hfbrew

Watch out for the cake shops! And there are pandas at Vienna zoo..

But elderly people who don't qualify for for council funded care have to pay double on Bank Holidays, quite a struggle if you are only just over the threshold.

Well I used to live on Kingsland Road but they haven't got around to putting a Blue Plaque up yet to make it more interesting!

Yay! You really are Happymum now!

Come and work for me! I hire pianists for my Ballet classes and I still profit although admittedly not as much as those who use recorded music. But the joy of dancing to live music can't be beaten!

Hmm. I'd move if I were you.

No, it's not easier if you are a boy. You have still got to be good enough. In terms of numbers going for the few places available the odds are better but it's certainly not easier. If anything, knowing that the odds are slightly better makes it worse if one doesn't get a place. Good luck Happymum ds. Please tell him that I know plenty of male dancers who for one reason or another didn't go into full time training at a young age but who ultimately became more successful than those who did.

Please folks, it would be nice if the moderators were heeded to this time! We have had far too many threads locked and valuable members leave recently due to topics off course.Good luck to dancers of all Nationalities seeking work in this precarious profession and the companies who wish to be able to employ them.

You are right.And only two years later DS was dancing Siegfried professionally!

A few years ago my ds was a finalist in this competition. The entry criteria then was that applicants had to have Advanced 1 Cecchetti to begin with. They were then selected from DVD application of one Ballet and one contemporary solo. It just so happened that ds and one or two of the others from Tring who went with him had also won other Cecchetti awards but this wasn't part of the selection for the International competition then. Obviously this was some time ago and things will have changed. But I am guessing that some successful candidates followed the same route that ds did as described above.

My DS level 6 diploma was instrumental in getting his current job even though said job has nothing to do with dance.

Thanks all. I've just had a lovely time buying lots of baby stuff! Lots of lovely little clothes with bunnies on! And I've resisted the urge to send tiny ballet shoes. I've have just come across my son's first pair though from 23 years or so ago!

My niece by marriage, after many difficult years of trying finally had her first child yesterday, a daughter, at the grand age of 43! After a difficult few months of illnesses and bereavements DH and I are over the moon. Thing is is DS a second cousin to this child?

I feel for all you year 6 parents. It's a difficult time, even if you get your choice there is still the transition to year 7. But things do have a habit of working out for the best.I wish you all the very best. 13 years ago our letter from the local education authority didn't offer a single school! Ds was left with RBS or Tring as choices!

What a clever adorable dog!

There has indeed been lots of discussion on this. Those cleverer than I can point you to relevant threads which are now pages long so might be prudent to make yourself comfy with a drink and biscuits.. My ds was on waiting list for year 5, successfully reauditioned for year 6 and then got a place at White Lodge. That's some years ago, he has since had a career and retired but I know it still happens. You have to be in it to win it. There again, be careful what you wish for!

I wouldn't worry about how the darning looks as just a few stitches improve the grippiness whereas stick on patches in my experience are not as good.

Well said cupcake. Appraisal time at WL was easily the most stressful part of the whole process and I hate the whole "does anyone know how many places are available" debate knowing that some people may be about to have to change schools. The fact is that if a child auditioning is super talented they will be found a space. I once had a student like this, I persuaded a director to look at her despite being told that there were no spaces.My student was offered a space on the spot. (Frustratingly the parents refused!) It is also the case that available spaces will not be filled if an audition panel does not feel any candidate merits the place for whatever reason. So really, asking how many spaces are available is irrelevant and also insensitive to people like Cupcake whose DCs are having to undergo the appraisal process. The fact is, there are always very few places for lots of applicants. But however high the odds, it's always worth a try.

Be yourself and focus on your Ballet. You have every right to be there. Funny enough I am more likely to call my students boys by mistake. I address some classes as ladies and gentlemen. I've always been cross when teachers overlook male students, probably down to having a ds myself.

And there are many more in other companies. I regard this as success too.

Seems to me that you are a serious student who has already taken steps to have some sort of qualification. It's not as if you are a recreational student who has just decided to run her own Ballet classes without an appreciation of how many years training it actually takes to have a full in depth knowledge and competency in Ballet. I'm still learning after over 30 years teaching# So yes, go for it but do ensure that you have public liability insurance and you would need to be registered self employed if you are doing this for yourself or are being paid by someone else on a self employed basis. I also strongly urge that you do a first aid course and be aware of the need for risk assessments and safeguarding policies. Long term, a teaching qualification with RAD or other board is a good idea. Knowing the syllabus is only a tiny part of it, indeed trainee students are strongly encouraged to include as much free work in their classes as possible to show that they understand the foundations of classical technique and what is appropriate for the students in front of them. Only teaching syllabus is a big no, no, after all a syllabus is just the selection of work that is required to be shown in an examination. A good teacher should be ensuring a much broader knowledge than this. (Surely this is the same for any subject?) Good luck

You are right,I sadly can't help with casts anymore now my son has moved on (of his own accord!) At least I can still see his photo on the website but it's not exactly helpful to anyone else! So glad that Nottsballetlover enjoyed the performance of this fine company though. Shame you never saw my ds, he was rather good, although I would say that!

My ds used to love being able to tell his friends what all the ducks and other waterbirds actually were on Pen Ponds in Richmond Park. He also used to say some of his academic lessons were disturbed by the parakeets outside the windows. I remember standing and watching skylarks in Richmond Park and I also loved seeing the Green woodpeckers there too. When I first joined Rspb 30 years ago I dreamed of seeing Red Kites. Now I see them from my garden frequently!

We spent many happy hours at London Wetland Centre whilst ds was at White Lodge! I am personally pleased to see so many sparrows in our garden because they have declined rapidly and a couple of years ago there weren't any at all on our part of the estate.

You will find that the Tring CBA is also very competitive to get into. Obviously it "isn't as good" in terms of the fact that the Royal Ballet School has the pick of the bunch so to speak. But as the Royal is so difficult to get into its daft not to try others. I've been very happy with the training some of my students have received from CBA. Is it possible that your dd teacher is confused with Tring associates? And if you are talented enough to get into Tring CBA, it is not as time consuming as other schemes because it takes place every other week.