Pas de Quatre

I would be rather sceptical about the merits of this Associate scheme. If they are so 'one size fits all' in this instance, it is worrying, and the quality of teaching may not be very good in other aspects. Doesn't matter if it is a well known name.

If your dd is one of the youngest there may be nearly a year, or several months, between her and the oldest dancers in her year. Lots of physical development can happen in a year so they may be at different stages of growth. Go with her regular teacher's advice. Remember how new mothers discussed each milestone in baby's development? When did they sit up, when did they walk? Sometimes quite a big gap at the time, but unless there is a real medical problem, once they are toddlers and rushing around nobody can see any difference between early and late walkers!

It is actually quicker to walk to Leicester Square than get down to the platform at Covent Garden.

This is all very new, in the past a few dancers might have been assessed out over the years at White Lodge, but the majority made it through to the end of Yr 11. Over the years fewer have gone on to RB Upper School and most continued training at other British establishments for 6th form or degree courses. With many of these establishments now holding auditions abroad, it is even harder to get a place. Now it is a new ball game with the majority of WL leaving at the end of Yr 9. There are not likely to be many places a ailable for Yr 10 at other Vocational schools, and in many areas good academic schools will have no places either.

If RBS are only offering a 3 year course at Yr 7, I would imagine able candidates with multiple offers will go elsewhere!

For the lurposes of this discussion I don't think it matters which, MDS or Dada, both are UK government funding.

At RBS I understand that quite often the overseas dancers who don't qualify for DaDa are supported by scholarships and bursaries provided by Patrons or Friends.

If by next year's Prix de Lausanne you mean February 2023, the selection has already been published and I am afraid none of the UK candidates were taken.

Which schools do you mean by the main 4? For year 12 and older there are many different establishments who don't have courses for Yrs 7 - 11. This means that the majority of candidates at auditions, and those selected, haven't been to vocational school. There are several threads on here from previous years, so it might be doing a search, but things do change so here is a selection and other people can add to the list. RBS, ENBS, Elmhurst, Tring, Central, Rambert, Kings International, Ballet Theatre UK, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, Edinburgh Festival Ballet School.

Yes that is what I have always understood - white shirts for presenters & newsreaders as well as actors on tv were all yellow.

Sorry - I must have misread on my phone. Looked again just now and it is for purchase.

PNB - Crystal Pite's The Seasons Cannon. Free until Monday 21st November. Saw this on fb but not sure how to post the link.

Thanks, that is an excellent idea. I have paid for some live streams - Liam Scarlett's MSND for Royal New Zealand Ballet and Cranko's R & J for Australian Ballet, as well as some from our RB but it is good to know about free streams too!

When you say rejected, do you mean no offer of a place at all, or just no invitation to the funding audition? In either case I believe you need to consider whether this is the right path for your DD, it is extremely hard to get into Upper schools/6th form training.

I was told by French ballet people that a similar thing happened with Roland Petit. After receiving very bad reviews from critics he decided never to bring his work (company? ) to Britain again.

There is a letter in today's Times from Paul Gregg, whose company is building a live entertainment venue in Ashford, Kent which could be a base for ENO. Ashford Borough Council and Kent County Council have invited ENO to move to Ashford.

I hope they will bring it to Southampton. Opening booking early is a good idea. A friend and I saw DQ earlier this year at the Mayflower and booking was already open for Swan Lake early in 2023 so we booked our seats immediately.

What really annoys me is that if I look for something on the Internet, e.g. a kitchen implement, I get inundated with ads even long after making an online purchase!

Agreed, I often think of Yes Minister too. There is also an episode where there are plans to move some government departments to the North, and Sir Humphrey soon put a stop to that!

If you look at the prices of property, gentrification is spreading East. I am not making a political point, just an observation. There may be many people who work in Canary Wharf and other new developments who live further East and would prefer something local rather than go into the West End.

I am sure when skipping through the day to decide what to watch later, I saw a performance of Graduation Ball. Does anyone know who this was - I haven't found it since?

DD lives near Stratford and has freelanced in theatres all over London. She loves being there as there are so many alternative public transport routes.

BRB's own website says the invitation to relocate was issued by Birmingham City Council and The Hippodrome in 1987. There may have been all sorts of negotiations between the interested parties.

It is so long ago it is difficult to remember exact details Janet, but I am pretty sure SWRB were told they would no longer get funding in London.

It seems that when a small dance company has been successful over the years and built up a following, then ACE decides they have had enough time to sort out their own finances and so withdraws funding to allocate it to newer companies. Protein is another that has lost funding. Does anyone remember the doom and gloom when Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet was forced to go to Birminham? It was probably the best thing that could have happened to them. They have become a distinctive major company in their own right, rather than being in the shadow of Covent Garden!