Why I hate the twitches at NBT

1) I have a very good idea which one decided to be "concerned" and call DFCS on me because I spanked The Diva for trying to bite me.

2) The usual brats were invited to "audition" for scholarships again this year. One of them is the teacher(ES)'s daughter, DS. WTF is with that? How can that be fair? Another is a whiny little brat named after a major coastal city in Australia--no talent, but she is a pal of the other one I am pissed about: the PITA who has done nothing but make D's life miserable all year. That's right! The daughter of that crazy woman who also took it upon herself to NOT allow me to help with costumes even though I had been asked by the wardrobe person to do so. HA and the city-named brat have parents who kiss ass and drop extra checks into the kitty so they will be rewarded by getting some of that money back. It never goes to the kids who really need it. GR will get another scholarship as well, I am sure.

3) VSK is still there and just as big a twitch as ever. She sops sugar over YA doing a little bit of handwork, yet walks right by me when I am working on the design for another class's entire costumes.

4) The brats mentioned above keep telling D things that are wrong so she will get in trouble. Today, it was telling her they were keeping their pointe shoes on for "Etudes" rehearsal (big lie!). She still had them on when it was time to begin and she was late because she had to change them. ES knew good and damned well what the spawns had done, but blamed D anyway for making the rehearsal start late.

5) The teacher's kid DS is throwing a Justice/pool party and D was not invited. This same girl pretends to be D's friend and texts her all the time.

6) The scores for the exams are still not up and I want to see what D was given. She told me that several of the girls (including every one of the ones nominated for scholarships) made major mistakes and at one point, they stopped them and made them do the combination over. That is the first time I heard of that; do-overs are not a normal thing in the middle of exams. The scores and placements will help me make my decision as to whether or not D stays at that hellhole.

After all the bull, why do I want her to stay there? She has been there a while, she knows the teachers, she knows the routine and she knows the kids (no matter how ugly they are to her). The teachers are familiar with her way of learning, so no breaking in needed. It would be hard for her to start over at another school, even though I am looking into a few options just in case.

D is a good dancer and could be a lot better if it weren't for all the politicking and kissing the arse of alleged money. Their no-talent spawn get the attention because the administration can soak them for all sorts of "extras". However, I know better about the money. Several people who "front" are less liquid than I am and that is saying something!

Another ballet bulletin

Bad enough that The Diva was injured in class during observation week and the usual suspects ignored the injury AND the fact that she showed up for rehearsal, dressed out and ready to watch and take notes. All I got was “make sure she heals during Spring break”.

In other news, no good thing ever stays good. I was told a few days ago that JK is back at NBT, this time on the professional side of the house and vying for KDL’s position. Since that is one of the alleged reasons for the departure of BS last Thanksgiving, that is a truly stupid move on the part of NBT. According to what I heard, the Board didn’t want to have any more scandal or controversy, so they rolled over and created another position for JK.

Fine if they are all about the CYA aspect of their little company, but DAYUM, people! What are you telling the kids he scared and injured? That covering the blemishes is more important than their safety? That keeping the money rolling in is more important than the children whose tuition fees and participation in “The Nutcracker” keep their happy asses open on the professional side of the house?

The crazy oriental mothers who think that all males are gods are all “well, that is how it is done back home and it must work.” My favorite is “well, they do that at the Kirov and the Moscow companies”. I looked at one of them—a former dancer herself--and pointed out that those companies also teach the children to smoke by 8 or 9 so they will stay skinny (Did you see “The Simpsons” episode with Lisa that featured the Roy Scheider dance teacher? This was the running theme!), then asked her if she would support that for her daughters. I got a lot of stuttering and eye-shifting. Thought so… *Snap!*

Of course The Diva had to show her ass last night and tried to bite me. I smacked her to make her let go and one of her classmates saw it. The little brat then ran to tell everyone else I "beat" D. I am just waiting for the busy-body brigade to be all over me today.

And—speaking of tuition—it is going up again. The summer class schedule is up and darned if all the fees went up enough to make parents second-thought their commitments to the place. I worked out my projected July raise with the tuition hit and I can do it, but it will be painful. There are parents who are getting hit with the ARM sledgehammer and some who are getting less hours at work; they are looking into less expensive options. I’ve looked at Fern Adair and am thinking of having The Diva take a class or two with them over the summer to see how they stack up with their pointe program.

Meanwhile, Ms. D is going to take a theater workshop with the Rainbow Youth Company during the summer if she can (the low age is supposed to be 13, but depending on the class size, they may allow her in anyway). Get some training, take some voice…

She sure won’t make it as a Rhodes scholar--not because she is stupid, but because she won’t do homework no matter how much I plead. But that is another entry.

Another day at the ballet

Well, R came in last night with her mom and announced she was quitting NBT. The official excuse was that she wanted a break and, since they weren't going to be here for the Spring Concert anyway, it would be a waste of time for her to learn the numbers.

D tried to speak to R, but she ignored D completely so D just walked away and didn't say anything else. You would think that at the end, the child would have enough manners to be civil. Well, it just shows the rampant meanness that prevails.

I also heard that Y is going to attempt to home school because she doesn't want her children exposed to the great unwashed masses and general populace before high school. I cracked up when I heard that because her older girl is already a beotch and pretty much the person Mommy wants her to avoid. Sad, really.... And she is STILL playing that "victim" card about how I picked on her. Y, just get over yourself! People see you for what you are and are getting bored--they just don't say anything because they think you might have money and have some small influence over NBT people. Uh-huh...

In other news, there is a big stink brewing over the way JK handles the girls. Several of them were talking about him Wednesday night, saying that they are beginning to hate ballet because of the way he treats them, grabbing them roughly and kicking them. NZ's parents grabbed him off after class that night because he apparently grabbed her by the neck to "adjust" her posture in class last week. I have spoken to him in the past about the way he physically pushes D around. She came out of Youth Company rehearsals in tears last week, wanting to quit right on the spot, because he was mishandling her and grabbing her in that spot between the clavicle and the shoulder blade whenever he repositioned her. I told her to yell in pain every time he grabs her and then tell him loudly that he is hurting her. That way, everyone hears it.

There is a rumor going around that the administration in the Academy will be undergoing a drastic change next year. I can only assume it might be because the current curriculum and policies have cost them students and so revenue.

I hear the money flow is so bad that the real reason they HAD to change the original prize for the dance essay (two tickets to the B & W ball-once around $200, now $750) to one month's tuition and some cash was because they couldn't afford that original prize. I just fear a huge tuition hike (after all, according to JK, ballet is for "wealthy people") which would send a lot of girls right out the door.

Fern Adair is looking better and better...

D's essay for the contest

And, no. She didn't win. But as with all the girls who entered, her picture and a quote from her essay will be featured in a video to be played at the B & W Ball. I guess Twyla Tharpe will then be presented with a copy of it.

When I’m Dancing, I Feel…

Better! At least most of the time…

In reality, when I am dancing and things are going right, things do seem much better for me. I can participate in something difficult and beautiful and sometimes fun. Even though there is a lot of stress in dance, it can also be a way to let go of some of the other stresses in life. At times I can imagine myself as someone (or something) else, like a peacock or even a mermaid. Even though it might seem weird, doing that helps me feel in control of myself.

A lot of adults forget that we kids are under a lot of stress in our lives. We have school and family and other activities that we have to deal with, along with our dance lives. We work hard at each thing but we can get really upset and stressed when we can’t be perfect at everything or we have to give up other activities. But, for me, the stress can go down or even away when I have a good night in my ballet class. When I learn a new combination quickly or get through a class without being the one getting yelled at all the time, it makes me happy and I have a big smile on my face (even though I know I still have to go home and finish my homework so late at night).

A fun dance, with lots of big moves and the beautiful costumes makes me shine like a peacock. I get to show off to everyone that I CAN handle the material and am not that much different than everyone else. Sometimes I like to pretend that I am some magical thing like a mermaid. Mermaids are graceful and swim like they are dancing in the water. A beautiful dance piece can make me feel like I am flowing through the water, all smooth and silent, letting the music move me like waves. It might sound stupid, but I like the calming effect.

You see, many people don’t understand that I have some issues that cause some problems (FOR THEM more than me, it seems like) at times. I have what my mom calls an alphabet soup of conditions --ADHD, PBPD, OCD and other stuff-- that make me do things at times that might seem like I am not paying attention or that I am just goofing off. Being accused of not concentrating gets frustrating because I really am paying attention even when I might seem to just be fidgeting or staring off into space. Some of the teachers have been meaner to me because they say they don’t have the time to wait the few extra moments it might take for me to catch on, even though I always do and I have been here long enough for most of them to know I am going to learn my part and not mess up any more than anyone else.

I said dance makes me feel in control of myself. I sometimes tell people that I hate it-usually after a class was very bad and I got in trouble for things that were not always my fault or even doing. But most of the time, I love to dance because I am different in an invisible way and dancing takes away some of the differences. That feeling when I find my control and my imagination takes off so that I can do something exactly as the teachers and choreographers want is one of peace and self-control and joy that no one can take from me, no matter how hard they try.

Breaks your heart, doesn't it? The usual little brats won--each of them girls who are already getting scholarships or whose family has more money than they know what to do with. As it is, the grand prize winner gets FURS and $500 shoes for Hannakuh, for Petesake! And she is only 14!!! So the month's tuition just means she gets an extra trip to the mall.

I just wish for once there would be a scholarship for financial need. But I hark back to JK telling me that ballet really is a wealthy person's avocation and I cringe for the company's future.

The Holiday Roundup

As another year starts, I have to put in my 2¢ about how the last one ended. "Nutcracker" is over and D is still wearing the wounds from her last performance. The mother of the girl playing "Clara" on the 24th decided she just HAD to take pictures on stage. So she made all the other kids who were warming up get off and go behind the scrims to the other side. Well, it is freakin' dark back there (as a backstage volunteer, I KNOW it is) and no one helped the kids with a light. D tripped over a lighting cable and fell right into the castle drawbridge set piece and hit the right side of her face. One of the moms who was waiting on that side slapped some extra blush on her face and she did her thing after a quick cry. When I got backstage at intermission, she cried all over again. The thing is, I know shit happens, but neither JK or VS-K said "jack" to her or to me. D complained that her really swollen jaw hurt for the rest of the day, but luckily no teeth were broken or anything.

A week later, it is yellow and green and the top part is almost faded. The bottom part is still rough.

Other than that....

We got through Christmas OK. Went out to eat at Sam's Town as usual. D got a lot of stuff and still found a way to fuss about not getting everything she wanted. Geez!!!

We spent this last weekend being touristy. Sunday night, we enjoyed MY Christmas present--VAN HALEN tickets!!!! All I can say is--"DAMN!!!!" I got some pictures, but I had a too-small SD card in the sucky (just in case they were taking them away) camera and didn't get nearly enough. Here is a taste, though.... It's only the opening, but you will get the point.

I just hope that they stay together much longer and don't piss each other off again. It was like they never broke up (even though Wolfgang is now playing bass instead of Michael Anthony). D and I both rocked out and sang along to everything. Hey, I raised my kid on Rock and Roll and she knows a good thing when she hears it.

I had to work yesterday, but last night we went to see Danny Gans just to do a Strip NYE thing. Before the show, we went to one of the ice cream shop outside the theater and had something. At the next table, Elvis was having a light snack. It was definitely Vegas! It was a good show and we got out of the area before it got really insane. The plan was to watch the fireworks but D conked out in the car and we watched it on TV.

Today was supposed to be a "tidy up the house" day (you can actually see the floor in D's room again). D had a friend over this afternoon who is home from Germany for the holidays and they played video and computer games before whipping out the old Uno game and then doing their nails. So even though B is coming tomorrow, the house is not as clean as it needs to be. But then--what else is new? For a house where people only seem to use as a way station, the place always looks like a cyclone hit it.

Back to work tomorrow... *Sigh*

In other news...

Ballet politics are the same. Childish and annoying.

Nutcracker is in performance now. So that means a lot of schlepping over to UNLV for performances. D is adorable in her silver princess gown, but keeping her hair curled is a booger! Also, she got about half the rehearsal time as the other girls because she is the ONLY one NOT in A or B casts and RH-N never bothered with her--but she seems to be doing pretty well for learning by watching. Petty beotches think they were clever, but OOPSIES! D has proven once again that she is more than up to the task despite them.

D wrote her contest essay for the NBT (I'll post it later). The prize is a month's paid tuition, some academy store credit, a small check and tickets to the Black and White ball next month. But I am sure she won't win... I don't spend enough money there to buy her a victory like the likely winner's parents do. In fact, most of us have private bets as to who will "win" and we all have the usual suspects names in the hat. Besides, her essay was not all full of BS about lightness and ethereal thoughts and kissing ass vicariously. It was an honest assessment of how she feels when she dances even when she is treated like crap, so you know that went over really well.

This year, her last performance is Christmas Eve, so most of Winter Break will be resting time for her--except for catching up on homework and finishing a book report. School is a nightmare for D because she cannot keep track of her papers and she ends up getting in trouble for not turning in her work--even though she does it. She is the only person I know who can lose an assignment in the five feet between her desk and the teacher's. At least, after the quarter ends, she will be put in another math class so that she might get better attention (her current math teacher has decided D will be her scapegoat this year and has made life hell for D).

Oh, yeah--I found out today that D's "grandmother" died in the Spring without ever meeting the grandchild she wanted from J. Despite his lies over the years that she never wanted to see D, the awful truth (as I heard it) is that he never told her D even existed. So two people were cheated out of some extra joy. I also hear that J and F are divorcing now. Eventually, I will get to hear why, but I have my suspicions.

Finally, I hope made S very happy because I found the perfect Christmas present for him. After this last month, he needed something cool and I think this was the schitz! Enjoy, my friend!

Just about to contact the ACLU

Today was another rehearsal for "Nutcracker". The kids had to be there at 9:00. Party scene didn't even get to start rehearsing until almost 11:00 and RH-N didn't let D rehearse--AGAIN!!! D is the only one who is not in A or B cast, so she didn't even get a single run-through. Since RH-N ran most of the main dances over and over, there should have been a chance for D to rehearse each dance at least once. The part of Russian Princess #2 is being filled by three girls--D and two others. One is in A cast and one is in B. D is in C & D. So she was the ONLY party scene girl who didn't get to rehearse.

I asked RH-N why not. She hemmed and hawed about why, but you know--she just whined about time and how she had to do what she could. I basically told her (and JK later) that people don't know who is in what cast and they are paying the same amount for tickets no matter what. She just rolled her eyes and stomped off. JK wanted to go back to the day D left class to throw up after he made the girls do 50 reps of crunches followed by 50 reps of sit-ups and leg lifts. I asked him what that had to do with rehearsing for a show that opens in two weeks and of course he had no answer either. I told him the same thing I told RH-N: they want to complain when D messes up, but then they don't let her rehearse, so of course she isn't as prepared, therefore she messes up and then they bitch again. I also repeated the thing about the ticket-holders paying the same price no matter who is dancing. I know it will get back to VS-K because he cannot help but tell his missus.

My kid isn't there as a "Future Dancer" charity case or on scholarship. I pay the same freakin' tuition as every other parent does for their child and I expect that she get the same treatment. I am not in the mood to hear all the ephemeral crap about "art" and "grace" and "the soul of a dancer" as an excuse for discriminating against my child. And that is what I am seeing--they know D has neurological issues and therefore not "perfect" enough to be in what is fast becoming an exclusionary environment.

Why do I keep her there? Because they were supposed to let the girls start pointe in August...! Now, JK keeps putting the girls off and they haven't done anything with pointe since observation week (and that was only for the parents' benefit). I am seriously considering other dance studios--mainly Fern Adair, but it is too late for this year. If she does switch, Adair's girls get to dance with the Moscow Ballet when they do The Nutcracker (in Henderson every November). I also understand that they aren't as assholish about their students actually having lives outside of dance.

Besides, D is of the mood to prove them wrong. She even wants to write an essay for their silly contest about why she loves dance. I might just help write that one. Let's just say that I could open some eyes with it. Unfortunately, I expect that the silly beotch will "accidentally" lose D's entry. I am still trying to figure out why the receptionist was proofreading entries. Makes me wonder who ghostwrote the pre-selected winner (one of the usual suspects, no doubt).

Another fun day at the NBT

D had to miss rehearsal last week because she had an audition in LA (unfortunately, she didn't get the part). So this week, instead of catching her up to speed, the "beotch" in charge of the party scene made her sit out the whole damned rehearsal and watch. This woman (RH-N) is the same one who was teaching D's class last year and managed to be absent for so long that the girls missed out on starting pointe when they were supposed to. She also left them less than prepared for the transition to the crazy plans VS-K has in mind for the NBT. But it is supposedly all D's fault because she isn't "prepared". In the meantime, how in Hades is D supposed to learn if she is sitting in a corner and not allowed to participate? Doesn't that sound like they are TRYING to keep her from learning so they could put her out? How stupid is that?

I complained to the principal and her reaction was that little 10 and 11 y/o girls are responsible for learning their own choreography. Basically I was told that if D doesn't get another 11 y/o to teach her what she missed, she cannot be in the production. BULLSHIT!!!!

I am sorry, but we are talking about children here. They are not going to the Kirov School and to assume they are is really stupid.

The woman is there because she and her husband are best friends with the Artistic Direct on the professional company side. There was NO "international search" or even an attempt to advertise (and I looked, believe you me). BS just waited till VS-K's contract was over at her previous position. Then he sprang her on everyone like she was the result of painstaking screening and all that jazz.

I don't think they want the lawsuit I am about to spring on them if D is not allowed to dance. It has nothing to do with her not knowing the choreography (she does), but because RH-N doesn't like D and has decided to use this occasion to hurt her. Isn't it nice that they waited till they got a shitload of money out of me to "discover" AFTERWARDS that D shouldn't have been in their first-year Youth Company?

You know, I may call and request an appointment with Nancy. It's her baby-let her hear how it is being abused in the name of "art".

Oh, and on the stuck-up Japanese front--D told me this afternoon that one of the girls in her class was talking to her when H walked by and shot the girl a dirty look. The girl said "Sorry, H" and left D to go join her. H did the same thing the other day in front of me when A.T. was chatting with D. In fact, she pulled A. away and whispered loud enough for me to hear that she wasn't supposed to talk to D if she wanted to stay friends. AND I have on film where H and her little friend R are playing around during class when D is not. So much for the "H is a good girl. She doesn't play around in class. She concentrates every minute." Poor little victim Y-mommy is still playing that "D is evil and H is perfect" crapola. Sheesh! I wonder if I should post the video for Y to see and make sure that H loses her alleged private lessons with Ms. E.

You would think with the alimony and child support she is allegedly sucking out of her poor ex, she would buy a clue. But then I hear the money is not as good as she claims... If it were, Y would have sped out to buy both her girls a video Nano because D has a regular Nano. That is how she is. Interesting to note that H is wearing some of mummy's clothing and that little sister is now wearing Target instead of Nordstrom and Macy's. The place is better than Wisteria Lane when you want to get the dirt on some of those sad women there. I think the women who actually work and have lives are better off and more stable, that's for sure.

The war goes on

Y is still playing out what a sad victim she is of the mean old trailer trash mommy who mad her feel inadequate. She has her little court of brittle Wisteria Lane clones who hang onto her every word as if they were gold. But you know what? Some of the cracks are showing. Y is not that special and a lot of people are starting to see that. Her divorce made her some enemies and I know of at least one secret about her and her "perfect" life as a single parent that would destroy her oh-so-perfect reputation.

Stoic little performance artist that she is, she forgets that not all people are fond of Kabuki theater. The grey hairs are showing and the designer clothing is wearing thin. I notice the kids are dressed in Target more than Macy's now and the trips to Starbuck's are less frequent. Wonder how long before she starts dipping into the girls' trust funds?

Class Wars, continued

Well, the "rich" bitch who continually makes a big deal about everything being so cheap is a hypocrite and a liar as well.

I tried to talk to her about her older daughter (and her best friend) doing things to get my daughter in trouble in class. She turned it into a tirade about how perfect her little angel is and how bad my child is. She turned every point into an indictment of my child's behavior. You know, I never thought that my child was beyond reproach, but DAYUM!!! H is a spoiled brat who allegedly is going to come into a trust fund when she is older and Y brags all the time about how her girls will never have to work.

Basically, the issue is that H and her friend R whisper and play around when Mr. K's back is turned, then point to D when he turns around so guess who gets in trouble? I will be the first to admit D does her share of playing, but she is NOT the only one. Mr. K told Y that H is not "misbehaving" and that is all Y heard. She missed the part about all the girls having to be called down at one point or another. I asked Mr. K to separate the girls as best he could within the limits of what he has planned for the class as a whole because I am tired of D crying at the end of every class because the damned little "princesses" are making her life hell.

Y told me these wild stories about how D was always hitting H on the shoulder in class and how she supposedly put her foot up on C's shoulder and wouldn't take it down. Amazing that the TEACHER never said a word about either incident and you would think he would notice someone's leg propped on the shoulder of another student. Then she told me that she heard D during the Spring Concert last June (behind a curtain and in the middle of a 120-decibel madhouse) clearly say that "Ballet stinks. Why are you doing this 'shit'?"

So why not mention it then? Or sometime during the dozens of other conversations since then? She wanted to make it out that I was bringing D up wrong or that I didn't have people to talk to and so was making things up to stir the poop.

To add the pee topping to the poop cake, she dragged all the girls from the class together and put them on the spot about H making it clear that if those girls were nice to D, she wouldn't be friends with any of them. Of course they all told Y what she wanted to hear because I don't believe any of them wanted to be in the middle. The ones that looked like they wanted to say something different were effectively shut up by Y gloating over all the room that she was "right". Poor D wanted to confront them about how mean they have been, but then Y started yelling at me and all of the girls scattered as quickly as they could. D ran into the bathroom crying. I chewed out Y for not letting D ask H to her face why she was so mean to her. Y got all stupid and told me I was never to talk to her again and got all ridiculous about how I was nuts.

I caught up with Mr. K and asked him why he lied to Y. He told me what he told her and obviously she didn't hear anything past the first sentence. As I said above, he allowed that ALL the girls get called down. He also told me that they did discuss D's issues before letting her into the Youth Company (yes, she made it in) but that they also saw something in her that made it clear she had what it took to succeed (with some molding).

I let him know that there was a whispering that H and R (and I think their mothers) think getting D in trouble would get her kicked out and R in. You see, R sucked at the audition and didn't make it into the Youth Company. You should have seen the scene her mom made, crying all over the place and checking the list over and over to see if she missed R's name. She was also pointing to some names and moaning that R should have made it over this or that girl. Mostly, she pointed and bitched in the general vicinity of where D's name was on the list.

Y seems to think that her girls have minds of their own and would never hatch such a scheme, but I know better. Girls at this age want to impress their parents and can pick up on the hints EVEN IF NOTHING IS EVER OPENLY SAID. If H and R think they would make their moms happy by picking on D and making her out to be the bad guy, they would pick at D 24/7/365. AND they would get their friends in on the game! That is what girls do.

I am so ready to out Y for the hypocritical little bitch she is. She is trying to keep it secret that she is divorced because Japanese women lose face when they lose their husbands. Gee, I wonder why she lost hers. I suspect she is living off her parents as they have money to burn (or so she intimated in the past--back to the trust fund story...). I do know one thing about her situation, but I promised not to say anything as it is someone else's secret to tell. Let's just say, she isn't that far up the scale from me and has a helluva a lot of nerve telling me how common and low she thinks I am.

So now it is open warfare. I am sure she has been on the phone and on the computer all afternoon telling R's mom and whoever else thinks she still is "hot stuff" what a bitch I am. It's all crap and now D is determined to prove them wrong with ballet and with her acting. I will laugh my ass off when D makes it big and those same little brats and their moms start kissing up to her. She has my permission to act like Julie Smith (aka Julianne Moore) and say mean things about the Academy and her classmates if she ever gets on talk shows. I know--it isn't mature, but if it makes D feel better and gives her motivation, I have to make this one allowance.

Class warfare in the halls of dance

As I have indicated before, D takes classes at the local professional dance company (there's only one, so you look it up). She has been going there for five+ years (along with the three years at Gretchen's before that) and has progressed through the levels as required. Well, this year it may be different because of the new principal at the Academy.

The new principal is a graduate of the Kirov Academy in Washington, D.C. and wants to turn the local dance academy at "The Money" (aka Summerlin) into a Kirov clone. She has already changed the class structures, fired all the company dancers who were teaching classes (there are now LESS teachers than before) and requires a mandatory training program for the students as if they ALL planned to join a dance company when they grow up. If they do not indicate that desire, the students are relegated to a general ballet "training track" where the instruction is not as good and the girls are not pushed to the limits of their skills (some look downright sloppy when you see them perform; their training is treated as "casual" because they are supposedly there "just for fun"). So what if they all do not go into some professional company for $200/week (what they pay locally) in the Corps du Ballet? They are learning skills, healthy habits and grace that will serve them well their entire lives.

All this restructuring is bad enough, but the final straw is going to be the Youth Companies. The big event every year is "The Nutcracker" performances and the students look forward to their chance to dance with the company. In years past, all students were allowed to audition for the show and it was pretty fair all around. THIS year, this is not going to happen.

The new plan is to make all the students who want to dance in "The Nutcracker" audition for a Senior or Junior Youth Company from which the cast will be chosen. The kicker is that the students are then required to commit to one of those companies for the entire year! They will be required to give up every single Saturday from September to June, dance in every performance showcase the adult company requests and are not going to be allowed to miss more than three days total, even for school or family functions! Our children will be worked like galley slaves for the year and we have to pay even more fees!!!

For the Company commitment, the parents are going to have to PAY either $250 (junior) or $300 (senior) upfront for the dubious privilege of allowing their children to be exploited by the company. The only kids who *may* not have to pay are those in the "Future Dancers" program (free ballet for girls from "at risk" schools). Their will be covered by grants, gifts-in-kind and tax money. "The Money" is talking about how reasonable the cost is like it was just another pair of shoes or a trip to the Strip. OK, nice for them...

The problem is that those kids who are NOT in Future Dancers or do NOT have parents who pay more in taxes than I make in a year before taxes are being winnowed out. Ever since the dance company moved from the more egalitarian location on Flamingo to "The Money", the trend has tended to be toward catering to "The Money" and telling the rest of us to fuck off. The scaled tuition based on number of classes a week has changed to a set fee based on class level. There are so many extra expenses because now the principal is requiring specific brands for shoes, leotards, etc. and of course, they are only locally available at the Academy Boutique (with, to be sure, the appropriate "profit" markup for the house). Oh, and with the extra required classes, we are going to get hit for a minimum of four costume fees at $80/costume right at Christmastime.

Then there is the process they introduced to exclude girls from scholarship consideration if they aren't popular or have connections. The auditions used to be open to ALL students and are now "invitation/approval only". That means that a lot of girls with talent were not and will never be considered because the teachers now have to recommend them for the auditions--"pets", anyone? Scholarships are now pretty much given to those girls invited to audition, even when they ALREADY GET FREE TUITION via Future Dancers!!!

In my daughter's class, only two girls were recommended and one of them was NOT even close to the best in the class. The one we all thought should have gotten a scholarship was not even considered. The teacher's excuse? She was "rushed and couldn't come up with a proper list". WTF? She's been teaching the class all year and she didn't have a clue?!? Many of us stood there in disbelief when we saw girls whose tuition was already covered (Future Dancers) or whose parents could well afford paying for 15 or 20 classes a week without breaking a sweat being given EVEN MORE breaks. My daughter actually spoke up about it after the recommended two did indeed get scholarships because even an 11 y/o knows a screwover when she sees it.


This is NOT what ballet should be. But here, it has become so political and so kissy-face to "The Money" (the ballet company is even featured in commercials for Summerlin as if that municipality owned them) that it is hard to justify the effort to our kids when they see the same few girls getting all the leads and scholarships and preferential treatment while they see us busting ass until we break under the financial strain.

Of course, when we brought our concerns up to the principal and company head, we were poo-poo'd. The adult company's director seemed shocked that there were children coming there for classes that were NOT from "The Money". The principal was equally shocked that there are working mothers bringing their children there. She has a dream to turn the Academy into an all-day dance school (with a hefty price tag) as "the mothers will be homeschooling". No more evening classes for "those who are not serious about dance". Can you imagine the reaction of the working women in the room? We all went ballistic!

I have talked to other parents in my income bracket and we all seem to have the same opinion of what is going on. For the rich kids, ballet is de rigueur and for the poor kids, it is an entitlement. For the middle-class kids, it is fast becoming out of reach. I'm even considering seeing about getting my kid in Future Dancers so I can afford her extra tuition and all the fees. We all agree that we will keep sending our children there as there is no other professional company in the entire state. But it will mean giving up food and most extras in order to come up with the extra gas money and the fees, along with the time sacrifices because this is for our kids in the long run.

Added on the 23rd: I have enrolled D for the fall. BEFORE pointe and character shoes which I still have to get, the fees to date have been almost $400. The shoes will be another $100 or so. And there is still the pesky $300 YC fee to come up with if necessary. YIKES!!!