2dancersmum

Cruise ship auditions are indeed crazy - - my DD was once number 497 in a closed cruise ship audition, open auditions usually attract a lot more. I would echo the advice to get yourself some headshots and a showreel done. The showreel you should be able to do yourself and while you are still at college is a good idea if you are able to enlist someone's help to show some partner work. Have a look on you tube for some examples of dance showreels - both good and bad. Your best option is probably still to get further training if you are able to. I don't think your age is an issue - DD had a 22 and a 23 year old at college in her year when she started.I suspect you may be a little lost out there competing for jobs with the hundreds if not thousands of dancers graduating this year from level 6 and degree courses as well as graduates from previous years looking for the next opportunity. Though the good news is that it all does come down to how you perform on audition day and I do personally know of one girl who dances professionally having sought work after a level 3 course and another who sought and found work after completing a foundation year only at one of the big colleges. Neither of them went directly into dance though. Both went to work for holiday companies - one as a entertainment host (cant remember who with) and the other as a kids entertainment host with Thomas Cook. The latter involved duties with the kids club and helping them put on shows but also gave the opportunity of performing herself a few times a week. Similar are probably places like Siblu, Haven, Pontins, John Fowler - all places where the role is multi functional and performing may be only a small part. Disney too, I know of a couple of people who started out as parade characters but once there there have been more opportunities to audition internally for dance roles in various on site shows. The two I mentioned initially - one is know a dancer in a showteam for a hotel complex in the Caribbean - after a couple of years working as a host, the other is still with Thomas Cook - does April-Oct abroad and then panto. I think you need to have a really good look at what your options are and see if you can find your plan A, B, C etc. And just remember, even if you go straight into doing a teaching course, there are still plenty of performance opportunities out there for 'amateur' adult dancers. Even going back to university to do something totally unrelated does not mean giving up dance. My DD dances 4 evenings a week (opted out of another 2) and is doing the university competition team, showcases and end of year show as well. Good luck

There are a few junior companies out there, liked Dutch National . There is one in Geneva too and there was one in northern France, though I think that one may have folded. Link below gives a couple of details for a couple auditioning soon and is a good site to keep a watch on. https://www.networkdance.com/ballet-auditions

Adding incompetency of companies to room 101. Received a strongly worded letter threatening to take us to court for failing to settle a bill from November - from a company linked to the police promising 'sensitive and caring assistance to victims of crime'. They were the company police called in to emergency board up our patio doors when we were burgled on holiday. This letter was received despite us paying on time and already responding to 2 letters accusing us of non-payment - each time being told 'oh yes, sorry we can see you have paid already, no further action required' Talk about adding extra stress to an already distressing situation.

I think the presumption that it was HRH's fault is probably down to the reports of him saying that the sun had blinded him when he pulled out and the fact that the other car had right of way. In terms of the woman making all these complaints - I believe this was the passenger of the other car involved in the accident, the one who broke her wrist and not the driver so the insurance situation is probably nothing to do with her (unless it was her car and another driver on her policy was behind the wheel)

When required heights are included in ballet company auditions, the range is usually higher for European companies - especially German who seem to ask for min 5'5" - so it does not surprise me that European schools also look at heights - especially if it was a German school you were applying to. Not sure the same would be true of UK schools. I can tell you I do know of a dancer who I think was just under 5' who got accepted for vocational training at16. I know the acceptance letter she posted on facebook included a note about her height - along the lines of they did not know if she would be able to dance professionally after graduation if she did not grow further. Not sure how many offers she got - she went to KS Dance in the end I think. In terms of dance rather than specifically ballet, since she graduated nearly 4 years ago my DD has worked with many female dancers around the 5'2" . Many of the post 16 diploma courses in the UK are actually the level 6 in professional dance (or in musical theatre) - the backbone of which is classical ballet - and most if not all the smaller dancers DD has worked with have gone down this route. note- my DD is not with a ballet company - she is self employed and has covered many dance styles in various contracts

Another few places for you to keep an eye for supplementing your son's dance training RAD - couple of boys only days coming up in January and April. If the Associates scheme starts again, that has a monthly boys class in Birmingham plus a mixed class on the same day. Birmingham Royal Ballet - offer repertoire days and sometimes Insight days - these days are themed around current repertoire but our experience was that after a general class for all, boys were often then taught separately by one of the male company dancers. Chantry Dance in Grantham - offer associate classes The Hammond has a boys day of dance coming up as well - usually very well attended and a good chance for your son to see where he is compared to his peers

I used to have the same issue with my DD for jazz pants - same sort of size. The capezio Adult XS are about 22-24" inch waist but inside leg of 30". I know I had to go adult sizing to get the small waist for my DDs as they grew - Adult XS is more size 6

Competition for places is huge. As long as your daughter is aware that there are very few places so not getting one is not a sign of failure or not being good enough/ not having the potential, then by all means let her audition but view it as a nice day out/ opportunity to dance somewhere different rather than anything else. My DD never got accepted at RBS mid associates but did get into vocational school at 16 and is now a professional dancer ( albeit not in a ballet company)

My DD went at just turned 16 (summer birthday) to a school just over 100 miles away from us. , First few weeks in particular she was homesick as she adjusted to her new environment and started making friends. Accommodation - with a host family, breakfast and evening meal provided, laundry done for them, had to sort own lunch but there was bread provided for sandwiches. Costs out of date as it was a few years ago now. Hidden costs/ extra costs - theatre trips, health insurance, contribution towards productions, travel home and to auditions in final year Ages - just under half her year started as 16 year olds, just under half at 18 with few 20+. Ages did not appear to matter in terms of classes or social life - the odd house party but mostly to exhausted to do much so it was more movie nights or meals out then anything else. Adapting to being away, very homesick at the start , especially at the stage of still making friends but by half term she could not wait to go back again as she loved it, loved doing what she loved all day every day and a great set of friends. No concerns about safety, host family, school, friends all supportive and looked out for each other. Graduated over 3 years ago, hence no costs quoted

I would suggest she gets herself to a pointe shoe fitting as soon as she can - my DD needed to change pointe shoes once she went to vocational 6th form - as you say sheer amount of dance actually meant shoes did not last nor fit as well as before. Other advice of alternating 2 or even 3 pairs so that they can thoroughly dry out between usage is spot on. If it is the box softening then shellac or wood preservative like cuprinol may help extend the life but a good pointe shoe fitter will offer the best advice for if there is a better shoe out there for her.

Northern Contemporary Dance School offer a 1 year full time course - includes ballet but presumably more contemporary - used to be a foundation course but changed title I believe.I don't know any of the entry requirements though.

lots of lovely news on here - congrats to all. Delighted to be able to add to it - DD2 - who has felt a little lost as to what direction to take after deciding not to go onto professional dance training has also just passed A levels and got into university. Dining room starting to fill with university necessities, DD1 home for a few days to unpack from rehearsals and pack for her next contract. Oh and DS home for the weekend to see his sister off and grandparents visiting tomorrow. So think of us all in this madhouse as today is Christmas for our family as it will be the end of May before we can be all together again.

I'm sorry to hear it is still ongoing with your husband and must be so unsettling for you all. The school should be able to email you the standard list of accommodation so that you can phone around and explain your circumstances. I would expect you could get it off any of DDs friends that are staying onto into upper school too. Its not a nice situation to be in I know, but if it offers any consolation I do know that they have managed to sort out last minute in previous years - people changing their minds or in one case a landlady falling ill less than a week before term started and having to cancel all her places. Also sending a pm

RAD Associates holds boys classes in Birmingham - keep an eye on the website for when the next set of dates go up - usually in groups of 4 Sundays. Another one to watch out for, also in Birmingham , are the insight days run by Birmingham Royal Ballet, not entirely sure what age they run from. They are not boys only - but they do tend to separate for the repertoire sessions and a male dancer from BRB teaches the boys. They used to run the insight days on a regular basis but not sure how often they are these days

The ones I've heard like their students to wear full makeup are Bird, Laines and Urdang - agree with the comment that it is often apparent for auditions. My DD trained at the Hammond - there was no requirement there to wear full makeup every day - just for open days, assessments and then obviously performance level make up for performances. Some students would wear light make up - foundation, mascara daily- personal preference. I have a feeling that the item most worn was the red lipstick - but even then more for the MT strand than the dance course

My DD went to vocational school aged 16 having only done local classes, a few summer schools and only a year or so of RAD associates. Although not a ballet dancer in a ballet company she is a professional dancer and still dances en pointe on the stage sometimes but does a load of other styles too. So yes you can get somewhere - but no one can forsee the future and know where that will be. It was my DD's choice (and not until her final year) to look wider than just ballet for her career but I know she is happy and has no regrets.

Ballet Cymru - currently have 11 dancers. 6 trained in the UK (upper schools at least as lower school not always listed), 5 trained elsewhere although 1 of the 5 did Northern ballets graduate programme. We know several other former dancers of the company that were also UK trained.

Bethany, the level 6 Trinity diploma is available for Professional Dance or for Musical Theatre - 2 separate qualifications. There are loads of colleges that offer professional dance - in this they are assessed on a minimum of 2 dance disciplines with another module being dance, singing or choreography based. The first link below gives you information on the qualification and colleges that provide it. Your DD may well study ballet, jazz, contemporary and tap for example but in the end would be assessed on her strongest disciplines. Disciplines depend on the college. The 2nd link is for the council of dance , drama and mt training - quite a useful website. They organise a careers conference each year that students and parents can attend (at cost). Colleges taking part vary each year as does location but it does give the parent the opportunity to talk direct to various colleges and get questions asked and answered. Obviously neither of these include all options available for further training - nor does it mean that colleges not included are 'lesser' in any way. Dance training is a minefield with so many training options and different ways of funding with so many routes to becoming a professional dancer. Hope something I have said here helps and good luck https://www.trinitycollege.com/site/?id=270 https://cdmt.org.uk/

Congratulations to your DD and best wishes to her for the next step.

Ballet Cymru has a summer school for 18+ with accommodation available as an option. It is aimed at the advanced or professional/graduate dancer though rather than general level and application videos/photos are assessed. My DD attended as a graduate and most of the others were graduates or professional dancers between contracts.

Congratulations to your daughter Julie, great achievement and wishing her all the best in her new job and career.

I seem to remember reading a while back about 2 dancers from Ballet Zurich and a link up to FIFA - they were getting personalised world cup football shirts. Not sure if it is one of them-but cannot recall their names

Thank you for some lovely comments. I have indeed 'popped back' though these days I don't tend to visit the site very often - just grabbed a quick moment while DD1 is packing.

1st year at Hammond is the first year of the 3 year level 6 diploma and I think to describe it as 'foundation' is rather misleading as there are plenty of 1 year foundation courses out there and they are not part of the diploma and do not qualify for any funding either. Hammond offers a choice of diploma in either Professional Dance or MT (2 separate qualifications) - the first year is common to both and as All4dancers says it is actually biased towards dance - far more hours doing the dance disciplines compared to vocal or acting. You can also do 2 A levels alongside the diploma. I agree that if you are wanting a more specific ballet/contemporary course then it is not the right course. The students themselves choose which course they want to pursue in their final 2 years but staff will advise them too. As an aside The BA degree in MT is separate again and is from aged 18. There are plenty of colleges out there that offer the level 6 diploma (DADA funded) in Professional Dance and that are open to 16 year olds. If your DD goes this route will depend on a number of things I suspect - if she wants a more specific ballet/contemporary focus - your personal circumstances for funding - what training she can access locally at 16+. More contemporary based courses/qualifications are normally from 18. Funding - DADA for a diploma or student loan for a degree. One of the main reasons my DD auditioned at 16 was concern for how or indeed if she could continue/improve locally. You still have plenty of time to research - I would especially look into the actual qualification offered at level 6 diploma- as in Professional Dance or Musical Theatre as the course content varies considerably and actually many of the colleges offer 'Professional Dance'. There is a tendency to refer to those institutions that are not classical ballet as 'MT' but many of them are dance . I know some of DDs friends have attended the CDETs dance days in the past and found them useful so I attach a link below. https://cdmt.org.uk/advocacy/cdmt-careers-conference

I've been a member of this forum and its predecessor for quite a few years but think the time is now right to take a step back. DD1 is still dancing - she has been working continuously since graduating 3 years ago - but not as a ballet dancer with a company. She has been seeing the world on cruise ships and dancing all styles - ballet, contemporary, jazz, street, MT. Most of the advice I received for her vocational journey (post 16) came from the previous forum and much has changed since then - courses, funding etc . But a huge thank you to all who helped me then and since. She has only happy memories and loads of friends from her 3 years doing the diploma and she loves what she does now so one very happy DD. DD2 had a change of heart re ballet, first deciding she would wait til she was 18 to apply anywhere and then deciding on university to study science (biology) and providing all goes well with A levels that is what she will be doing in September. She still loves her ballet and dance in general and checked out every university to make sure she could continue dance there but a performing career is just not for her. She actually left her ballet school in early March after taking her last exam with them. Yesterday she finally got her results - don't know what the problem was with RAD exams in March but hopefully other people with 'missing' results will now be hearing. I will still pop in on the forum from time to time and am happy to answer any questions on my DDs journeys but for now it is time to say thank you to you all as I bow out of 'doing dance' and wish you and all your DC well on their journeys.