2dancersmum

Totally agree with you Janet. Entries in a 'live' show ought to be 'live' and if it is too dangerous, then its really not suitable. It goes to show that it is all about upping the viewing figures for the show and not really what would suit the Royal Variety Show.

To be honest I don't know how it looks on an audition/application form. However, I can tell you that it does happen. I have known of more than one student at an upper school change their mind during the first year of a course and apply to go elsewhere and start in the first year at a different college. I know students who ended up studying somewhere in Manchester, at Elmhurst, at Hammond and at Urdang, who originally did a year at a different vocational school but I have no idea what they put on their application forms when they wanted to move. Edited to add that you do have to remember that if you are awarded a DADA by one college, it does not necessarily mean you would get one elsewhere. It does not transfer across with the student.

TODAY - will be glad when its over Funeral for 2 of us to attend DD2 has 3 GCSE exams (total of 5 hours sat in an exam room), despite the fact that she is still recovering from a tummy bug. Took her out of school after her exam yesterday morning, much to the disapproval of the head of year who seemed to think staying lessons and spreading the bug was much more important. End of year exam for non DS at university Only hope for an enjoyable good day lies with DD1

DD = dancing daughter and DS = dancing son. Quite a few of us on here are parents of the dancers and the policy is to not identify children on a public forum, although adult dancers will sometimes post using their own names.

If at all possible I would try and get a fitting for your first pair of pointe shoes. Neither of my DDs are the same size in a pointe shoe as they are in ballet slippers or street shoes either for that matter. My elder DD wears Bloch or Freed normally and she is different sizes in each brand.

What sort of thing would you like to know about? Also happy to help. PM me if you prefer. My DD went at age 16 and graduated last summer.

Good luck Huddsballetmum - that sounds the same workload as my DD - except she is only 4 down and 19 to go!

Given your age, I really would not worry yet about not having the strength for partnering. It does take time and patience as everyone develops at different rates and I am sure you will get guidance on this, but in the meantime, as you say, learning pointe will give you better understanding for partner work later on and will help you no doubt with your own dance skill set. Incidentally, I think that in the UK there may well be a company out there that like their male dancers to be able to dance on pointe. DDs friend, a male graduate, took some pointe classes in preparation for taking company/audition class with a company in the UK. I don't know who it was for though

When you've looked at the RAD website you will have found the steps (and relevant vocabulary) that can occur in the free enchainement section of the exam. These are all steps already learned for the grade but the point is that there is no set exercise being examined. It is unset work that the examiner will make up and they will mark through and then perform. As taxi says, the teacher will no doubt practice this in class by doing some unset work with them but if your DD attends any associate scheme or has done any workshops, it is in essence something she has experienced already. My DDs always found free enchainements in the exam a lot easier than those practised in the home studio. The only advice/tip I can give for your DD is to listen carefully to what she is being asked to do and to make sure she does know the names of the steps in her syllabus and not just how to do each exercise.

I think perhaps you ought to encourage the poster and her DD to look at some of the schools that offer post-16 training, perhaps do a few open days or see a few shows. There really are very few that are purely classical. If the qualification is the level 6 Trinity diploma (in ProFessional Dance), for example, then the student will be assessed in technique and performance for 2 dance styles. It is a requirement of the qualification. But also look at entry requirements - as another poster mentioned - initial auditions often include classes in ballet, contemporary and jazz so it could be useful to add another string to her bow, as it were. Though personally I would keep as much of the ballet as possible and just pick up one style (probably jazz) as 16+ will still expect the proficiency in ballet - regardless of if she applies for ballet or dance courses - but might look at potential still for other dance styles. I say this on the basis that my DD had never done tap or contemporary before and she was still successful at 16.

Lyrical was described to me as being a fusion of ballet and jazz as it includes elements of both, but is above all expressive - showing emotion through dance and hence songs are often used as the lyrics and dance steps go together to create an expressive dance. Contemporary dance to me is how the poster US friend above described it. No rules, danced to music or without, movements ranging considerably and taking bits and adapting them from ballet, jazz etc. Contemporary is quite a generic term though and there are many different styles within contemporary but students are generally taught the techniques of Graham, Cunningham, Limon etc to get them started on their individual contemporary styles. Jazz has its origins in Africa and the slaves that went over to America and kept their dance traditions going. Again, there is a huge variety in styles of jazz. I believe our 'modern dance theatre jazz' is linked to the styles that became popular as jazz began to appear in films and theatres and as people wanted to be taught in classes. That is obviously quite different to the more stylistics techniques of Bob Fosse, Luigi etc and very different to commercial jazz also. I've not heard of concert contemporary as such but I do wonder if it is referring to a more 'popular' generic style aimed at theatre audiences, rather than class based technique-based dance.

My son is the same height and grew so fast he was like a very thin beanpole for a while. We got a protein powder from Holland & Barrett and he could just mix a spoonful of it in with a fruit smoothie or a milkshake. It was just a small tub and it lasted a while. It meant he could exercise without losing weight. In actual fact though, it was not long before his appetite grew to suit his new height.

oops - typing at the same time as you Lin

An extension added to your neighbours house will most certainly not add to the value of yours, if anything it would detract because of the loss of view from your window. A good view always helps to sell a house - especially much sought after sea views. I too would seek advice or possibly put in an objection. If they are coming close to the boundary wall, they have in any case to serve you notice of work to be carried out. Its called The Party Wall Act - and its there because knocking down walls and digging foundations can cause damage to neighbouring properties. You do need to have the full details of what is being done and where and make sure they follow it. Don't feel guilty about 'ruining their dreams' - you have your own dreams and it is your home. In any case , putting in an objection does not mean the project cannot go or will not go ahead - just that everything is properly taken into account - and fairly. A family member did not raise an objection to an extension on his new neighbours house and the new neighbour pushed everything as far as he possibly could - front and back and his house now sits in its neighbours shadow for much of the day.

I would be inclined to google the area to see which is easiest to reach for you depending on the direction you approach from as well. I often find Pershore street easiest, depending on time of day and traffic, as for me it means I don't have to enter the one way system but that wont be true for everyone.

My DDs have both done several of the insight days in the past and thoroughly enjoyed them. It is quite amazing how much repertoire they can learn in one day. Its also nice to meet the dancers and get their insights into the roles they dance and life as a dancer. There is some metered street parking on the street where the entrance to the studios is. Thorp Street. There is also a small car park directly opposite the entrance to the studios. Spaces are quite tight. Arcadian and Pershore Street multi storey are within a ten minute walk away. Pershore street is by far the cheapest and all the parking bays are wide. Hope this helps

Ugh - you can definitely keep your crows! We had a real problem with them quite a few years ago now. They are very territorial and will protect their area fiercely. Unfortunately the crows around here saw themselves reflected in the windows of our house and about five other houses near us and started attacking the windows at about 4am every morning - to the extent that the house behind us had blood all over the windows. We ended up painting the lower half of all the windows with the stuff you use to keep greehouses cool and leaving it on for a few weeks - for about three years on the trot and then suddenly no more. This year I don't know if we are fortunate or unfortunate as we have a bird of prey - a sparrowhawk or kestrel (not sure which), which has decided our garden is a perfect place to hunt. Its only a small garden and it is quite a sight to have the hawk land just a couple of feet from the patio door, stand on its prey until it stops screaming (and yes birds do scream)and then start plucking feathers. It then seems to eat a little bit before flying off with the rest. Twice it has done it right in front of us now and then yesterday there was another ring of feathers in the garden!

I think you do have to contact Elmhurst direct. Even going back five years or so, my DD was at class with someone who went off to an Elmhurst class afterwards and she was too old for JAs. We were told then that it was a scheme just for the Elmhurst Associates who had not gone to vocational school. At that time it was not generally open to external students but we were told (again by a parent) that by contacting the school they did sometimes allow other students to join.

Transition tights are simply tights that have a hole under the foot so that they can be rolled up and the children can go barefoot. Your local dance shop should have a range and be able to guide you on size .https://www.dancedirect.com/uk/_children/dance-tights/plume-convert-seamless-tights Capezio, Bloch, Plume -are just some the brands names. The link shows you an example of what they look like.

There are quite of few people on this forum whose DC did not start at vocational school until 16 so yes there is still the opportunity at 16, provided you have had access to enough training locally at the right standard. In fact the number of schools increases, so you might find one your DC prefers. And with more choice of GCSEs and more GCSEs behind them there is greater flexibility for a career change - either a back up in case of injury or in case a child changes their mind. A friends daughter left vocational school at the end of year 7 (or early year 8), admittedly because she was unhappy rather than for finances. She settled well into her large secondary school and is about to embark on vocational training again at age 17. The delay from 16 to 17 was for personal reasons. Bottom line though - if you cannot afford to keep your DC at their current school or if the sacrifice is too great across the whole family, then you should move them. How does your DC feel about a possible move? Look at local training and a bit further afield, consider associate schemes, workshops, summer schools. Good luck with your decision.

Hammond is 9 hours a week for A levels,(3 x 1.5 hours per subject) or as Pictures said students can work towards a qualification in pilates and take Zumba classes (teaching qualification too?) You can take one or 2 A levels but if choosing one would not have a choice of Zumba or pilates - it would be whichever was timetabled and fit with your A level. Normal day is 9 - 6 but it can be longer and often is. When my DD was there Adv 1 and 2 ballet was early morning - 8-9am and there were twilight ISTD classes for tap and jazz, although it may well be that ballet is twilight classes now as Pictures suggests. The timetable is complicated, however, and does change several times over the year, depending on what students need to work on as much as anything else.

Upper school funding recalls were a few days after the lower school ones and I suspect they have been busy getting the funding offers out for them. Bursaries are offered across the whole school so I would expect they need to look at everything together from all years.

No personal experience no but I would have still expected movement on reserve lists as it will depend on where students have applied. Hammond, Urdang, Laines, Bird - have all only just had their funding recalls. Whilst there are still students waiting to hear about funding, places will not be settled.

The blurb on the event says BRB and Royal Ballet are part of the event as they try and show how Shakespeare has translated to theatre, opera and the world of dance. Friend is working backstage today and posted a copy of the dressing room arrangements on facebook. Rather a lot of big names in Stratford today.

Congratulations to those who got offers for MDS awards and commiserations to those on the reserve list. Please remember that this is not a no for the school. Your DC have been offered places and are therefore considered good enough and with enough potential. It is not that they have done something wrong or necessarily need to improve something - it simply comes down to numbers and amount of funding available. Who has caught the eye of the panel most! I would recommend keeping the lines of communication open with the school to find out about their own bursaries. It may still be possible for some of those on the reserve list to take up their places.