thanks for your reply!<P>I will pass along your comments!<P>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>most teachers<BR> have trouble getting the younger ones to come even twice a week, let alone think<BR> about more often.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>that's RIGHT! and so is your next bit about competitions! <P>mom2, you have a very good point here. what i did this year, because the exams came earlier than usual, i have devoted term 3 to 'remedial' exercises, as it were, addressing the specific techique flaws which were highlighted (rather than addressed) by the syllabus work. you know, the things the teacher can't bear to watch, but knows better than to try to fiddle with, a few weeks before the exam......as you say, one can only do so much in 1 (or even 2) classes per week, especially when MOST kids aren't that interested in the detail. <P>it sounds like your daughter IS - any teacher would be pleased to have a child who cared about such things, so i'd advise her to ASK, after class, choosing an appropriate moment.<P>as to offering my own advice about retiré, in addition to orzak's and at the risk of going off-topic!: one idea is to tell her to draw the little-toe up the leg, while lifting with the HEEL. it's not foolproof, but it often gets the lift happening with the heel heading as 'forward' as it can, rather than 'back' against the other knee. when they think of lifting with the toes, sickles happen more. worth a try to see if it affects the path of movement appropriately. if not, forget that approach!

I'm for syllabus (Cecchetti, RAD or whatsoever) for many reasons (don't worry, I'll explain only some of them !)<BR>I teach in a depressed area (not form an economical but from an artistic point of view) where there are'nt any professional ballet schools around. The fact that once a year an examiner comes from abroad to assess my students gives a kind of confidence to my school. We are not alone! In addiction, the children have a goal to reach which is not only the annual recital (the only chance we have to dance in front of an audience) but also the exams. This stimulated them very much and makes them accept the repetition of the exercises (sometimes very stressing, indeed, for them and for me). <BR>From my point of view exams are very important as they are a mean to assess regularly my teaching: through the written reports accompanying exam results, I discover what's wrong with my teaching and what I have to concentrate on in the future. I feel constantly monitored and I like it because I'm firmly convinced that we are always learning, even after twenty years' teaching. Besides, having a teaching certificate or a teaching diploma qualifies my job in a land where even the haidresser round the corner can open a ballet school. <BR>Of course there're also somecons (already cited): exams are too expensive and this is a way to discriminate the students, the repetition of a set syllabus is boring, there's the danger to create little robots who repeat mechanically the exercises etc etc. But it's up to the teacher to face and try to solve them. antoP.

i think what all of these excellent responses highlight, is that there is NO one right answer - as with so many things in life!<P>"different horses for different courses".<P>and whichever approach one takes, be open to change, and to constant re-evaluation, as to your needs and your student population's needs - both of these are constantly changing anyway....