dramascientist

That's entertainment in Liverpool, London Road. Seemed to be very good a couple of years ago when DD was there buying pointe shoes.

Thank you! No no DADAs at Tring (his preffered choice) they are looking at their budget as we speak but I think they are going to find the fees with support from the rest of the family. If only we were all in such a position!

I am sorry to highjack balletco but I just wanted some people who would share in my excitement that my drama student has been accepted to the acting course at both The Hammond and Tring Park, I'm so proud!

Just get something done asap! Comments like this can have a far reaching effect even into the future when you think its over and done with! It perpetuates low self esteem which can niggle for years, then suddenly rear its head to devastating effect! DRSC

Dear Bean73 my DD had been at an eastern European ballet school for 5 years before she auditioned for 6th form in the UK because the ballet school did not offer any academic qualification only dance and she wanted to have something to fall back on just in case of injury etc. She is at Ballet West now in her second year, the advantage of places like Ballet West is that you can get student finance though it does not cover all the fees but it makes it affordable. The situation at Legat might be different now but we thought there were bursaries too but we were informed when she got her offer of a place that there were not any available for that year, its worth contacting them to see if this is still the case. It is competative but nothing ventured nothing gained and its all good experience. My DD did not have any RAD/ISTD etc. exams because they did not do any of these at her school but this did not matter to the schools she auditioned at they just go on the potential they see at the audition, she had offers from all the schools she auditioned at and she said there were all sorts of standards at the auditions, obviously for most people she did not know who,had offers and who didn't but there are lots of options in the UK it just depends on what your DS is looking for and what you can afford. Hope this helps DRSC

Hi Bean73 my DD auditioned there for entry Sept 2014. The audition consisted of an interview with the head of academics, very informal and I sat in on it. The lady was lovely and put DD at ease straight away. We then had a tour round the school, amazing facilities, lovely boarding houses, we then had an interview with Elaine Holland, again a lovely lady, a physio with their own dance physiotherapist then the girls left to have lunch with other students and we were sent away and asked to return by 4.00pm. After lunch there was a ballet class, a contemporary class and then the girls did their solos( this was optional they were asked if they wanted to do them and sinceDD had one prepared for other places she chose to do it). We met at the end of the day and were told straight away that DD would be offered a place (Elaine Holland said that she hated to make people wait if she was sure there and then, which I thought was very nice). DD was invited to audition for a scholarship but didn't get it and unfortunately there are no bursaries available and it was way out of our price range, in fact even if she had got the scholarship it was too small to make it affordable. Having said this if we could have afforded it DD would have liked to have accepted the place because the facilitiies and opportunities for music and other things were amazing. It was a truly lovely school and if you can afford it I am sure it would be fantastic training. Good luck, Dramascientist

Janet I agree that sometimes you do not even realise you are being bullied until somebody else points it out. Both my DH and I have been subjected to the bullying of our boss. We could not understand why we were being constantly critisised, even though we were constantly going above and beyond our remit. I seriously thought the problem was with me and it has severly affected my confidence and belief in myself. Even though now several people have come forward and expressed their contempt at how we have been treated its hard to believe its not us but the boss who is at fault. For a developing child the consequences of bullying can be life affecting and should be dealt with very severly. If this bullying has gone on for some time it might be worth having your DD talk to a professional to make sure the effects are not lasting shygirlsmum.

AKH me too .......actually my boss! It is not any easier to deal with in adult hood either so your DD should be congratulated shygirls mum she is obviously very strong!

Hi B9953, I used to dance at Symonds Stage School in Englefield Green when I was studying at Royal Holloway. I don't know if it is still there but they used to be an RAD ballet and ISTD modern and tap and drama school. Certainly when I was there the standard was very high but that was quite some time ago. However, it might be somewhere to start. Hope it helps, DRSC

DD back home now and unfortunately the prognosis is not good but at least she has now asked for help. She has asked me not to continue discussing her on the forum and I must respect that. I just wanted to say thank you for all your support, especially those who have taken time to pm me, it has helped me to get through this week with all the unknowns. We are looking to the future now and hoping she can get back to health and dancing soon. Thank you again everybody, Dramascientist

I would advise choose music which means something to you and inspires you, this will show when you are performing and this is the kind of thing audition panels look for.

Wow pupsmum it doesn't rain but it pours! I do hope you sort something out, what an awful thing to happen at any time but in this stressful time even worse. I do hope things will work out. Try to smile, even if its through the tears! DRSC

DH now in the UK after a stressful evening when his plane was cancelled! Luckily we live close to the airport so went up there, stood for an hour and a half in a queue but managed to get new flights. We felt very sorry for those people who hadn't heard about the cancellation and were standing in a queue at 5.30 am this morning! Once he gets there and sees herI am sure we will both feel better, we just didn't want her to travel alone in her state of mind. Though the cost of booking flights this close before you fly means all of us might be living in bread and chese for the rest of the month

Bluebird I think you may be right that the not eating started when she was so tired that she couldn't be bothered to cook and then of course its a downward spiral from there. I think maybe I will suggest your advice to her that maybe she eats little and often nutritious snacks rather than waiting to eat late. Its so hard to know what to suggest, Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts I will keep you updated, DRSC

Dear All, Thank you for your comments and support. We spoke with her at length and we thrashed out the possibilities. She said she would like to come home to talk face to face, and to be honest I would like to see her to give her a hug and to be able to look for solutions. She assures us she loves it and desperately wants to dance but cannot seem to get out of the downward spiral. I think the second year is much more stress than the first year and due to building work at the school the timetable is skewed meaning they are sometimes finishing quite late. DH will meet with the teachers on Saturday when he gets there to see what they say. I know sometimes coming home can actually make things worse but we feel we would like to break the not eating trend and feel she needs support for this. It has never been a problem for her before, she has always been so sensible about diet, its such a shock. Ok losing it, I will have to stop writing and think of something else, Thanks again everyone Dramascientist

Had a message from DD today, she is feeling very depressed after returning to school after half term. We suddenly find out she has not been eating, struggling with class and getting more and more depressed and getting into a horrible downward spiral. DH off to the UK on Saturday to bring her home to see if we can sort it out, feeling completely distraught! Why did we let her go so far away! Help! Dramascientist

My DD has a student loan and this just pays for accomodation though I might just have to top up. My thinking is that I would be paying if she went to uni or vocational dance school so its swings and roundabouts. I'm just glad there is 6 years between DD and DS (I can't believe I've just written that, yes my S is now a DS he just started dancing.....hmmm on second thoughts just thinking about money!) so I will have time to re-stock the coffers before he goes on to further education!

Dear Bean7, My DD auditioned for a 6th form place so I dont have information about the grade 9s but I can speak generally about the school. The school has amazing facilities both sporting and for the arts. The boarding houses are beautiful and there is clearly a close family relationship between the house parents and the sudents. We were shown round by some lovely grade 10 girls who made DD feel comfortable and welcome. The head of dance is/was (I'm not sure if shes still there) Elaine Holland who has an excellent reputation. Dance department is fairly small but my impression was very good, they have a dance physio on staff etc. We loved the school and DD was offered a place but the scholarship is only a small and a couple of years ago there were no bursaries so it was out of our price range. If we could have afforded it DD would have gone because she actually liked it better than Tring Park and The Hammond where she was also offered places because of the additional facilities like the music (she is also a talented musician). I cannot reccomend it enough, it is a lovely school if you can afford it! Hope this helps Dramascientist

My DD choreographed her own with a little input from me when she needed somebody to look crtically at what she had done. She chose a piece of music that inspired her which I think makes a difference in how she performed. It wasn't perfect, lets face it she was not an experienced choreographer but she enjoyed doing it and it meant something to her. Also she could say at the audition that she was the choreographer and I am sure that puts the DDs in a good light. Just something your DD might want to think about. One minute is not long and maybe she could ask her regular teacher for some input when she has done it to check she is showing herself in the best way. Just a suggestion, DRSC

Oops sorry Anna, won't happen again! DRSC

Actually this is a post for Just Ballet, we received the tutu we ordered, thank you for the prompt dispatch and delivery but DD says it is just a little small for comfort. How do we return and get the next size instead? Thanks Dramascientist

Bravissimo give me almost as much support as this forum....almost but not quite!

So finally spoke to DD and she will go with the Just Ballet one, she was a bit unsure because she aid it looked "a bit thin", I told her that people on the forum said it was good so it MUST BE!

Aaaaahhhhh! now I see!

But its so much more.....sometimes its nice to feel part of an elite group! Having been thought of all my life as "a bit geeky", "square, you're always at dancing and miss all the "cool" parties" and a goody two shoes..... "stop being such a perfectionist, you make the rest of us look bad" its nice to find like minded people who think its ok to allow your DD to go to ballet even when she has a horrible cold because she says "but I need to go, I'll die without it!" because you know it will make her feel so much better that just being miserable at home! Thank you my virtual friends!