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Thought I’d start this thread for Pointe Shoe Shops North West! Now that That’s Entertainment is closing down any others know where’s best to go to for pointe shoe fittings from North Wales please? A mum has just text me with Bedazzled Bazzar Chester! Never heard of it so any feedback would be great please. Also Footlights Liverpool. Don’t think mine would all travel to Dancique in Birmingham 🤣 Thank you 💗🩰💗

I am wanting to return to Ballet - I am 33, but struggling to find adult classes in Manchester that aren't just sort of 'ballet fitness' classes. I passed grade 4 when I was younger, so it has been a long time, but I would love to train properly again & take exams. How have others managed to do this as an adult? Also does anyone happen to know any good classes around Manchester/Cheshire end? (Not city centre as that will be way too difficult to get to after work). Any advice appreciated as I am feeling rather lost with it all! Thank you

As per the title, I'm looking at accommodation for next year (second year). Currently in the very expensive New Medlock which has been overall fine with some horrific punctuations of shoddy workmanship, muck, chaos and disorganisation/ lack of communication etc. However, we cannot afford it for next year and wondering what everyone else is doing? Has anyone found a gem they're willing to share information? Thanks. P.S. DD is LOVING being at NBS and has found her spiritual home!

Hi, we are looking to relocate to Manchester from London hopefully before September! My daughter currently trains at Central School of Ballet plus a local ballet/dance school to us where she is doing her prevocational course, does anyone have any recommendations for dance schools in the area where they have associate classes or prevocational courses as she would like to continue her training when we move! Thanks

Can anyone recommend the best hotel to stay in (location/parking/budget) near to NBS please?

Hi all. Has anyone heard from NBS after their audition on the 20th November? Thank you.

Long shot but if anyone has a dd or ds starting at NBS in September would you like to get in touch? Thought it would be good for them to make contact and may also help in sorting out accommodation!!

Hi all. My DD is looking for a ballet shop that would be easy to get to from Manchester Piccadilly using either the tram or train, on a Saturday. She desperately needs new soft blocks and would like to try different brands preferably at a one stop shop. Any suggestions with opening times gratefully received. Thank you. 🙆‍♀️

Hi. My daughter was at a workshop recently and a dancer/choreographer who works regularly with The Northern ballet pulled her aside and encouraged her to audition for their summer school. She loves ballet and has a good technique but because she is more of a sporty/ jazz dance shape she has avoided applying for specialist ballet summer schemes as she feels that they are very selective when it comes to body shape etc. I just wondered if anyone has any experience of The Northern Ballet school in relation to this as I assume there is a cost involved in auditioning and it's several hours from where we live so I don't really want to go to a lot of expense etc for something that is very possibly a non starter. I know there supposed to be more of a move toward moving away from the classic and favoured ballet shape but from what I have seen albeit limited, ballet schools still do tend to favour a particular look and dare I say it (awaits backlash) this sometimes seems to be prioritised over talent and ability.

Hi I’m looking for recommendations for dance physios in the North West England as my DD is away at dance college in Preston, has a foot injury and would benefit from some expertise! Many thanks 😊

*** ADULT DANCE SUMMER INTENSIVES MANCHESTER! *** Our intensive workshops will be held at The Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester and taught by industry professionals. A typical day (10am - 4pm) will start with a warm up, followed by your chosen style of dance. We'll be spending some time on technique and repertoire before a well deserved lunch break. More repertoire, some stretching and a cool down will conclude your day. Please choose from the intensives below: Beginners/Pre Intermediate Ballet - 3 day Intensive Date: 21st – 23rd August Repertoire: Coppelia Teacher: Jane Tucker (NBT) Price: £200 (£15 non refundable deposit in addition to the price) Intermediate/Advanced Ballet - 1 day Intensive Date: 24th August Repertoire: Coppelia Teacher: Jane Tucker (NBT) Price: £70 (£5 non refundable deposit in addition to the price) Beginners/Pre Intermediate Jazz/Musical Theatre - 1 day Intensive Date: 24th August Teacher: Lee Lomas (http://leelomas.net/) Price: £70 (£5 non refundable deposit in addition to the price) Intermediate/Advanced Jazz/Musical Theatre - 1 day Intensive Date: 22nd August Teacher: Lee Lomas (http://leelomas.net/) Price: £70 (£5 non refundable deposit in addition to the price) If anyone wants to do more than one day, here is a breakdown of the prices: 1 day = £70 (£5 non refundable deposit in addition to the price) 2 days = £135 (£10 non refundable deposit in addition to the price) 3 days = £200 (£15 non refundable deposit in addition to the price) Please email info@kntdanceworks.co.uk to reserve a spot and request a registration form/info pack. Kind regards, Karen

I just wondered if anyone has a child who will be starting at NBS in September? My daughter is 16 and will be staying in New Medlock House, I though it might be a good idea to get pupils in touch before they go... make it less daunting!

Has any one heard if the dada results are out yet for the northern ballet school or when they are usually sent out.

Does anyone no how many dadas northern ballet school have to give out this year and also if they give scholarships. My daughter has been offered a place for September and just wondering what the odds are on getting a dada at 16. She wouldn't be able to accept a place without this.

Can anyone recommend any masterclasses or summerschools in the Manchester area. My daughter is 10. Ballet is preferable but she likes all styles!

I like, from time to time, keeping up to date with what's happening with my two former schools; Northern, which I attended from when I was aged between 12 and 15 and Urdang, which I was at from age 16. Just been on Northern Ballet School's website and had a look at their Graduate lists. I can't seem to find any info on the graduate destinations for the last two years. Are they listed somewhere else or have they not been listed, for some reason?

Hi its very likely ny husband will be in the Crewe/manchester/liverpool area next week (we live in New Zealand). What are the danceshops he should be visiting to buy for our aspiring ballerina? Thanks

Does anyone have any experience of this dance school? My dd age 7 attends a small local dance school which she loves but they only have 1 class for her grade and she is asking to do more. I am hoping that she can do her regular class and an extra class at Centre Pointe if her current dance teacher allows.

Last Thursday I was invited to the Creative Industries Federation EU Response Event at Manchester Metropolitan University. Over 45 individuals were on the attendance list from design, education, fashion, museums, publishing, local authorities and most of the performing arts. The big exception was dance and although I think I had been invited in my capacity as an intellectual property lawyer I championed the dance industry as a dance blogger as there was nobody else to do so. Even though the meeting took place in the Ormond Building which is about 100 yards from the Dancehouse Theatre and the Northern Ballet School where I attended a ballet class immediately after the meeting, I found that there a lot of attendees including senior council officials with responsibility for the arts in Manchester who had never heard of those institutions or the Manchester City Ballet. I banged the drum for dance recalling the special connection we have with English National Ballet which gave its first performance in our city and will return again in Autumn to premiere Giselle. I said that Northern Ballet had started out in Manchester and had done some of its best work in our city before crossing the Pennines. I tried to build a consensus that a conurbation of over 3 million in the centre of an almost continuous built up area that stretches from Leeds to the Wirral could and should do more. The meeting had been called to discuss Brexit and I was shocked to learn of the extent to which it had already affected the creative sector. For instance I was told that he number of applicants to our universities from Europe was already sharply down. I had previously heard that scientists had been dropped from research teams by their continental counterparts but it appears to be happening in the arts too. There was a lot of concern about restrictions on free movement of people as well funding. Geoffrey Brown of Euclid who helps arts, heritage, culture and creative industries to access funding described the referendum as "a disaster for the UK across a range of areas - ranging from reinforcing a nationalist and isolationist tendency in the age of globalization which will result in the UK being left behind by larger and more powerful trading blocs and countries." The sharpness and suddenness of the reaction took me by surprise. Although I had voted "Remain" I had a "let's wait and see" attitude thinking that there would be opportunities as well as costs to the decision. I was sorry to learn that at least one business already felt at risk from the referendum and several speakers feared for their livelihoods. Speaking selfishly for dance I think that we shall suffer less than most. I don't think the ending of free movement will stop our companies getting good dancers from the EU any more than they have been prevented from getting good dancers from laces like the USA, Japan, Russia, Australia and South America in the past, Most of their funding is generated from the UK rather than the EU. Recruitment to our universities was an unexpected problem I will be monitoring what (if anything) happens to the performing arts in general and dance in particularly and shall report back from time to time in my blog.

I have particular reason to be grateful to the Northern Ballet School in Manchester because I attend class in its studios with KNT at least once a week. Two of my favourite teachers in Leeds trained at that school as well as all my teachers in Manchester. The school hosts The Dancehouse theatre which is one of our city's institutions and the Manchester City Ballet which remains for the moment the only resident classical company in our city. The school has two focuses, namely classical ballet and musical theatre, At the end of each year the school stages a show for its talented students called "A Showcase of Dance". I saw the show last Friday and tweeted that it was not just a good students' show but a good show by any standards. The evening consisted of 20 separate pieces arranged in 3 acts which lasted nearly three hours. Even though it was a very long show and there were a lot of very young children in the audience the performers kept us riveted. Rarely have I sensed such excitement and enthusiasm. My favourite bits were a large extract from the second act of Giselle which had been slightly rearranged by the students' choreographer, Anton Alexandrov to allow his almost entirely female cast to shine. Myrtha (danced by Sayaka Sugimoto) and her acolytes Zulm (Meagan Hoare) and Mona (Sally Hind) had almost as much dancing as Giselle (Yukiho Kasai) and a great deal more than Albrecht danced by Carlos Felipe Oliviera. There was also a lot for the corps to do including the awkward bit where the dancers have to progress across the stage in formation in arabesque. Alexandrov did however give his boys a chance to show what what they could do in Lonely Town to Bernstein's music which was performed in the last act. The one female role was danced by Darcey Ferguson. Other ballets included Lisa Rowlands's A Thousand Good Nights to the music of Abel Korzeniowski and .Anthea Garrett's Final Dance. I had attended last year's how and had enjoyed it very much. This year's was even better. If anyone is interested I have written a fuller review in my blog,

Anyone on here with current or recent experience of training at NBS Manchester? Any information on the standard of teaching, timetable, accommodation, graduate destinations etc. would be very helpful. Thanks in advance.

My niece is looking for a decent school for her daughters in the Manchester area. They live in Didsbury and are looking more for an all-round training school rather than a ballet specific school, because the girls love musical theatre. However, they definitely want serious training, where they'll actually learn something, because they realise now how important technique is. The older one who is 9 has been going to a school round the corner from them, but sadly has rather been wasting her time there. Nuff said. Any suggestions will be gratefully received and passed on. Thanks a lot!