u/NorthernStarzx

First of all, I attend adult recreational classes after having a few years break from dancing, and I have only attended those classes for 18 months. In one of them we were learning a routine and performing it in small groups, I have been struggling to pick up choreography quickly, I have ADHD and feel that plays a part in it, as predicted I forgot most of the routine but carried on, at the end my teacher praised me for carrying on despite forgetting parts and making mistakes and not running off like some people do.

After class when we were in the waiting area changing into our outside shoes, I overheard someone say "Yeah you can't be a dancer or perform if you can't pick up choreography quickly and that choreography wasn't hard!" And the other went "Yeah I could have done that as a kid" then they noticed I was behind them and stopped and looked embarrassed. I told them for some people its not the choreography but the speed it is taught, if half a dance is taught in 5 minutes I struggle even if its broken down.

I feel like an outsider sometimes, everyone else praises each other and ignores me, my teacher is the only one who praises me as she notices I get left out sometimes. Sometimes I feel like asking to dance with the slightly younger age group as when I have attended summer intensives with them they are supportive of me and kind, but I don't think my studio would allow it. What do I do about this whole situation? It's ruining classes for me.

I went to the Newcastle show and saw quite a few men walking round with Niall merch on and I even saw a group of 3 guys who came in together all wearing merch and sat down together. I am a young woman and love seeing male Niall fans, I think its lovely to see as Niall was in a boyband with a majority female fanbase so its nice to see that he is getting more male fans since releasing his solo music. I do wonder if he is aware of this? I bet he would love to know more men are loving his music and are fans 😊

Is it normal to go to an adult Ballet class after multiple years out and be expected to do Grade 6 syllabus? I joined an adult Ballet class, I was told it's mixed ability, but the class sizes are small so the teacher would have time to go over the basics again 1-1. During the class I was asked to do Grade 6 jumps and turns, the teacher showed me a more basic version of the turn but still expected me to do it by the end of the class, in front of the others, during across the floor, I felt so embarrassed. I reminded her my gap in Ballet means I am fully relying on muscle memory for most of it and have forgotten how to fully do the technique properly.

She told me there are people in the class who are a Grade 6 or working towards and some are doing Pointe and they need to learn the syllabus which I understand but I am nowhere near a grade 6 and don't do Pointe, I feel so behind the others. Should I continue with this class or not, I feel its unsafe to attempt Grade 6 technique after years out and honestly? I think I was only a Grade 4 when I left! Am I overreacting, sometimes I feel I am but I don't know. It feels like being thrown into a pool without being taught how to safely float or swim. There are no beginner classes at this studio and I feel bad attending another one elsewhere as I already attend Tap and Commercial at this studio.

My ADHD does effect my dancing in some ways but I have never felt as humiliated as I did today. Basically, I struggle with change anyway, so this was a big step for me deciding to start a new class, basically when I got there, there were some women who have never danced before (its a mixed ability class i thought nothing of it) but I was put with them at the Barre and for center work and all through the class I was called a "Beginner" and I know I haven't done it for a while but that felt humiliating to me, there was some people there from my other classes that I take at this studio.

They watched on as I had to do a basic turn slowly with these women who are beginners, I started doing the actual combo the others did and then stopped as I realised I was not meant to even though I could do it and the teacher saw I could. After that I did the class I usually take at the studio and was called a "Beginner" in front of two new women who have just joined even though I have been there more than a year, have past dance experience. Dance has always taken a lot of focus for me because of my ADHD and to be called out as a beginner in a class I have worked hard in for more than a year AND performed on stage recently. Its really upset me and my rejection sensitivity has well and truly set in. Why me, out of all dancers in that room why was I the prop, so called "beginner" for these new starters!? The teacher also says I have not danced before starting which is an awful lie as I danced for 7-8 years before my gap which i took to do other sports. One of the new women said "You are so good for a beginner!" Hmmm, wonder why? 🙄

I am going to see Niall at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle on the 23rd. I am just wondering what time Niall usually comes on stage for his concert. I have University lectures that day from 9am until 4pm and it takes me an hour to get to Newcastle by train. This is my first time seeing Niall and I don't want to ruin the experience by having to rush.

I have never understood people who say this, or the ones who say "wait until your 30s to have kids so your 20s can be free and you won't feel like kids have destroyed your fun" they want people to have kids but then talk about kids like life stops being fun once you have them and you should rush into parenthood so they can all be gone by time you are 40 and you can live your life, even though most young adults can't afford to move out in today's economy which will be even worse by the time today's young children become adults and also adult children still need their parents, just in a different way, parenting doesn't stop once kids are 18.

Have they never thought that maybe they could just not have had kids so they can have fun for their whole life and do what they want instead of stopping to have kids and then counting down the days until they are "free" again or cramming their whole life into their 20s because they will have kids in their 30s and "destroy " their life. Do these people even hear themselves!? 😂🤣

I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 8 and I started dance at 4 and then quit when I was 11 (Not because I didn't like it but at that age I started comparing myself to my peers and hated seeing myself in the studio dance mirror dancing compared to my peers dancing) I have recently gone back as a young adult and have joined a very welcoming Contemporary dance class with a very kind and experienced teacher. At the moment, we are doing rehearsals for our upcoming showcase, I can do most of the routine apart from the end part where it gets really fast and we do a lot of turns that go into jumps (If you have ever done or watched Contemporary Dance you will know what I mean)

When I was a kid I struggled a lot less than I did as an adult but still had my moments every so often. It doesn't help that I am in a class with some adults who have danced non-stop since they had just learnt to walk and have done college courses in performing arts. I sometimes see them watching me when we do across the floor or split into small groups to show our teacher that we know our routine and I often feel they are thinking "What on earth is she doing" 😂 I also sometimes catch my teacher watching me with a blank expression but she doesn't say anything, when I did solo lessons with her to see what level I was at she said I am a good dancer who clearly knows what she is doing and sometimes I feel I let her down, a lot. I left rehearsals tonight feeling a little down, I just don't feel I am at the level I was at when I was young and I know I had a gap in between dancing and its my first showcase with this studio, but it still gets me down sometimes even though its one of the best hobbies to have.