Dancing D bullied by boys!

[Sylvia09]

My DD is a gifted dancer, Royal Ballet Junior Associate and other programmes. She is in Y6 at a village primary school. Being very altheltic she is picked for most of he school sports events, which she often can't take part in due to her dance committmetnts. When she does take part she excels due to her fitmess levels from her dance training as well as sheer determination. Over the last few years she has experienced mild bullying (name calling etc) but has never bothered her. Recently a group of boys have targeted her following her successes in a boy/girl tag rugby tournament, she was singled out for her athletisism by a coach and the boys have been giving her hell ever since. This is now affecting her self esteem, just as she is about to embark on auditions for ballet school for y7. Help how can I supprt her and what can I do?

[MaryBS]

She can tell them Rio Ferdinand used to do ballet as a kid:

Rio

"But Ferdinand says ballet helped him develop as a footballer as he had to improve his balance and timing. "It's elegant and you have to be flexible," he said"

If the bullying is happening at school, speak to the school. My DD was bullied a lot last term, and this term the school have clamped down on it, and things are a LOT Better. She is now in Year 6

[Sylvia09]

Thanks MaryBS. Thats a good tip about Ferdinand. She has spoken to her teacher and they have agreed on coping strategies.

[MaryBS]

I hope they can get it sorted. Are they dealing with the boys? They sound jealous to me, I mean, fancy being beaten by a girl :o

I remember seeing on the news once that whole football teams were having dance lessons to improve agility on the pitch!