2dancersmum

I want to send my DD off to vocational school with a good supply of hair pins and nets. I know on the old forum people spoke of buying tubs of pins but wondered if anyone could reccommend where I could get these from. I have seen some online but I have no idea if the pins are good or flimsy. Anyone able to help/advise?

thanks for the advice - managed to get a fitting for next week so hopefully she will be sorted before she goes off to vocational school in September.

2 happy girls in my house today with distinctions for grades 4 & 8. Like Pupsmum's DD, mine had the ambition to get distinction all the way through and has achieved it. And swanprincess, please don't be down about your mark. DD's friend (now at uni and no longer dances) had 71 for grade 5 but continued to work hard and went on to get distinctions for grade 6,7 and Intermediate, with a fantastic 95% for her final exam - grade 7 - so it shows what you can achieve if you have the ability and are prepared to work hard and consistently hard. and certainly don't compare to other girls and other grades from other schools as the better dancer is not necessarily in the higher grade as schools and teachers vary considerably in frequency of exam sessions etc.

DD currently in Bloch pointe shoes but her teacher has reccommended shoes with a stronger shank - suggested Freeds but I can't find anywhere locally that offers more than Bloch and Capezios and I'm not sure we can fit in a pointe shoe fitting in London. Can anyone recommend anywhere from Birmingham southwards as far as Bristol. Thank you

well done - some fantastic exam results out there - typically we're still waiting for results for both my DDs but I think it will be the new term before we hear as results are given out in class and classes finished on Monday with no news.

sorry Millie - my mistake I didn't read it properly. My DD did the dance audition this year and will thus be in the first intake of the new common year in September. I can confirm that she did have to sing at the dance audition - in the morning before the point of them letting some students go. They were only told just before the audition started, just before they left their parents. DD ended up singing a few rounds of happy birthday as the pianist did not know any of the songs she knew (songs from the charts - she is not a singer) We were told that it was about voice potential as many dancers could sing but were unaware of it as their focus had always been dance. The monologues and the second vocal are new to the dance audition. However, this year students auditioned for either dance or musical theatre (with many doing both auditions) and I suspect these were part of the musical theatre audition. This year also, some students left after the morning session and reaching the end of the day did not necessarily mean the offer of a place. Re the common year - we were told that there will be very little difference to the dance course, just a few classes added for acting and vocal training and DDs induction booklet supports the fact that the focus seems to be on dance. Funding is a whole new issue - Hammond had a good number of DADAs and bursaries availalbe also so hopefully it will fare well with whatever system replaces DADAs.

Not sure where you are getting this information. On the Hammond web page under post 16 dance it tells you the format of the audition. In the morning there is a ballet class, contemporary class and jazz class. In the afternoon the auditions continue with dance solos, vocal section and monologues. Not everyone progresses through to the afternoon as candidates must meet the dance standards to continue through the audition process. If you look at the calendar (or news section - can't remember which) there is also a taster day in early December which might give the opportunity for your DD to get a feel for the school and for you to ask questions. Edited to add: we were certainly under the impression that the ballet is of utmost importance and that the new audition format is a combination of the 2 previous separate auditions but the dance section must be passed first.

Good luck to your son JulieW. Exciting times ahead for him (and a lot of hard work no doubt) - kep us posted.

Stageworks in Buckden? near huntingdon run a course for 16-18 year olds - might be worth a call to see if your DD could do some classes there one day a week? Or Bodyworks in Cambridge - or are there any local colleges that run a btec in dance that your dd could attend?

At Elmhurst 6th form audition we were told that numbers varied considerably each year - some years almost everyone was offered and accepted a place at 6th form down to only 2 or 3 in other years. At Hammond we were given the impression that most (though not all and it was emphasized that some fell down at the interview stage and not because of their dancing) were offered a place for 6th form but I believe quite a few chose to go elsewhere. This seems to be especially true for the musical theatre students who feel the bright lights of London beckoning after 5 years of living in Chester.

I saw Saturday eve performance, one of just a handful in the upper circle. The lower circle was barely half full aswell - I hope audience numbers were due to the olympic torch arriving in Birmingham (with Sir Cliff Richard) that evening and not indicative of usual audience numbers. Onto the performance: Throughly enjoyed Grand Tour with Vicoria Marr and her comedic skill. Laura Purkiss shone as one of the stowaways. Faster - wow! Such a spectacle of speed and energy. I especially enjoyed the 'runners' and the 'swimmers' with my daughter declaring the basket ball sequence to be her favourite. The Dream was lovely. It is one of my least favourite Shakespeare plays and I had not expected to enjoy the ballet as much. Visually it was beautiful and the dancing throughout was suberb. James Barton as Puck, Joesph Caley as Oberon and Elisha Willis as Titania stood out for me but a special mention must go to Kit Holder (I think) who made dancing as an 'ass' look so easy and so funny.

Hope you don't go but in case you do, just wanted to say thanks for all the advice you have given me for my DD. It really helped us this past year in particular and even though my DD is not following your DD to Northern Ballet, she is happy to be starting at vocational school this september. Thanks again - look in on us from time to time.

I echo pas de quatre's words of wisdom. We talked to DDs school and found they had no problem with her sitting 'mocks' on alternative dates but there were some actual GCSE exams in January and there was little or no flexibility in terms of dates for French/German oral exams and the drama practical, which cannot be scheduled around one pupil. No matter how we tried to spread things out a little DD had about 4 weeks Nov/Dec when she had no lunch hours just trying to keep up with lessons missed, especially with coursework which had to be completed under supervision and within a set time frame.

I think this depends more on the quality and quantity of training you have available for your DD to keep her at a suitable standard to reaudition again at 18 if she does A levels. Btec is obviously more practial than A levels however DD's teacher advised her not go go that route. We have a very good college ofering level 3 btec in dance within an easy daily commute but the teacher pointed out that since DD was already working at advanced, in ballet and modern she was technically already further on than a level 3 qualification and that parts of the course would not challenge her at all. Consequently our backup plan was for DD to do A levels and step up her dance training out of school. The concession we were going to make was in the number of A levels. Her school require them to do 4 A levels and we had specifically requested that she take only 3 as she would have had significantly more evening commitments than the average student. Local students doing the btec have been about grade 6/inter foundation level and they have gone onto study further at 18 but down the musical theatre route rather than ballet. Really it depends what your DDs ultimate goals are.

Which of their courses? My younger DD will be on course 3 and she is 12. I wouldn't worry about her not knowing anyone as my elder DD went last year and found it a very friendly summer school. There were a fair number of girls who already knew each other as they went to ballet schools in the local area but they were welcoming and some of the other parents were great with advice on where to go, what to do etc in the local area. Other dancers came from further afield - including Ireland and USA and quite a few were at vocational school. As for the intensity - it is undoubtedly hard work but my DD loved it. The days were full of dance and very busy. My younger DD is also a little apprehensive. She knows 2 girls going this year but they are 14 and considerably further on in ballet than her but she is also really looking forward to it as she saw for herself last year how much her sister enjoyed it.

I also read a report which talked about how the route to the West End is changing. It used to be that students for musical theatre and dance started in small regional or small London theatres and gradually aimed to work their way 'inwards' to the West End. It suggested that the cruise ships are now that essential training ground. Certainly one local girl took that route - vocational 6th form, cruise ship and now she dances in the West End where she has been in several big productions.

Don't think this is the same thing - the 2 day event as part of the Boys Only Programme appears to have been postponed. The free taster day is for the RAD Associates scheme which runs 1 Sunday a month (next block of classes to start in December). The free taster day on 8th July is for boys only but the actual Associates is not. The information for the taster day was posted on the RAD Midlands & East England facebook page this morning. Edited to add that contact details for this are those on the RAD website above but under RAD Associates.

A big well done to your dd and a big hug for you. A result well worth waiting for!

There is a **BOYS ONLY** Taster Class from the RAD Associate Classes in the Birmingham Royal Ballet Studios on Sunday 8th July from 11.45am to 1.15pm. More classes scheduled to start in December 2012. Thought this may be of interest to some dancers out there.

Hope you both enjoy the day and that you get answers to all your questions. If you are still struggling to see if your dd can get the dance classes, perhaps look to see if there is anything close to the school/on route home that your dh would be able to take dd to on their way home. Just a thought.

Thinking of you both with fingers crossed for a happy outcome

Just to add to the blow of learning that DD will not get any housing benefit as level 6 diploma means she is in 'advanced education' and therefore not eliigible, child benefit office has also told us that child benefit is not allowed for diplomas beyond level 3. However, as she is taking A levels they will still pay for the 1st 2 years of her course. I was honest and said I did not know the breakdown of hours of A levels versus diploma but it is supposed to be 12 hours a week of A levels. I phoned the office after getting a letter that stopped DDs child benefit altogether. Good luck to others in the same position.

My DD was diagnosed with asthma aged 2 and it was probably at its worst aged 8-12 when she did need to use her inhaler frequently and had a few mild attacks. Dancing was never a problem for her (unlike PE lessons ans swimming) and she was told that keeping fit was the best thing she could do. She was also told that there was every chance she wiould 'grow out' of it - something to do with the possible cause of it - and I'm pleased to say that she has. She has not used an inhaler of over 3 years and even when full of cold has not had any problems - and yes it is the doctors opinion not my own.

If my DH starts complaining about the cost of ballet I need to show him this thread. At DD's school it is £100 for 10 weeks (3 x 45 mins a week) and PLs are £8 or £10 per half hour depending on grade. Special vocational exam classes are £25 for 2 hours. Elder DD has recently changed school and they are £4 per 45 mins class up to a fee cap of £25 per week. If you reach the £25 a week then you attend as many classes as you wish, pay weekly.

I would also stick with the ISTD for the moment as that seems to be where the teacher's strengths lie. I agree that it does sound like you have found a good compromise for your son and would echo the comments above about looking out for 'boys only' events. He may be a little young for most of them at present (I don't know age limits) but certainly RAD run workshops (non syllabus based so he would not have to be doing RAD) and so do Tring. I do not have a DS so it is not an area I know much about. Good luck to you and your son.