I get quite a lot of letters from parents who don’t know what to do about conflicts between trainers and children. These really are difficult moments that you have to live through together with the child. First of all, don’t rush to conclusions. Advise your daughter to be particularly attentive during training sessions and wait to see the result. The main thing is not to say anything negative about the trainer in your daughter’s presence.

I myself, for example, was thrown out of my first choreography lesson in Novogorsk for talking. And I wasn’t even talking, but just listening to some small tips from a girl from my part of the country who had ended up in Novogorsk before me. After being thrown out I cried and thought that was it – I’m finished. Anyway, Veronika Borisovna (the lady who kicked me out of the class) later became one of my favourite teachers.