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You may be interested to know that actually those 3 with Ballet Theatre UK are still on the 3 year Diploma course which is why they have all been in school during any time off in order to complete assessments etc so that the diploma could be completed. They also have to take part in the end of year show and us parents are still paying fees! So as far as we and the Dance Department are concerned they are definately still students with invitations to leavers drinks in July! There was a bit of a scramble a couple of weeks ago when the final deadline for the diploma written work loomed and I had to venture into his room for a missing file. My DS wrote thousands of words on tour for his final essay. All these three students took part in the 3rd year graduate show at the end of the autumn term and took part in outreach events in the spring term including Move It. But I am not surprised these facts are not generally known, afterall the school hasn't advertised their ballet successes very well, a great shame. And because those who have already got work are not around most of the time it is understandable that the rest of their year don't realise that they are still officially students. Communication is not one of Trings strong points. My Ds didn't get his contract til February by the way. Hope this clarifies things a little. Edited for clarity!

All this makes perfect sense, however Dancersdad DS contract did not include this latest requirement which appears to have been made after it was signed and sealed. If dancers are made aware of extra expenses before accepting a contract then all well and good but this £900 is a big ask for a young dancer just out of training- I know my own DS would not have that sort of money up front. I wonder if this new requirement to attend a safety course is due to recent tragic events at sea. But although a good idea, people who have signed contracts before this should not be liable to pay for such an expense in my opinion. Does this £900 course apply to all who wotk on the courses (eg cooks,waiters, porters etc) or is it just the entertainers? edited for spelling

Oh goodness me thats a bit off isn't it? I definately don't think you should have to pay that- surely its up to Costa to foot the bill. Thank goodness your DS has another career option now open to him. Sorry I don't know an Italian lawyer. My DS never seems to know the news about anyone else but he did tell me quite a while back about your DS! He was really pleased, as am I! I look forward to seeing him in the dance show. Good luck with sorting out the Costa cotract.

I'm sending hugs too. I didn't get "yesses" until I was 18 and got into Hammond. And I've done pretty well. Rejections made me stronger and more able to cope with life in general in a funny way. It also meant that when I did get my chance I didn't waste it and worked my socks off! It has also enabled me to reassure my DS when he has had knockbacks and I like to think that I also have more empathy with my students whenever they have disappointments too. Your daughter sounds like a very determined young lady, all the very best to her. Unfortunately we can't change the bad bits in life but at least they make the good bits seem even better!

I remember him as a masterly Jester in Cinderella- loved his pirouettes!

Stick with ISTD. If the teacher is good it matters not one jot what syllabus is followed - lessons shouldn't be all syllabus anyway but rather geared to the students. My younger boys class yesterday had a glorious time choreographing to "Under the Sea" portraying conger eels, octupi, sting rays etc!! They had just completed RAD grade 1 but only because that is the syllabus that their ballet school enters exams in. But I digress. If the teacher is prepared to give your DS private lessons then why not see if he can get a friend interested? Before you know it,it might suddenly become a boys only class! Many years ago one of my classes suddenly attracted 2 boys into an already small girls class. My boss then agreed to gamble on moving the girls and leaving me the boys. We now have three boys classes and one of the original pair is still with me - in fact I have more secondary school aged young men than I do junior school boys. And I agree with all the advice on boys only days etc. Incidently I kept my DS ballet lessons very quiet and advised him not to talk to his friends about it- a sad thing to do but I'd seen too many boys put off by comments from pupils at schools; usually due to their parents ignorance. And fellow dancers who were at also school with him were asked not to discuss it at school. As he grew older and more able to stick up for himself it became easier to talk about it specially as it became apparent that he was very, very good at it! But the younger a boy is, in my experience the easier it is for them to get put off as they are not necessarily emotionally mature enough to ignore unkind comments. edited for clarity

Congratulations! Thats brilliant news. But if you are talking about current 3rd years at Tring then I feel that I should point out that I know four graduates who have already secured jobs with Ballet companies but are still officially students with the school and completing their dance diploma. Hopefully the 2 contracts that dancersdad mention bring it up to at least 6! Just wanted to put the record straight!

Snap! I love Hotter shoes too. The online service is excellent- I've never had any problems returning unwanted shoes!

Thanks Bluebird- just got to remember to set the sky box now!

Have just seen on Twitter that Ballet Theatre UK have launched their Red Shoe Appeal. They receive no government funding but still manage to stage very impressive productions. Here is the link, I hope! http://www.gofundme.com/redshoeappeal

You are sadly correct. A colleague of mine has been in touch with BTUK and suggested Dorchester. So you never know..

First of all I should point out that I do personally know a lot of the dancers in this company which has prevented me from posting before as I know that its thus difficult to present an unbiased view. However, having enjoyed BTUKs Sleeping Beauty for the 2nd time last night I felt that it was about time somebody wrote about them on Ballet.Co and urge people to go and see one of the remaining few performances, tour dates are on their website, http://www.BalletTheatre-UK.com This is a very new, hard working and sincere Ballet Company. I was extremely impressed with their Snow Queen last season, even more so with Sleeping Beauty. Firstly the company does not pretend to be something it isn't. So no, there is no orchestra (but I was told by a watching expert in sound who used to work on BBC radio) that the recording is very good and any problems would therefore be down to Theatres themselves. Last night the performance was at The Grove, Dunstable which is a super modern theatre with good acoustics. There are also no "prima donnas" - the cast of 12 dancers, all beautiful,good looking and talented are rotated in the roles which keeps the production looking fresh. Last night I saw Natalie Cawte perform Aurora and was blown away by her assured, confident performance all the more remarkable on a small stage. The Rose Adagio was breathtaking- I've seen less accomplished performances by more well known dancers in bigger companies. But more about the production itself. For a touring company that has travelled the UK and Ireland the quality of the sets and costumes are absolutely stunning. The backdrop immediately sets the scene of a long ago Fairy tale and there is effective use of drapery to soften the look. Lighting is used to great effect too, one of my favourite moments being when the Lilac Fairy bourees on through mist as the curtains close at the end of the first act. And the costumes actually fit the dancers as well as being beautifully crafted! Now I am not a big fan of Sleeping Beauty as a ballet and was sceptical about a two hour version but I have to say that Chris Moore the director has done a fine and very clever job of reworking it without losing the traditional elements more well known to regular ballet goers. In this production Carobosse is an extremely wicked black fairy in resplendent black tutu who features throughout both acts with some stunningly effective choreography. Last night the role was danced superbly by Narissa Course. I particularly liked the cobweb scene when she battles with the Lilac Fairy (warmly danced by Helen Casado Cortes) to try and prevent the prince (hansome Luca Veron) from reaching the Sleeping Princess lying on the extremely regal looking bed! Finally the wedding scene is as it should be, the cats were especially funny last night. But for me, the gravity defying wolf (how does he land from such a height without sound?) with his deliciously expressive Red Riding Hood (Julia Davies) was the highlight of the evening. Last word goes to a mother I met in the audience whom I reunited with her stray daughter. " That was good wunnit? I aint seen ballet before. It was so beautiful it made me cry!" We really need these touring companies that go to places where ballet is rarely seen. BTUK gets no funding so please go and support them if you can!

The best bet is to shop around and see what difference insurers cover. In our case we were covered by my husbands health insurance,PPI (one of the very few perks of his job) and this was accepted as completely adequate by the schools my DS attended.

True. And I do think that if you've knowingly used a source then it must be credited. Nonetheless listing sources is a quite different skill to actually learning. Had my DS copied and pasted facts this actually would have been acceptable as long as he (quite correctly) listed his sources. His own work, in his own words couldn't always be accepted although were he to put it on line , some other student could use it! Sometimes the source of information might just come from the student!

I thought that if anyone lives in or near the Rickmansworth area they may like to know about a special deal that Watersmeet Theatre are doing for ballet schools attending BTUKs production of Sleeping Beauty at 3pm on Sunday 17th June 2012. If you ring up on behalf of a local ballet school booking ten tickets or more then each ticket is only £10 ! I wish I'd known about this weeks ago but as I've still managed to scramble 8 pupils and families together and we are really looking forward to it. (I've already seen the performance and loved it, as did my 7 old niece who wanted to "rewind it!" ) BOX OFFICE is 01923 711063. I do hope its ok to post this but it seems like a good deal to me having paid twice as much before! (Although it was well worth it.)

It seems to vary from place to place. A friend whose daughter is at Laines says its all practical- I found this out when her DD was injured and I suggested that she could at least complete the written work of the course only to be told there wasn't any! My DS on the other hand found himself having to spend far more time on the contextual studies side of the Dance Diploma at Tring than he did on his three A levels. His pretty substantial file was found in the nick of time lurking in his room,( where he said it wasn't!) last week and he had spent much of his tour with BTUK writing his final essay- although he now has a professional contract for the foreseeable future he did want to complete the Diploma nonetheless. As already said, its all to do with dance related studies- nutrition, history, reviews, personal statements, performance and rehearsal logs, reviews etc. Even tax returns are covered! All this in addition to practical work such as appraisals, performances and workshops. All very important to a dancers training. People outside of the dance world don't necessarily apprciate that its not just about attending a ballet class everyday! However much of my DS time was wasted by the fact that these days many courses seen to be about the skill of sourcing information rather than actually acquring knowledge. He wrote several pieces of work that his teacher said were of distinction standard but for the fact that much of the time he couldn't prove where he got his considerable knowledge from. Considerable time was wasted sourcing information that he already knew from his WL days and the fact that he has been immersed in a dance background all his life!

Yes. MDS covers all tuition and boarding,means tested according to income. When DS became a day student for his final year our contribution was less because of this. Costs vary from school to school. Costs for boarding can be found out by simply deducting what a day student fees are from that of a boarder.

Would I could have my own studio! Not only could we display qualifications, licences etc but there would be pictures of dancers galore,information on productions etc However I work all over the place in a variety of venues 7 days a week!

Just for the record, like ISTD, the RAD also recommends CRB clearance and Ive used their public liability insurance for years- that is a legal requirement. Learning a syllabus is a very small part of teacher training. Of far more importance is correct ballet technique, anatomy, health and safety issues, the understanding of different methods of teaching,understanding of child development, the ability to convey musical instructions to pupils and pianists... the list is endless and a recognised teaching qualification takes years to complete. It was 6 years before I finally got my diploma-3 as a student and 3 professionally. And us teachers all have to do CPD now too (which I already did because you never stop learning!) When looking at schools for my DS I always checked the qualifications. Yes there are gifted, unqualified individuals but it mattered to me that he was being trained by those who had clearly made some effort to get some teacher training and would therefore hopefully be up to date on safe teaching practises. It frustrates me that in 30 years of teaching no one has ever asked to see my insurance certificates or checked my hard earned qualifications! Just for the record, someone clearly well qualified with ISTD, RAD etc is not just a syllabus teacher. At least they shouldn't be. When being examined teaching classes my trainee teachers(RAD CBTS) have to teach non syllabus as the emphasis is all on correct teaching of ballet, good class management skills, musical understanding,the ability to progress all students of varying abilities etc. Unfortunately some teachers, on being qualified do only ever teach syllabus but this really shouldn't be the case. Yes they are qualified to enter pupils for particular exams but this shouldn't be the be all and end all.

When 10 pairs of jocks are swinging merrily on washing line in full view of neighbours!

Aagh I mean ballet schools can buy 10 tickets or more for £10 each! Doh!

Damn and double damn, forget to set sky box, went out in glorious sunshine and missed half of it!! Had hoped to catch a glimpse of old class mate Daniel!! Very interesting programme. Loved how glamorous the dancers looked at the launch event- reminded me of how glamorous danccers always looked when you look see old photographs of the Royal Ballet before it even became Royal!

Definately wear soft points if she is used to them, If not, full soled shoes with ribbons! I know the RAD have relaxed the rules on split soles but I am sure that this is only because it was hard to enforce and they still don't recommend them. Better safe than sorry as many examiners have been around for years and my gut feeling is that they can do their job more effectively if watching a student who in their eyes has definately been training in what they would consider suitable footwear. As to doing well, just work hard and enjoy the experience. You have done well even to be considered capable of a vocational grade and like with any performances so much depends on what happens on the day. I loved exams because it was a chance to get lost in the music and just dance without a teacher interrupting!

And they are also in Exeter 1st June, Catford 3rd June, Tunbridge Wells 7th June, Dunstable 9th June (I'm going to that one!!), Swindon 12th and 13th June, Horsham 14th June, Chipping Norton 15th June, Andover 16th June, Ricksmanworth 17th June Taunton 21st June and finally Bedworth 23rd June. I will certainly put a review up if people would like but haven't already done so because I know a lot of the dancers and therefore can't give an unbiased view. (They are fabulous, especially the wolf !!) Do go and see them if you can, this is a very sincere, genuine,hard working and talented company who love taking ballet to those areas who do not get companies visiting very often. Oh and if you live in Rickmansworth area ballet schools can buy 10 tickets or more for just ten pounds... Julie if you think I should post this info elsewhere please let me know, and where!!!