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This would be fantastic. Fingers crossed.

I really hope you can get enough interest to keep your class running. It's so hard for teachers with adult classes.

@Pointeperfect makes a really good point. We can all help by creating demand. By going to the theatre to watch ballet and dance in all its forms and at all levels. By watching musicals and plays. By going to live music events. Without an audience there can be no jobs. So we should be putting our money where our mouth is and supporting live arts as much as we can afford to.

No she didn't do more than one at a time. The main one she did covered ballet and contemporary dance - this was twice a week. At different times she did a pure ballet scheme which was weekly. If your dd wants to be a professional dancer I would suggest you research vocational schools/colleges. There is lots of information in this forum. Those which specialise in ballet (Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School, Elmhurst, Central School of Ballet etc) tend to take students at 16. (RBS and Elmhurst from 11) Some colleges take students from 16 upwards, so Northern Ballet School takes students from 16 who particularly want to focus on ballet. But others don't join until they are 18 or older - and these students tend to be more focused on jazz, tap, musical theatre etc (but still do lots of ballet). Others that I can think of like this are The Hammond School, Tring Park (they also take students from 11). If contemporary is her thing - the main contemporary dance colleges seem to take students at 18+ and these are generally degree courses. Northern School of Contemporary Dance, London Contemporary Dance School, Urdang Academy. There are lots of others. These schools and colleges offer vocational courses aimed at training professional dancers. You will see from other threads that there's no guarantee of getting a job at the end, but probably greater than doing a dance degree at a regular university.

I think this is very true. And sometimes our dc's know in their heart of hearts that enough is enough, but don't want to let us down. My dd was very clear that she wanted paid work after graduating, and wouldn't go to auditions which offered jobs for 'exposure' or 'experience'. Maybe this is one reason why she didn't end up with a ballet contract, but she did work as a professional dancer, being paid a reasonable wage, for over 5 years before deciding herself that she'd had enough. I really wish all of these youngsters the best, but I would encourage parents to understand that you don't have to keep pumping money into it. If it isn't happening after graduation from a good ballet school, maybe it isn't meant to be. It's not the end of the world. Life goes on and sometimes they need us to give them permission to let go.

Thankyou for clarifying @Sadielou - it is great to hear your ds's personal experience.

For my dd, we struggled to find sufficient classes locally at an appropriate level when she was in Year 10 and 11, so her Associate classes were really valuable. Her goal was to become a professional dancer, and she wanted to go to vocational school at 16, so we felt it was important for her to get the right training to give her as good a chance as possible when auditioning with students who were already at vocational school. It's important to consider the end game. Does she want to be a professional dancer when she grows up? In that case a vocational course might be better for her than a Degree in Dance from University (I hope I'm not offending anyone here, and happy to be corrected). Maybe she wants to teach dance? Or just continue with her dance education because she loves it? Associate schemes aren't all equal, they standards and amounts of training. If I was you I would ask your dd's local dance teacher for advice, taking into consideration what your dd wants to do in future?

Out of interest, can I ask who you are quoting here?

I remember having a conversation with my dd on a long car journey when she was in her graduate year where she explained to me the statistical probability of her landing a contract with a ballet company, given the number of students graduating and the number of jobs available. She wanted to lower our expectations I think. From then on she decided to apply / audition for anything she could find (unless it involved top-drop). She continued to apply for ballet and contemporary contracts, and had a few auditions, and she went to loads of open auditions for cruise companies, Disney, agencies, musical theatre. She played the numbers game, got down to the last few several times and that softened the blow of all the times she was cut. Eventually she got on the books for Carnival, and about 5 months later she got the call offering her a contract. That was the day after she had decided she couldn't face any more auditions. I know things are even harder now, but I would encourage your DCs to keep going and to keep an open mind about what jobs they are prepared to take. But also...when they've had enough you'll need to support them to step away.

@Michelle_Richer and @Fiz - so sorry to hear about the dreadful things you are going through.

I don't know if it's still an option, but when my dd was at NBS many years ago she, and many of her friends, worked ad hoc in the Dance House Theatre which is on site. She worked as an usherette, in the Box Office and when she was over 18 she worked in the bar. The advantage with working in the Dance House was that they understood that NBS commitments came first. It suited her very well, especially as she found evenings quite long sometimes. She had other friends who had more regular part time jobs at weekends. For some there was no choice but to work. They had no other way to pay their rent. There are plenty of options in Manchester for part time work. I guess it depends on the individual and how much they need the money.

Congratulations to your DD @La sylphide . So pleased that she got the funding she needed for the school of her choice.

Have a look at this post from forum member @tutugirl. It's not associated with a vocational school, but has received very good reviews from forum members in previous years. It's not in London, so may not work for you, but West Yorkshire is a truly beautiful part of the country, which many visitors don't know about.

Sometimes things change for an employer after an offer is made. Sometimes the person making the offer isn't aware of decisions which are being made higher up. So sadly, this kind of thing can and does happen outside the world of dance. Personally I'd rather have an offer withdrawn than start a new job and have the rug pulled out from under my feet during my probation period, which might be the alternative. However if ADs are making verbal offers to more candidates than they have vacancies for, to cover themselves incase their preferred candidate says 'no'...that would be a different thing (but you probably still can't do anything about it. Just accept that if they treat people like that you probably didn't want to work for them anyway).

The approach my dd experiences with cruise ship companies have seems much fairer. They tell the dancers they like that they are 'On the books' - which gives a nice boost and you know there's a possibility of a contract if one is available , but you know it isn't a definite offer.

Congratulations to those awarded places on the CAT - remember that this is akin to getting a place at vocational school, so a huge achievement. Because it is vocational training, keeping up with classes at local schools might be difficult, especially as they progress through the scheme, but if the end goal is to become a ballet dancer then it is a fantastic opportunity. And as they get older it can be difficult to get enough training locally at the level they need, so CAT can be a good way to get that without having to go away to boarding school. But it is a big commitment of time, so each family has to consider whether it is the right thing for them. Good luck.

I guess the governors of the private ballet schools are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only way to increase teachers' salaries and benefits would be to increase the fees they charge, which would not be what parents paying fees would want at all. And I suspect (but don't know) that their fees may be capped at what the government are prepared to pay for MDS awards.

Wow - I had no idea that employer contributions to teachers' salaries were so high. I thought my private sector employer was generous offering up to 11%. Having said that I'm not criticising the teachers for wanting to maintain their salaries. No-one wants to have their salary eroded, especially with the cost of living increases we've seen recently.

@Ebonee - personally I think I would ask for an extension. You've got nothing to loose my asking, and potentially lots at stake if you don't. I would have expected that 600 euro deposit to be enough to secure your place until you've made your final decision.

I guess everyone has off days. If it's a good, reliable shop I'm sure they'll work with you and the student to help find the solution.

@Lifeafterballet - when my dd worked for a US company she had to have a medical, but I believe that was for the company's medical insurance, not for the visa.

It may be worth looking at the government guidance on DADAs for 2023-2024 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dance-and-drama-awards-guide-2023-to-2024-academic-year/dance-and-drama-awards-guide This was published at the end of March 2023, which I think was after most of the awards for 2023-24 were made, but it gives an idea of the rules in place.

I'm not sure that this is true - or at least it wasn't when DD was auditioning. Northern Ballet School conducted a number of audition days, but you didn't have to go back for a second audition for DADA funding. My understanding was that successful applicants were ranked on the basis of their performance in the audition they attended, so when DADA funding was allocated to the school in March, NBS went down the list making offers from the top ranked downwards. Of course different schools may have different policies depending on how they choose to conduct their auditions. This is the government guidance on DADAs https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dance-and-drama-awards-guide-2023-to-2024-academic-year/dance-and-drama-awards-guide#student-eligibility @Swanwings - I would speak to the school and see what they say. I am sure you are not taking this decision lightly.

Firstly congratulations to your dd @jenalexandra78. and fingers crossed that she gets the funding she needs. My experience (a long time ago ...and at NBS not Hammond) was that there was a fair bit of movement when it came to DADA funding in the first few weeks after offers were made as people who had been offered DADAs accepted offers elsewhere. I also know of occasions where a DADA student left mid-course and the DADA was offered to someone else already on the course, but that was rare and you certainly couldn't rely on it happening for you. Good luck.

@LyndseyJ - it sounds as if a new school is just what your dd needs right now and I'm so pleased that she has that positive move to look forward to. Have you thought about applying for summer schools or performance opportunities such as English Youth Ballet?