Stirrups36

DS never a JA, although did audition. Placed into Elmhurst and wait list for RBS in year 7. Now been at Elmhurst for 7 years.

any specific questions - ask away - DM if you wish . DS (age 18) and friend is doing it again this year (3 weeks only due to clash of school ending dates). it will be his 4th time!

Yes, I am happy to answer PMs as well. And we combined pickups with family holiday for a year or two (this will be DSs 4th time there!). Take a look at the YouTube channel as there are loads of videos, of the teaching as well as the shows. So you can see pretty much exactly how it is. As you can tell, we have nothing but praise, with some caveats I suppose. We were worried the first day he phoned us, walking round on his own on the campus area on his own at 14 years old. But everything was fine. That year, he ended up sharing a suite of rooms with 3 lads including a 24 year old soloist (now principal) with a US company! Not sure that would have happened anywhere else! But great experience.

They have a variety of students, not that many over 20. most between 14 and 20. Not all vocational either. It is truly international and my DS (who did his first one there at 14, which is probably the very lowest age limit really) has made loads of friends from it around the world. Great teaching as well.

Finally got round to sorting out summer schools - looks like it's 3 weeks at SIBA in Salzburg - which gives us an excuse to have a couple of days there as well!(missing week 1 because of school not ending) and a week at OPES.

There are a really good set of facebook posts by Graham Watts that have video of the various sections and also the results. 22 dancers out of 165 who started the process were called for discussions with Directors - although that doesn't mean they definitely got a contract. Only 1 UK dancer got through. Congratulations Eloise Hazlewood. Here's the link to his facebook page. Scroll down for all the different posts. Edited to add, there is also a Grand Audition facebook page. The final list of company directors present is as follows: Filip Barankiewicz (Czech National Ballet) Kenneth Greve (Finnish National Ballet) Charles Jude (Ballet de L'Opera Bordeaux) Ingrid Lorentzen (Norwegian National Ballet) Kaloyan Boyadjiev (Norwegian National Ballet II) Michael Messeser (Mikhailovsky Ballet) Gennadi Nedvigen (Atlanta Ballet) Aida Orillac (on behalf of Ballet Nacional de Panama) Ruta Butviliene (Lithuanian National Ballet)

online schools can work well. Here's my eldest daughter talking about Interhigh on TV a couple of years ago. http://bit.ly/2j26cqx Note. I have no relationship with them at all! There are good points and bad points - as with all education I suppose. Now, if you wanted some online maths... but then I would REALLY be breaking forum rules!

Home school thread might be needed... also consider the 'online school' options as well. Such as www.interhigh.co.uk, which one of my children used for a while.

if only... I thought it was too good to be true - £58 million a year, doubling the current allocation. so, a few days later Nick Gibb confirmed in Parliament that there is no extra money for MDS, it just stays the same - here's his written answer. The press release was wrong and that money isn't 'additional'. But hey, £29 million, £58 million, £350 million, who's counting???

Just trying to destress the situation. I have heard from an artistic directors mouth, that the photos are just an aide memoire for the auditions. so don't get too stressed out with perfection or costly portfolios. Everyone gets an initial audition anyway and that is what is important. (Graduation portfolio photos are another matter!) As for our photos the past, All have been done on a phone. For lower school, we bought a 'doing ballet' book and tried to make sure he looked as much like the relevant photos as possible. It seemed to work.

"In particular, the company now offers a Vitamin D testing and supplementation programme to its dancers - in response to a growing body of research suggesting that indoor athletes may be more at risk of health problems and injuries than sports professionals who train and perform outside. Dancers like Avis, who see little daylight, routinely spending 12 hours a day in the theatre, now undergo a twice annual blood test to check vitamin D levels, with high dose monthly supplements prescribed for those who are found to be deficient. During the summer months, all company members are strongly advised to spend 15-20 minutes daily exposing their skin to the sun, on the outside terraces at Covent Garden’s magnificent Opera House, the company’s London home. Greg Retter, Clinical Director of the Royal Ballet’s healthcare programme, says that international research involving several dance companies including the Royal Ballet, is looking at whether increased Vitamin D levels can deliver better jump-height, fewer coughs and colds, shorter recovery time after injury and improved bone health." and https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/29/vitamin-d-ballet-dancers-injury

Throat infection and antibiotics means return will be Wed Not today... But as last time he had a throat infection, it ended up as a Quinsy throat, best to be safe not sorry! Have a good term all, especially all those starting a new school. And their parents.

http://dailym.ai/2bUnPnx Wow. Just. Wow.

David from http://www.davetriesballet.com/ was based in Bath. He might have some more ideas. But also some similar stories...

Thinking about this a little more, I agree that private lessons are a good idea - before vocational school, extra lessons was where the money went. (And I include the extra costs such as travel, food etc). But better value than summer school. And yes, that did mean coping with different teachers, different styles. And it was all about technique. No splits at 11 years old for example, but at 16... Splits like there is no tomorrow! To be perfectly frank, if private lessons are needed whilst at vocational school... Change the school!