Piglet

Practically new, I think my DD only used them 2/3 times and now her feet have grown again! Contact me if interested.

Hi Mumoffive, just to reassure you, we also applied and heard nothing, I emailed today ad they replied that they received the application but somehow did not send the confirmation email (with apologies). Good luck!

Hi all, my daughter has been offered a Junior Associate role (her 11th birthday is in mid-September). Does anybody know if it's worth doing this, I have heard that for the juniors there is a lot of waiting around and not much action, and also they can't board at Tring, so a lot of work for us taxi-parents! We would normally be on our main family holiday in that period, so i am a bit reluctant to sacrifice it if not worth the experience for my DD. Thank you!

Hi Loulabelle, we live in London, let me know if you need help with anything, and the girls can meet at the ENB x

My DD who is 11 has a place for ENBS 5-9 August, not sure if that's week 1 or 2. First time we do this, would be interesting to know if anybody has already tried, and how they found the experience.

Saturday evening performance 7,30pm 30th March at the Coliseum, they are good seats, 70 punds each.

Yes thank you Vonrothbart, and to all other members who have so kindly offered their advice. So good to feel that so many people are ready to help!

Thank you Eloise, from a quick look at their site, CAT have a centre in London. Any other suggestions most welcome!

Hi Eloise please, so sorry i don't know what a CAT scheme is! And BankruptMum, many thanks for the advice. We live in London, do you know anything about Associates classes at Central, are they any good? Is there anything else worth considering?

Thank you JA Dad, what you are saying is very reassuring. Our DD has a place in our local comprehensive, but we hesitate in that we feel her ballet training might suffer with just her local ballet classes (she is doing 4 a week at the moment, plus hopefully MA, and we are also trying to get RB summer course), given that what she really wants to do is ballet. On the other hand, education is very important for children at this age, so we have been struggling trying to find the right balance. I am so relieved that your DD did more or less what we are envisaging to do for ours, and she has been so successful, although she is obviously very gifted to start with. Also i am so relieved to have found this forum, with so much experience to draw upon, both from parents and teachers and DCs (and grandparents). Thank you all for your advice, you sometimes feel lost in this very complicated ballet world!

Hi all, and thank you for making me feel so welcome. My DD is currently a JA, waiting to hear about MA, although I understand that even getting that is very hard. She wants to carry on seriously with ballet, so I'm not only thinking about year 8 entry but also further along the line. I am wondering whether, in your experience, Associate classes and afternoon ballet classes combined with attending a local, non vocational school, are good enough to hope to eventually get a place not just in WL, but also for example Elmhurst and other comparable vocational schools, with the goal of becoming a professional dancer.

Thank you BankruptMum! We were just wondering whether dance lessons in the PM after school will be enough to retain that level of training that is required to even have a chance for year 8 entry (or even after year 8), particularly given that at secondary school children become much busier with homework, and school is generally more demanding. At the same time, it is hard to find a vocational school that is also strong on the academic side, and as parents we do feel that getting a good education at this stage of life is also very important. I wish it wasn't so agonising to make choices on behalf of a daughter whose dream is ballet, and who has shown so much commitment, as well as some potential, as far as I can tell, myself knowing very little about ballet, until now at least! Help!!!

Thank you, and sorry my first post came out in bold, technical problem, did not mean to make it extra prominent!

A question for JA Dad, who has been so helpful so far. Did your DD do her year 7 in a ballet vocational school, or did she go to a "normal" school and then took ballet classes in her spare time, as well as doing her MA classes with the RB? Difficult to know what to do in the interim between a "no" for year 7 WL and the next attempt for year 8. I am sure other members will have experience of this situation, and apologies in advance if this is not the right place to raise this question, as I am a brand new member!