JulieW

Have a great time this evening We want a full report!

Good move Alison - I was going to look to see how to do that and you beat me to it

Interesting - I've only seen it on the small screen and it's not really my cup of tea - but enjoyable as you say. As for the heels - dancers who train in jazz styles dance in heels - and in fact, as festivals, some adjudicators nag the senior dancers about dancing in high shoes because it's what they'll need to do in the "real world"

My son used to say that he could run faster, jump higher than his non-dancing friends, and got to meet lots of fit girls

Hmmm - no, I don't think so but I'm not that up on YAGP to compare

Not clear is it Rowan - well done for your admission When we "ballet mums" talk about festivals we are talking about dance competitions which come under the umbrella of All England Dance (not all of them are affiliated to AED but most are). To generalise and try to sum up for you - dancers under the age of 21 can enter - usually entered by their dance school but you can do a "private entry". Dancers then compete in their age group (usually one year band, but often two - eg aged 7 & 8) doing a short solo, or duet/trio/quartet. Length of the solo varies according to the age and discipline but start at 1.5 minutes and go up to 3 (I think) for some duets. Groups can also be entered (5 or more dancers) and are in wider age brackets (9 & under, 12 & under, 15 & under and 21 & under). Different festivals have different disciplines available but the usual ones are ballet, tap, modern, song & dance, character, contemporary, Greek, National, lyrical (sometimes with modern). Think that's it...... Clear as mud probably And I see spanner has put the link on for AED Edited to add: There's one adjudicator (until you go to finals - that's another discussion) who watches and marks all the dances. In each class the dancers dance one by one and at the end of the class they all come back on stage and the adjudicator awards 1st, 2nd and 3rd places - usually a medal for those - sometimes mentions others and different adjudicators talk about the section in different ways. Some will sum up the whole section, some will mention things specifically about dancers. Afterwards the dancers can collect their certificates and a "critique" - again differing amounts written on there depending on the adjudicator. Some festivals are "qualifying" festivals for AED regional finals - then the dancers need above a certain mark to "qualify".

Welcome to the forum Auroratobe and congratulations on your place at Central

Welcome to the forum Pointytoes22

Just my opinion from watching over the years, but the WL summer school is a chance for the school to see students who they wouldn't normally see, which might be why they don't always take associates.

I was about to say the same as Jellybeans - that the reason they were assessed out of WL might also mean they're unsuitable for Elmhurst. I think the schools are looking for the same things, it's just that WL get to "catch" the students first. Mr Kelly has been working hard to raise the profile of Elmhurst and make it more of a "classical" school.

I think you're limited to a certain number a day (don't know that for certain, just had a feeling someone told me )

Hmmm - only you can decide if you are happy to do all that travelling. If it were me - it would be a "no" but purely personal choice of course!

I often had mums of girls in my son's ballet class (when they were about 8 or 9) saying "What does your husband think about him doing ballet?" Well fortunately my husband's a normal human being and didn't see it as any different to doing any other sport or activity.

See the message in the news section for a link to this event in May: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/717-norther-ballet-and-phoenix-dance-theatre-open-house/

And even fewer when I first found it Jane - I don't know how people manage without it

Whether you want to dance or just watch dancing, this looks like an interesting day: http://northernballet.com/index.php?q=open-day-2012 This is the intro on the website: Saturday 12 May 11.30 - 4.30 Join Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre as they throw open the doors of their multi award-winning powerhouse for dance on Quarry Hill in Leeds city centre for a day of FREE events. Enjoy performances from both companies; take part in classes; watch dancers of the future in training; gain an insight into the world of dance through talks, demonstrations and films; receive a dance physiotherapy consultation or take part with your family in storytelling, crafts and face painting sessions. All open house events are FREE but some require you to book your place. All drop-in events will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

My daughter was fine (I do adult tap at her dance school) until I (jokingly) said that we might be doing something in the school show Incidentally, I'm taking my first ever dance exam, and my first exam in anything at all in 24 years, in the middle of May - keep everything crossed for me that I don't fall over! Enjoy your ballet class Fiz

My youngest son used to go to the boys' class once a month at Tring - just ballet at that point (he stopped just before they changed it). Loved it - so nice to have somewhere to go with a good male teacher and other boys, as he was the only boy in his class locally. Excellent value and I didn't mind the (nearly) hour's drive as it was only once a month!

Oh flip - completely forgot to ask her - we were busy having a bit of a catch up - but I'll try to remember when we speak again (soon, because I'll have to pick up some items from her that she's adjusted for my son!)

Welcome back Daisybell

I'm seeing my friend this evening to measure my son up for some "Corsaire" trousers! She makes all our festival costumes and for our dance school - I'll ask her about leotards!

Try contacting hfbrew on the list of members - she'll know of some in the Luton area I believe (she might read this anyway!)

Can't help too much as it was my son who went to vocational school, not my daughter, but wanted to say "what a good question"! I know the girls at WL started pointe in year 7, but that's the extent of my expertise but we have plenty of parents of girls on here who'll be able to help.

I've spent some hours considering my response to this post. I don't want to highjack this thread, so if anyone wants to respond further may I suggest that they do by sending me a PM rather than continuing it here, but here's what I finally decided I wanted to say. I read this post on my phone (unfortunately I can't "sign in" on my phone so can only read posts) this afternoon while I was whiling away my time helping backstage at a local dance festival on one of my days off work. I found it extremely rude and offensive and feel quite hurt that after our pleasant exchanges by PM earlier this year where I was offering you support, that you responded in this way (and I did try sending you a PM first). All you needed to say was that you find it hard because you're dyslexic and left it at that. I think my posting was quite polite and didn't deserve the response it got - perhaps I'm wrong and I apologise if you were offended - I was trying to improve things for everyone so that postings are clear and easy to understand the meaning behind them. As someone recently told me on FB "I read somewhere that as a moderator, If you are not called a facist, overcontrolling, etc etc at some point, then you are not doing it right!" so I shall forget about it and move on.

If it's anything like previous years there'll be a waiting list - but you never know, with the credit crunch, maybe they haven't had as many applications - ring them and ask!