Introduction
Young-dancers.org is the 1st dance dedicated website for teenagers. They can play games, look at some great pictures, find out more about different dance styles, gain careers advice, read interviews with dance stars as well as lots, lots more. This site is aimed at teenagers, particularly those between 12 and 16. For younger children you may want to take a look at www.dance-kids.org

The website is brought to you by the ISTD Dance Examinations Board. Formed in 1904 it is today a registered educational charity that covers the full spectrum of dance examinations on a truly global scale. To find out more about the ISTD visit www.istd.org

Although teenagers are quite capable of looking round the site themselves, it may be beneficial and interesting for you to spend some time looking at it yourself. Take a look at the yd Guide for a full listing of all that you can find on this site.

Safe Surf: A Guide for Adults
We are very concerned that both children and teenagers should be able to use the Internet safely. Most of the information available on the Internet is harmless, but there are places unsuitable just as there are in real life.

Below are just a few ideas for you to help keep your children safe. Please ensure that the children have read our Safe Surf tips and are clear about all that is mentioned.

• You may like to put the computer in a place where you can easily see what is going on. That way, they can be 'independent' but not alone.

• Make use of the tools that are available to help you choose what you do and don't want your children to see. There are products available that can filter out content unsuitable for children. You may like to consider using a filtering program or restricting them to sites that you locate via a child-safe search engine. Another option is a child-friendly browser. There are also hotlines where parents can report any very nasty material (e.g. child pornography).

• Make sure your children do not give out any personal information about themselves without your knowledge and consent to people who they may be meeting online. Never let them arrange to meet someone they have met online in an offline environment without you knowing.

• You need to be concerned about how long they are spending on the computer. Be sure that time spent on the computer and the Internet doesn't take away from all other activities. Therefore limit the amount of time your children spend online, and encourage them to keep up their other activities (including schoolwork) and friendships. One way to deal with the issue of spending too much time on the Internet might be through the use of a software time-limiting tool.

• Take the time to find the best and most useful sites for you and your children.

• Learn as much as you can about the Internet yourself. Surfing should be a family activity so that you can find your way around together and discuss any problems you encounter.

Further Information
Unless otherwise specifically stated, all images, games, web pages, and everything else on young-dancers.org has been created by the ISTD and are owned by the ISTD. This is protected by our copyright and all the laws relating to copyright.

If you would like further information on the ISTD Dance Examinations Board, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our address is:

Marketing and Publicity Department
ISTD Dance Examinations Board
Imperial House
22-26 Paul Street
London
EC2A 4QE
England

Tel: +44 (0)20 7377 1577
Fax: +44 (0)20 7247 6728
Email: marketing@istd.org
Website: www.istd.org

Alternatively, please drop us an email at
young-dancers@istd.org