JulieW

A quick search found this thread: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/8467-hidden-costs-of-dance-training/?fromsearch=1

I agree with everything Dave said! (Hubby and I also mentioned the brass section - well, one trumpet probably) It wasn't necessarily a cast I would've gone out of my way to see, but I'm so glad I did. Wonderful acting, beautiful dancing. Only disappointment for me was Paris - can't have everything I suppose ;-)

And he loved his dogs I believe :-(

And how tall is the girl on the left of the winners' photo? Just interested to know Edited to add: Ignore me, I've just read the thread on the news section of the forum. She's 5'9" apparently

Make the most of every moment. My son was in two RBS productions as a JA and was known to turn up to some rehearsals and performances on the back of a motorbike much to everyone's amusement :-)

There's a dance shop in Hitchin, which is very local (I grew up there) and hfbrew (member on here) would be able to tell you about all sorts of dance schools etc in the area too as she's based around the Luton area

Sad indeed Sarah. I'll suggest he speaks to the helpline. I suspect he won't be entitled to JSA because the course is pretty full on for 6 weeks, but only fair as he wouldn't be available for full time work while doing it. I just think it's a bit sad that there isn't some support for people trying to better themselves in training.

(Thanks to those responding to the comment about my son. It's not the only reason, but I won't go into all the ins and outs here. Those of you who I know personally will hear more about his plans on my FB page in the not too distant future I'm sure! Please don't comment further on here - but I'll respond to PMs)

Bear in mind that most students will be auditioning for several schools so you'll see the same students

Just a snippet part way through this article. I wonder where they've got the idea there's a shortage of ballet dancers in this country. Maybe, as I said to my hubby who brought it to my attention, because there are so many non-Brits in British companies - are they just assuming there aren't enough British dancers to fill the positions. As he said, if there's a shortage, how come they're paid so badly. My son's giving up because he can't afford to live on the wages they get in this country (would be OK in one of the big companies but there aren't enough jobs to go round in those!) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34191123

Our experience was at Elmhurst and although I was more than happy with the academic teaching, I think I can safely say that Tring offer more exams and more range of subjects at both levels. However our decision on where to apply was entirely been on where my ds saw himself training. In all honesty, and I may be in the minority here, we weren't interested in A levels.

Thanks Anna - I think you're right about ringing the helpline rather than speaking to an individual at the Job Centre - the various bits I've read while researching seemed that the Job Centre people seem to vary a lot in what they say. I'll pass on the info

Thanks Alison. It's not straightforward is it?!

Just had a quick look, and Universal Credit's being "rolled out" so only available in some areas

I'd forgotten about Universal Credit!! Will look that up (JSA still exists though, so I'm a bit confused - that's not difficult!!)

Hello everyone. I know we've got people from all walks of life on this forum, with a huge variety of jobs, so I'm hoping there's someone who works for the Job Centre or similar!! If you're claiming JSA and then sign up for a 6 week course, I think I'm right in saying that you can still claim JSA if the course is less than 16 hours a week and you can show that you're still available for work. So, leading on from that I have a couple of questions: Can you change your day/time of your fortnightly interview if it clashes with the time you should be on the course?What about if the course is over 16 hours a week? Does that mean you can't claim any financial support at all? Seems a bit rough that you can be doing a course (at great expense) that is to help improve your career prospects but can't get any financial support. How are you supposed to support yourself financially?I had an inkling you could get Income Support, but that seems to only be if you've got a child (it's no wonder there's the urban myth about getting pregnant so you can get support!)

Good luck all. It's a daunting time for the students as well as exciting, but can be a sad time for the parents. Been there and out the other side, so I feel your pain! Thinking of you all x

I was going to say similar to RuthE. My son's the dancer and daughter's the rugby player (although not professionally in her case). I'm more than happy that neither of my sons (or daughter) were interested in playing football - I hate it ;-)

We took ours up at the shoulders which helped

Still available - would love it if someone could take my place

Nothing much to add to all your excellent advice, but just to say that having exercises to do at home isn't necessarily a bad thing - the RBS associates have exercises, but the teacher watches them do them do them at every class so any errors can be corrected and they can be developed (or they did when mine were there - I presume it's the same). But you don't give them exercises and then just leave them to it for months. Good luck. I'm glad you've decided to move and I hope your daughter's OK with that - and that her snapping hip syndrom improves (it should, with a good physio).

Help! I have some tickets I now can't use and can't afford to lose all the money so would be willing to sell them for a little less than I paid for them. 2 tickets for Thursday 3 tickets for Saturday matinee £40 each, so good seats, and as I said I'd be willing to take a little less if necessary as I'm happy that I'm also donating to charity!

What lovely words and summed up some of what I feel

I'm sure they sell very similar in the ROH shop (haven't looked recently but definitely seen them in the past). They hardly have any clothing on the online shop - maybe they're just in-store!

I've split Katymac's news and following comments to a separate thread. Please keep this pinned thread to questions about auditions to help people find useful information. Thanks