2dancersmum

Wishing health and happiness to your DD , you and your family. Thank you for sharing with the hope that it may help others.

As others have said, an agent can help the dancer access closed auditions and auditions that although not closed, are not always widely advertised. Agents do take a percentage of monthly or weekly earnings (depending how the dancer is paid) . Certainly for musical theatre roles an agent is useful but for a dancer not always so. A lot of the jobs for dancers are open auditions , pre-register auditions or apply direct to the company who then select from cv/showreel who they wish to audition but commission to the agent is still payable. Dance agents are usually needed for commercial dance though - TV show backing dancers, commercials, some large corporate events, films. And more MT based agents for dance roles in theatre shows and tours. In terms of jobs out there for graduating dancers - ballet and dance companies, cruise ships, entertainment agencies, dancers for holiday resorts - UK and abroad, theatre shows and tours (UK and abroad), pantomime and Christmas shows. There are a lot of varied roles out there - often seasonal or short term contracts as dancers are usually self employed and freelance - the exception being those who work for dance companies but competition is fierce and the cattle call pictures mentioned is real. Its not unusual for there to be in excess of 700 dancers at an all day audition with some being cut after each round until only about 20 remain - and being in the final round does not mean you have the job.

Manchester - my DD had people on her 3 year level 6 Trinity course that had previously done dance at Shockout and at The Dance College, both in Manchester - might be worth a look - I don't really know what they offer

No personal experience but a friends DD went to this one in Halifax - she was out of easy commuting distance and stayed with a landlady during the week, home weekends. Not sure of onwards destinations - the DD got offers at the end of the course but was offered a job she was interested in and took that instead. http://www.oldschooldanceworks.com/

https://balletclassroom.wordpress.com/2012/03/19/proper-alignment-for-ballet/ This may help you

I can so relate to this! My DDs school took them away for 4 nights in year 4 and year 5 - no parental contact while away. Mine got off the coach at the end in year 4 - clung to me and cried her eyes out - telling me she had cried herself to sleep every night. Roll on to year 5 and she was adamant she was going away with her friends 'this time I only cried when I was in the shower so no-one could see'. Roll on to age 11 and she was desperate to do a ballet residential - this time we were more prepared - she had a phone and we spoke every night and we were able to talk coping strategies and work out answers in advance to all her 'what if... what do I do when...' type questions.(she still cried every night but refused to leave) I would talk to your DS and see if you can find out which aspects worry him and remember they are real worries to him. All 3 of mine did their school residentials in year 4 - DD was the most sociable and outgoing of the 3 and yet the only one who got homesick and cried and that never really left her until she settled at vocational school aged 16. but do remember that for both school and dance the staff will be well trained and well used to looking after children away from home (or loved ones) for the first time

Sending all our best wishes for a full (and not too prolonged) recovery to your poor DD. And a big hug to you too x

Balletbean - My DD also graduated in 2015 - in Professional Dance. We were told that the college itself will assess with pass, merit, distinction but no grade on the actual final qualification from Trinity. Certainly DD's certificate has no grades on it

Actually the 1-2 hours of IPS per week timetabled is quite misleading as much of the work for the level 6 diploma is done in the students own time - weekly logs, research projects and assignments and it depends very much on the student for how much work they put in. Trinity grades are simply 'pass' or 'fail' - both quality and quantity of work varies considerably. When my DD did the diploma , some students were handing in an arch lever file per year and others a single arch lever file for the 3 years. Edited to add - the actual specification for level 6 is roughly a 25:75 split for assessment (theory/practical)

A levels usually don't start until after half term, GCSEs are either side of half term - as are AS levels but perhaps worth pointing out that a lot of year 12s wont be sitting AS level exams as since the new syllabus A levels exams came in (only examined now at the end of year 13), a lot of schools have stopped doing AS exams.

only just caught up with this, well done to your daughter Julie - that graduation day will be here before you know it! Though not too fast I hope as I get my daughter home for a mere 4 weeks between contracts and I want to make the most of every single minute!

In all honesty I was not aware that the RAD/PDD classes with Ballet Cymru were open to adults. My DDs have attended in the past and its always been children in attendance.

I cannot help with the liquid face paint but just wanted to ask - with the official face lace - that fell off - did you add any extra adhesive or anything to help it stay in place? I know my DD has eyelash glue and I have seen comments that people use it to stop face lace peeling off. I know my DD uses it other than for just eyelashes but not sure exactly what for as she dances in the Caribbean (hot and humid)

oh dear, I feel for all of you, not an easy situation. I would agree to not pay too much attention to the rivalry. Praise each of them for their achievements and try not to compare. Focus on what your eldest is good at and not what might have been - the journey through life is unique to each of us I would imagine both girls have mixed feelings at the moment that is creating a bit of distance between them - jealousy, disappointment, excitement coupled with guilt. I'm sure time will heal that gap - you are at the worst stage - the anticipating your youngest DD going when you have the uncertainty for the whole family of what life will like from September. It is a time when feelings and emotions are at their highest and things will settle again once your are in your new routine. Does your eldest DD still dance and want a career dancing? My DD1 does not have typical classical ballet body but got accepted to vocational school at 16. She now dances professionally - not a ballet company - but there are loads of dance contracts out there that include ballet (and pointe) other than classical ballet companies. DD2 was gutted when DD1 went away - wouldn't even talk to her on the phone the first term (not angry- said it hurt to much to hear her voice) but they were soon as close if not closer than ever. DD2 has by now decided not to pursue a dance career - they all have their own paths to follow. When you find yourself on your own with your eldest over the summer, perhaps see if there is anything she fancies doing - a few treats once her sister has gone - on the basis that you do have a bit more free time. I took mine to the theatre to see a show of her choosing, had a shopping trip and she had friends over for tea/sleepover a bit more often (note we went from 3 children at home to just 1 as son went to uni a week after DD1 left).

Balletbean - my DD was also only just turned 16 when she started vocational school. She graduated nearly 3 years ago. Like anyone else I can only advise on personal experience. I don't think age is an issue.

Is your DD still under 18 balletbean? We found that for an under 18 my husband held the policy in his name but the only person covered on it was DD. My advice from the thread Jan Links to higher up this thread still stands. We found that you needed to phone the insurance companies and discuss requirements for our DD. My husband found the insurance companies very helpful - after all they want your business. We had AXA for 2 years (including a claim for physio treatment) and Aviva for her final year - prices jump once they are 18. Edited to add - its always wize to check which physio the school uses or locations of any physio practices near the school and check that they and an insurance company you are looking at will deal with each other.

We've never had the ribbons going under the foot - we've always cut them and stitched them in - just make sure you fold the cut end under when you stitch so it does not fray

You will have acquired skills from the nursing homes and from your everyday life that are relevant -and that's what you pick out in a cv - communication skills, organizational skills, listening skills, time management, ability to work as part of a team or individually. Its never easy to describe your own skills or experience though but I assure you you do have relevant transferable skills from life and previous work.

I agree with the advice to look at the sort of jobs that would interest you and see what they are asking for. Personally I think an online course probably would be a waste of money. Requirements for office work vary according to the actual role - reception, administrator and which department. For the most part they will ask for communication skills - sending and answering emails and confident using a telephone and for you to be computer literate. Sometimes they may specify they wish for someone competent with using excel or another particular program/application and often they will list the duties that the job entails. A well written CV is a must though. I would get some advice on how to write your cv if you are unsure of how to best expres yourself

So sorry to hear about your DD's experience. Wishing her health and happiness for the future and all the best to you and your husband too.

"chavvy but with means / nouveau riche parents who want to break the rules solely for hoildays ... ( or even chavvy without means thanks to the super soaraway Scum and the 10 pound holiday promotion )" I too find your remarks rude and rather offensive but then I guess I fall into your 'certain groups' category that you clearly disdain. Before my children were in secondary school, we often took our summer holidays a few days before term ended. We used to go camping in France and the price literally doubled as soon as term ended and that was within 48 hours. And we have been known to go on weekend breaks with £10 holiday promotions. I wonder if you are a parent? I don't consider myself or my family unusual in trying to have an annual holiday or an occasional cheap weekend away - we haven't always managed it - and I suspect there are many other parents in this forum like myself . I'm sorry but you are being just as judgmental as that newspaper.

I can also recommend Harlequin. My DD only went there for a few terms and for higher grades. They seem to get quite a few from a fairly large radius for the advanced grades as a lot of schools don't have enough students for advanced ballet classes. My DD only left because she went to vocational school at 16. They did seem to do a lot of festivals/competitions but you can just opt to do classes. My DD did RAD advanced 1 and some jazz classes there. I'm not local to Worcester - we had an hours drive to get there so I don't know of the other school you mention. I would also advise a trial class at both schools and to see what suits your timetable and where your DD feels more at home.

In very simple terms: level 6 Trinity diploma - funded by DADA award (partially) depending on income or self funded as limited number of awards given. From age 16 (year 12) typically - though some allow entry at 18 also. Colleges include Royal Ballet, Elmhurst, Hammond, Northern Ballet , Bird, Laines and many of the big MT colleges. BA Honours degree - for ballet some take 16 year olds- Central School of Ballet as an example, others take from aged 18. Funding by student loan. It really is a minefield though. You need to read through threads on here . You can also visit places like MoveIt exhibition in London which some of the colleges attend and look out for events organised through CDET as they do various day events where the student gets to sample various classes from colleges taking part while parents go to sessions to help them understand application processes and what each college offers. http://www.cdet.org.uk/

Personally I feel that if your DC is offered a place at 16+ vocational school then they are of the standard and the type of dancer/performer that the school is looking for. If they could offer funding to everyone - they would, instead a funding offer is based on a couple of auditions - snap shots if you like and the offers go to those deemed most likely to be successful (I think the colleges have to report back on destinations a number of years after a DADA student graduates) But I think it is important to remember that it is based on how the dc were on that particular day only. Then your DC actually start at the vocational school - it is a huge step up for 16+ training, even for those who were in vocational school from 11+. By the end of the 3 years I think anyone would be hard pushed to distinguish between who had had a DADA and who had not and auditioning for contracts in the real world the audition panel does not have that information and goes on what they see on the day.

Pro Physio in Chester