tutumonkey

[dancemaven]

Perhaps the SI teacher(s) are dealing with this the best they can--balancing trying to find the right level for the girl without totally destroying any confidence in herself she has left and leaving totally demoralized. Perhaps they see real potential in the girl and want to cushion the demotion so that she doesn't give up. in embarassment or whatever.

 

Sometimes very good teachers, SIs, and studios know better than to take a "my or the highway" approach. Sometimes a little kinder, gentler, and more understanding approach is a better way to get the behind-dancer back to the appropriate skill level and into a mind-set where she (and her parents) are able to work to get back to where they mistakenly thought the dancer really was.

 

I know that when one studio in our town closed, one of the dancers came to our studio. She had been taking dance classes for almost as long as my DD and was on pointe. But she was no where near the age appropriate skill level one would expect her to be given how long she had been taking classes. And she really had no business being on pointe. She fully expected to be in DD's classes. She was put in that class for placement and quickly saw for herself how far behind she was (pretty much as you described: bent knees on releve, no real tendu, no extension in any of her limbs through out any of the steps). Her mother, however, did not stay to observe. At the end of class, the teacher met them at the office and offered the girl her placement level. The mother was appalled. She honestly couldn't believe that the girl was so far behind given all the years of dance classes she had paid for! She simply couldn't accept it. The girl did come back at the suggested level (two below where she had expected to place--and even that was a stretch and in some ways a deference to her age so that she didn't feel too 'old'). But after only a few weeks, she lost heart in the face of realizing how far behind she was. I learned later that they switched to a less professional studio and she again was back in the higher levels.

 

I think it really behooves us all to remain less strident about how 'ridiculous' some of the placements at places are. If the studio is good and the teachers are qualified, they most likely have a very good reason for doing what they do.

[Mel Johnson]

And maybe we've entered into speculation about what goes on. This is the first step down the slippery slope called gossip. Topic closed.