2dancersmum

RAD Rules, Regulations and Specifications do clearly mention the belt as a uniform requirement. The description below is from their specification for grades 4 & 5. "Sleeveless or short sleeved scooped neck leotard in pale pink, teal, red, mulberry / fuchsia, lavender, navy, burgundy or dark green (any matt effect fabric), with matching elasticated belt" However, RAD also clearly state that students will not be assessed on their uniform so I guess some schools simply choose not to follow the guidelines.

Accommodation does vary considerably from school to school but generally not a boarding school set up as sixth formers are encouraged to have a bit more independence (or a lot more depending on school). Some schools also can offer accommodation whilst others will provide a list for you to find your own. Hammond, for example, give you a list of places they have approved, both student houses and landlady accommodation. They ask for under 18s to live with a landlady who will provide breakfast and evening meal and generally do laundry also. You really just need to research any school and course your DD may be interested in and take it from there.

I believe it is to help define where the waist lies and therefore helps visually for placement of arms. DDs teacher said it can be useful, especially for pre-puberty girls, as a visual aid - not just for the girl herself but for teacher and examiner also.

I thought the policy for the major supermarkets in the UK at least was to exchange a bag for life when your old one is worn out - free of charge. At least for those thick plastic ones - not sure about the heavier duty ones - though once in Tesco I went once went to pack my heavy duty bag and it split at the base and they immediately gave me a replacement free of charge.

Nicola Selby - dance photographer in the northwest . http://nicolaselby.com/

No mention of fathers on this thread from me as I've yet to meet a pushy bragging father on my dance travels with my DDs. Yet, maybe its unusual - but the dads by far outnumber the mums at our local dance school - for both dropping off and picking up. I'm sometimes the only mum there!

I'm sorry to hear your news jennyboydance - but please do not let him lose hope. My DD and many of her friends - male and female- (from vocational upper schools) never went to vocational school at year 7, or had access to associate schools, but they are now working as professional dancers. To be sure they are not necessarily professional ballet dancers but they do still earn their living through dance.

If your DD is wishing to wait until she is 18 because her preferred colleges only take from 18, perhaps you have a third option, given where she currently studies. She could always apply for the 2 year drama btec course and A levels, providing she is still able to access some dance training. I presume vocal coaching would not be an issue. There are students who do this course before going to MT and dance colleges at 18 - they don't all go on to study drama. I know your DD currently has quite a long commute - remember she could get accommodation mon-fri if she wished and doing a level 3 qualification, I think she would be able to claim housing benefit (it goes on her income - not yours). Looking at other colleges too - on a part time boarding prospect- might open up further options. One of DDs friends boards mon-fri at a dance college near Leeds, does a variety of dance styles and loads of performance opportunities and she will be auditioning for colleges at 18.

Trust me there are boys mums who are just as bad - not as frequently to be fair but then there are fewer boys also. I once had the misfortune to sit next to a mum of a 15 year old boy prior to a 'showing of work' at the end of a workshop and heard all about her wonderfully talented advanced ballet dancer son who had not even needed to audition for Elmhurst or Hammond because they had heard of him and wanted him. Out came the dancers - 5 boys in total amongst the girls and the person without a doubt with the worst technique was this boy - completely outshone by the 9 and 10 year old boys with far better technique and presentation.

No, I didn't mean the London Eye - if you've googled you've probably found the cable car I meant. Sorry I should have put a link in before https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/emirates-air-line/

Again, you would need check with them what was offered Pictures. When DDs first friends went there were options to study advanced ballet grades still along the btec and take exams but her friends were still in intermediate so they could not do that. But that teacher had left and there were no advanced ballet classes when her next set of friends started - but I do not know what the situation is currently.

Or for something completely different you could do the cable car that goes over the Thames and see some of the sights from above!

In year 12 - on the dance course rather than MT, 2 of DDs friends, who did not do A levels, were there until 4 pm on an Monday, (because of maths GCSE retake class), 4pm on a Tuesday and Thursday and they finished at lunchtime on the remaining days. I think A levels were held either on a free afternoon or after school ie 4-5pm. They have a large intake each year across all the courses so they do have options to play around with to suit each individual. The girl doing sciences, for instance took biology to full A level in 1 year and took AS chemistry as that fit her timetable well. All the children from this area who have gone to BOA have continued taking classes at their local dance school and been back after the hour commute in time for a 6pm ballet class. - with the exception of when they have their own BOA performances going on. The commute is really more of an issue in the mornings as it means a very early start - and you do have to remember that they only take a percentage from outside their catchment area.

DD has friends that went to BOA and did A levels alongside the btec in dance. One in particular took sciences as her back up option/undecided what she really wanted to do option was paediatric nursing. She found the workload ok - especially for the year 12 when the demands for the btec were less than for year 13. It would be worth investigating further. Certainly the workload is considerably less and the hours per day less than if your DD was at Hammond for year 12 doing A levels alongside the diploma. This friend had a good hour commute to BOA each day and she would still be home before my DD each night and DD had only a 15 min walk.

£40 Primaballerina - you pay via the website's 'online payment'. http://www.centralschoolofballet.co.uk/ssccourseoutline.php Normally for a dance day at Central, there is an additional £5 payable on the day if a parent wishes to watch. That is detailed on their dance days tab, although this set of dance days appear in a different section of the website so it will probably be different. The normal dance days are only aged 12+ and worth keeping an eye out for.

There are a lot of hotels, guest houses and B&Bs in Salisbury and the surrounding areas. There is accommodation closer to Stonehenge than Salisbury itself but if you are reliant on public transport, then probably not suitable. We stayed near Bath last month and found there to be lots of places but they do book up in quite a bit in advance. If you wanted to cut costs and really visit the area, going from Manchester to Bristol or Bath would be possible, and missing out London. Both these places offer day trips to Stonehenge and Bristol, in particular, as a city , offers you plenty of things to explore. All depending on travel to and from home of course, for if you need to arrive or depart in London.

I think your rant is totally justified - that is appalling organisation. Sadly I think it is a reflection of MOVEIT though. It is great for visitors who get to see everything, collect information from colleges but it is not so great for the colleges and performers and the teachers that take workshops etc.

to be honest I think you are looking at a bit of a non starter here. I don't think they have children in their performances very often - and I have never seen any auditions for them. It may be that they sometimes talk to local dance schools if they need someone or that a local dance school contacts them but I do not think it happens on a regular basis. Vienna Festival Ballet is a small company and they tour extensively - somewhere different just about every night. I cannot see them having the capacity to accommodate new children every night. In addition, they have 2 seasons each year and run more than one production. I know there is a forum member whose son danced a performance or two with them last year and she may be able to shed some light. When that production came to us, there were no children in it. The part her son played was danced by a regular cast member. Last summer season was their 35th anniversary gala which was excerpts from ballets they have done in the past and this might have meant that last year they might have had children in some of the performances. At the performances local to me they did not.

Good luck with that one Porthesia. I'm still getting phone calls about a car accident I had over 5 years ago. A minor accident as I was stationary and the rather large lorry I had stopped for was only going a few miles an hour as he misjudged the corner and caught me with the back end of his vehicle. Apparently I could claim thousands for whiplash and injuries!! Now I just tell them they have false information - that I have never been in an accident as it is the only way to shut them up. I'm going to add in to room 101 - drivers of large lorries and coaches that when a main road is closed because of an accident, decide that rather than follow the diversion and police instructions, they would rather attempt the twisty turny roads through tiny villages, ignoring the weight and height advisory signs and thus getting stuck and needing to reverse or get all the drivers coming the other way to reverse.. Chaos around here today as there was extra traffic for the races too.

I think the dancer Hairbelles referred to is part of the facebook page DancersvsCancer that follows the stories of mostly children affected by cancer. I cannot link to the video of the girl dancing but I think this is her story: http://www.morethandancers.com/february-spotlight-gabi-shull/ It is indeed frightening to see what horrors some children/people have to go through and I too am totally in awe. A teenager from my area will soon feature on the TV makeover program (with Nick Knowles) - the name of the program escapes me - as they adapt her home to allow her to get home from hospital. Sadly, her dancing days are over but her strength and her support for her friends still at local ballet school is amazing

Statistics only go to further demonstrate the competitive nature of the ballet world. They 'compete' for entry into 7 when there are far more applicants than training places available. They grow up with whatever physical and emotional changes that may bring. Not every child who is ballet mad at age 11 still wants to continue at 16 or 18, regardless of whether they are at vocational school or not. They compete at 16 for upper school - against a much wider field of applicants and again for contracts at the end of their training. Personally I think everyone of these dancers should be applauded, no matter what path they take in the future. I don't believe in top and second best schools, nor do I believe in top companies and second best companies. Each child is an individual and what suits one might not suit another. Each will find their own path - be it in dance or not. And to me a dancer who trains and gets the work they want to do is a success - there is no such clause as "even if its not with a top company"

Oh but only one final/funding audition! Imagine the nerves and the pressure if all applications depended on just one day! Especially if you did not happen to feel 100% that day. Easier and cheaper for the parents but not the children ! The Grand Audition, however, is a good idea and auditonees here are not putting all their eggs in one basket as it were, as they would still presumably be auditioning elsewhere too.

your DD sounds like she has a very wise head on her shoulders annaliesey and even more importantly that she is self aware, for her level and for her own dance needs. That's a skill in itself that shows a level of maturity and will help her progress. The difficulty in understanding levels for adult classes is understandable. I think it shows an important distinction between childrens and adult classes. Childrens classes are mostly grades - designed to progress technique, introducing more complex steps and vocabulary gradually. Adult classes are broad level bands - the level assumes the student has already learned the steps and vocabulary and is practising and improving their own technique. The description of level will always be quite general/wide as it will always depend on who attends - a group will probably move more slowly for instance, if there are a lot of new people, or more quickly, if most of the class are regulars who may have been taking that class for years. If you think of RAD associates, or any other non syllabus childrens class, then you have the closest comparison. If your child is in the inter-foundation class, for example, they are expected to be familiar with the steps and vocabulary reached to be working at that level. In the first class a child close to taking their exam would probably find the class easier than a child who has just started the grade, although both are eligible to be there. Fast forward a few months and the 'new' child will have found their stride.

Primaballerina I would perhaps investigate the Ballet Academy at Danceworks for your DD . This is aimed at children up to the age of 18. At Danceworks itself, there are no classes specifically aimed at under 16s. It is an adult venue and the classes are aimed at adults but some teachers will allow under 16s into their classes. If you prefer your DD to attend the adult classes, I would be inclined to let her try out one of the beginner classes to start with. She may well be the only under 16 in attendance and she could feel that alone is quite daunting, without struggling with actual technique within the class.

I'm certainly not anti children. I post on here as a parent of 2 dancers, not as an adult dancer myself. As it happens, because I have been on the forum for years, my DD have got older and one of them now happens to be an adult. But it does mean I have seen for myself the difficulties our DC face in finding classes, auditioning etc, right through from the perspectives of a 12 year old to an adult (vocational school graduate). I fully understand why some of the teachers allow under 16s in their adult classes - but it is more for the exception than the rule -to allow for those children who need supplementary classes. DC who are at vocational school (or at the same sort of level in non vocational training) can find it really difficult to find drop in classes at their level and in particular during holiday periods when they need to maintain their fitness levels. It is these children, working at an advanced level that 'some teachers are willing to include' - surely - not any child who happens to meet the minimum age requirement.