glowlight

It's difficult to file it down far enough with an emery board. The podiatrist has special equipment to do this, and also training to do it as painlessly as possible.

I would echo the suggestion of seeing a podiatrist. I had a stubborn verucca a while back. The podiatrist suggested a number of options - and we settled on an over the counter remedy (bazucca), but what she did before I started using the bazucca was to file away all the dead skin, so when I started the treatment it was straight onto the verucca. She also explained the importance of regularly filing it back, and also that the way most verucca treatments work is NOT to burn the verucca away (which is what I had thought) but to promote an immune response which will destroy the verucca naturally. And she set a realistic expectation - that it would probably take several months of treatment for it to go. She was right! (sorry that's probably not what you wanted to hear). She also said that verrucae will usually go away of their own accord eventually. I saw a private podiatrist, and the consultation cost £30 - and even though I didn't get an immediate solution I felt it was worth it in the long run.

Completely agree with this. I have seen families sell their home to fund vocational school and it puts a huge pressure on the young dancer, not to mention the rest of the family. As with all things in life it is best to do the best that you can within your means (taking the whole family into consideration).

I'm sure your teacher won't mind you asking at all. She'll probably be thrilled!

I would definitely recommend speaking to the current teacher and telling her that your dd wants to be a professional dancer and feels she isn't doing enough ballet at the moment. Ask how she would suggest your dd could increase the number of ballet classes she does. I don't think it is an unreasonable request. Many of us have been in the same boat! The idea of doing both the Friday and Saturday classes sounds like a good one. Some teachers will suggest a student attends a grade below or a grade above to get extra classes. So doing the G1 class and a G2 class might be an option. Or your teacher may have an arrangement with another local teacher which she might send students to for extra classes. If she has no other suggestions ask her views on your dd going to classes with the other studio you have found. I wouldn't send her there without telling the existing teacher, she is bound to find out!

With such a long and varied career.

To add to @Jan McNulty's point - dance training is never wasted. Dancers are disciplined, have a strong work ethic, have fantastic memories and are usually good at multi-tasking, all traits which are of value in any career.

At the end of the day it is probably a case of supply and demand. In the best of times there are more dancers graduating from vocational schools than there are jobs, especially stable, salary paying jobs. We can support the demand by going to watch live shows and not supporting ventures which expect professionally trained artists to work for nothing. My dd was adamant when she graduated that she would not work for nothing, even for exposure, and I think this is an important stance to take if you want the work of the artist to be valued.

Hi folks I'm back again with some more questions to hopefully make my fledgling novel about life at vocational school more realistic! 1) Do Year 7's have a set bedtime/lights out time? 2) Are they allowed to have their mobile phones with them? Are there any restrictions on use of mobile phones? I know that different schools will have different approaches. I'm just trying to get a feel for it! Thankyou.

This is a good point, there are many people who get places in various schools in later years. But I can't help thinking that in year 7 each school has a full 'allocation' of places to fill - in subsequent years you are potentially competing with those already there and already benefitted from full time training. Having said that, my dd didn't audition for vocational schools until she was 16, so we were never in this loop.

I can understand your reservations about the cost - but to get the best chance of her getting a place at vocational school in Y7 I would suggest auditioning for as many as you can afford. Given that she is an RBS JA, and has been previously offered a place on Elmhurst's Young Dancer programme (albeit not this year - but this is a weird one to be sure!) she stands as good a chance as anyone else. There are so many variables at an audition - not just how your dd performs on the day, but how others perform, and how many places are available at that time. To be honest, I think if you don't include Elmhurst in the schools she tries for in Y7 you might always wonder in the future ...'what if!'

@junedancer - has your dd's friend seen the press release @Jan McNulty has posted about Elmhurst late admissions. If Elmhurst are offering late admissions it is possible other schools may be in the same position. This may be a ray of hope for her.

What a rubbish time to get an email like this. A Friday before a bank holiday! It would have been so much better for those affected if they had waited until Tuesday to send this message if they possibly could.

When my dd was little we used to spray hair with water before putting it up, then a quick spritz with a regular hairspray (eg Elnett or Boots Own) and it sets rock hard but brushes out fairly easily. It's easier to put hair in a bun if it isn't freshly washed and if you haven't used conditioner.

Quick update - just booked a few days away in October - it's only a small step but feels like a step in the direction of normality.

This isn't in relation to PMs, but in general posts I think the edit option is available for a period after creating the post (under the 3 dots in the top right hand corner) but then it disappears. Is this how it's supposed to work?

Totally true - but I shouldn't really complain about having this luxury should I? 😀 I've noticed that it is friends with school age children who are doing more - and I think this is for the reasons @peony has described. Also people who have had to go out to work throughout understandably have a very different attitude to the risk to me. I will just take it a step at a time.

We used to use Song and Dance in Colne. This was probably about 15 years ago now (eek!) but back then I found them very good. Looking at their website they no longer have a shop but still offer a fitting and supply service.

Thankyou everyone for your encouragement and support. I'm feeling more like my usual positive self again today. Here are 3 things I really like about life at the moment. 1) Not having to commute by train 2) Being able to peg my washing out, because I'll be able to bring it in again if it starts to rain during the day. 3) Getting out for lots of walks with my other half. Here's a picture of beautiful purple heather from our walk this evening. Not anywhere near as awesome as @JohnS' picture - but it makes me happy

Thankyou all. It's reassuring to know I'm not the only one taking it slow. And I really feel for those of you living on your own. That must be so much harder. @johns - what a fantastic picture.

Thanks @Fiz. I'm glad it's not just me. I've seen my daughter twice since it started. Where we live it is currently illegal to meet with other people in a private house or garden, and although we are allowed to pubs and restaurants, only with your own household - which seems a bit pointless! My husband jokes that we are allowed to be in crowded places only if there is a financial transaction involved! I think you may be right about another clampdown in the winter, and I think that may be why I'm feeling unsettled now. One friend told me that is why she was going for a haircut this week, because she didn't want to risk going a whole year without a haircut! Perhaps I should take heed! My sister in law is taking part in one of the vaccine trials. Obviously she doesn't know whether she had the vaccine or the control but apparently it made her feel very unwell.

I don't usually post in 'Not Dance', but felt the need to 'sound off' a bit about my frustrations with myself, so hope you guys don't mind. When lock down started I slotted very comfortably into my working from home mojo. I have a job I can easily do from home, my husband and I muddle along comfortably in the house, we live in a beautiful place so can get out walking whenever we want, and have great local shops so I haven't even needed to go to a supermarket. We have underlying health conditions so decided minimum risk was best for us. Only now I'm finding it really hard to pull myself back to reality. I watch on social media as my friends go on holiday, eat out, see their family - and I wonder when I will have the confidence to do it. I was starting to feel I wanted to make plans, and even drank tea in friends' gardens a few times before the new restrictions came in in our area. Now I feel I am almost back to square one. I know lots of people are getting back to some sort of normal. Anyone else feeling that they are a long way behind everyone else on this!?

Gosh I wish these had been a thing when I was a teen.

Have you/she looked at classes at RAD headquarters. Looking at their website they offer a range of different adult classes including Intermediate Foundation and Intermediate. They ask for 2 years training for IF - but maybe if she started with their non-syllabus she could move across to syllabus when they think she is ready. https://www.royalacademyofdance.org/classes/our-dance-school-in-london/adult-dance-classes/

It's probably worth mentioning that not all the places at those schools are funded. I think all RBS places are funded, but not all places at the other 3 (correct me if I'm wrong folks - I may be out of date). So you have to be aware that even if offered a place you may not be offered funding. This is sometimes the most heartbreaking position to be in! If you live within striking distance of Leeds consider Northern Ballet CAT (Centre for Advanced Training) which offers vocational level training while you still live at home and go to a regular school. And if it doesn't work out at Year 7, and she still wants to be a ballet dancer, there are plenty of options further down the line, especially at 16 which is when there's the next big reshuffle. It does however become increasingly difficult to get the right level of training at home, and you may find yourself spending a small fortune just in petrol, so definitely give it a go now if that is what she wants and is right for your family.