JulieW

Stardancer - I'm not sure if you've seen my PM to you - but I'm assuming not so I'll post here as you might see it - please can you try to write your messages in sentences (with caps and basic punctuation) - it helps to make your meaning clear and avoids misunderstandings. Many thanks

Welcome to the forum balletbun and sorry to hear it wasn't better news for you. But we're all keeping everything crossed for our balletcoforum'ers who are waiting to hear whether any MDS places come up later - as others have said, they can come up quite late but I feel for you all waiting in a kind of limbo. I hope you've all got nice secondary schools lined up so your children still have something to look forward to (if going into year 7) - don't let your disappointment take away from the excitement of this next milestone.

Thanks for that Aurora - I think they're being a bit daft really - I don't know what was wrong with the specifications the way they were! It's up to teachers what they let their students do but you'd think the RAD could carry on recommending that full-soled shoes should be worn for exams to set a good example

I've just been reading the exam specifications (you can find them on the RAD website - see links) http://www.rad.org.u...370&realCat=382 http://www.rad.org.u...371&realCat=383 They say that soft pointe shoes must be worn for vocational grades and "Soft ballet shoes or split sole shoes may not be worn" For non-vocational grades "Pink soft satin, canvas or leather shoes with either elastic or ribbons. (Soft pointe shoes should not be worn, but split soles can be.)" These specifications are dated January 2012 so I presume are up-to-date and I think it seems quite clear that split sole shoes may not be worn for vocational exams

CeliB - I'd never seen them before, or since. They were full-soled ballet shoes, but the sole was hard - the theory being that it made the boys work their feet harder I suppose. I wouldn't worry as such about the use of split-soles, but it certainly seems to be the general way of thinking that full-soles make the feet stronger - but this could just be an "urban ballet myth"

Something else I'd forgotten hfbrew (I'm getting seriously worried about my memory ) - about those hard soled shoes!!

At Elmhurst you do pay a certain amount for the "boarding" aspect of the school in the first year - comes to about £6,000 a year (this was a couple of years ago - might be different now and very rough figures - I think I've erased it from my memory!). Plus your tuition fees after the DaDA of around £1,275 (?). The £6,000+ pays for accommodation in Lyndhurst (their boarding house) where all the 6.1s live with a couple of members of staff on-site, plus their food (some at Lyndhurst, but most at the school). In 6.2 and 6.3 the students move into privately rented accommodation - usually "inheriting" flats or houses from old students. We pay about £330 a month each for the 3 boys who share a very spacious flat next door to the school (that covers rent and bills). This featured heavily in our decision for him to stay at Elmhurst rather than go to ENBS or Central - although he wanted to stay put anyway I feel for those of you having to pay for accommodation in London. Do the students get student loans for tuition and accommodation though because of the way the course is funded - I know it doesn't cover all of it though and it has to be paid back eventually

I'm not sure on the numbers at Elmhurst but most who are offered sixth form do stay on - with the odd few who decide they'd rather go elsewhere (although we've certainly seen some go and come back again over the last few years). The "odds" are usually slightly better for getting into sixth form than at RBS - but some have a change of direction at the end of year 11 and go to other performing arts schools.

See this thread: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/127-northern-ballet-school/page__hl__northern__fromsearch__1 I'll close this one!

I'd forgotten about this business of the new premises. We thought it was on the near horizon when ds auditioned 3 years ago, and I was hoping if he got a place there that they'd move into it sooner rather than later - but disappointing to see it didn't happen at all

Suzyq - have you tried posting on the Notapushymum forum? You'll probably find people with first-hand experience there

Ah yes Meadowblythe - I'd forgotten that the DaDA and the Diploma went together! My son opted for doing the Business GCSE rather than one of the A levels - so he's got A levels in Music and Dance and is now finishing his Diploma. Ultimately, if he wanted to do a degree course as a mature student the A levels won't matter too much - I work at a college where we take mature students dependent on their experience (as long as they've got some level 3 qualifications) rather than which subjects or how many points they actually got. Of course it would be different if he wanted to go to uni right now, but even then he'd be able to show that he had good reason for not studying 3 or 4 A levels. Would all depend what degree you wanted to do and whether you'd need specific subjects. Re-taking exams is tricky - as you say most places won't take you just to sit the exam, but if you wanted to do an evening course you could (I'm toying with the idea myself - shame that I don't get anything off the fees despite working there )

This is the Elmhurst info from their website about A levels: http://www.elmhurstdance.co.uk/sixth-form-academic.html Students also do a Level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance: "Sixth Formers study for the National Diploma in Professional Dance, awarded by Trinity College, London. This is a Level 6 qualification, which is recognised on the new Further Education Qualification Framework as the vocational equivalent of an honours degree. It consists of modules that are assessed both internally and externally and moderated externally throughout the three-year course." I'm not sure if they still do A level Dance too. I know it's important to consider what A levels are available but we quickly came to the decision when ds was applying for upper schools, that as his goal and reason for looking at these schools at all was to become a professional dancer, then the most important thing was to look at the dance training, facilities and prospects. It may be hard (and costly) to do academic qualifications later, but it is possible. A levels were way down on our list of priorities at this stage.

Welcome to the forum Tutugirl See - posting wasn't that scary was it?! Remember to search for topics you're interested in - unfortunately we had to move the forum so have lost a lot of "old" useful information, but this one's been so active recently we've covered lots of stuff already!

Moneypenny has summed it all up beautifully And as Spanner said - if you don't get in this year, everyone is encouraged to try again (OK, so my sceptical head says they'd like the audition fee ) as there are few places available and all children change all the time. My son tried for RBD JAs for year 4 having only just started ballet classes (gosh, over 10 years ago now ) and received a lovely letter saying to continue with his local teacher and they'd like to see him again next year. (I don't care if it was a standard letter, we liked it at the time!), got on the waiting list list the following year but was offered a place before the summer hols started, and the rest is history, as they say. Enjoy the experience which could turn out to be the start of a very winding, sometimes bumpy journey Also - a tip for parents - talk to other parents - some might become life-long friends (but avoid the ones who think their child's the next Darcey Bussell if you can )

Good question - so let's keep this thread for people who would like to comment on where they or their offspring are going for upper school/sixth form ballet training, and perhaps also a note to go with it saying what type of training they've had up to now (at full-time vocational school, local dance school, associate programmes etc). Please be as detailed or as vague as you feel appropriate!

It is a rollercoaster ride - but one that I wouldn't have missed for the world (and I hate theme parks ) - even with the awful homesickness and ds being assessed out - he and I have made wonderful friends along the way and had some amazing experiences which few are in the fortunate position to have. To a certain extent, like anything in life, you get out what you put in - so go in with your eyes wide open - help your child to see the positives in everything (applies whether they've got into a vocational school or not) and see what happens. I can't say that we were 100% sure that ds wanted a career as a ballet dancer when we set out (he was more certain by the time he stopped for a re-think in year 9), but what a wonderful time he's had finding out And yes, we've missed having him around terribly, but they get very long holidays and lots of weekends at home, so to be honest, sometimes I didn't really notice he wasn't here ~~~~~~~~~~ My (now 17) daughter was certain she wanted to be a ballet dancer at 11 - turned out she hasn't got the physique for it so I'm glad she didn't get in because she's found another vocation she's aiming for - but I'm glad we gave her the opportunity to try at the time.

For the benefit of others who I haven't sent PMs to - I agree with LTD that one of the main things to think about is where they'll be living. My son had also been away from home at vocational schools since he was 11, but I still wouldn't have been happy having him living in a hostel or even his own flat (if we could have afforded it) in London at 16. But then, my husband tells me I'm very "risk-averse" . Mind you, he might be a better cook by now if he had've done.......

I think true eating disorders at the schools are rare - and I have known students who have been sent home while they have local treatment, successfully I'm pleased to say. Aileen - just out of interest, do you have some expertise in this area?

Some friends and I have been having a discussion about our dancing children (and young adults) and the issue of body hair and I thought it was time to spread the debate wider Most photos of dancers show pretty hair-free bodies but do the ladies shave, wax or use cream? Do the men leave hair under their arm-pits or not? What about hairy chests/legs???? This might sound like a trivial discussion, but once we started talking about it we realised how many others were wondering the same thing but were afraid to ask

Also worth remembering that although being at a certain school can open some doors (like the fact that the ENBS students stand more chance of getting into ENB) - ultimately if you've gone to any of the good classical schools you will be in a good position to get auditions for jobs based on your CV and then it comes down to how you dance in front at the audition. We found it hard to turn down ENBS due to the reputation and it being closer to home, but there were other things I was concerned about and I really believe my son made the right decision to stay at Elmhurst. But everyone's different and likes different things about each school - you need to make a good "pros and cons" list.

Welcome follycat. I'll send you the same PM as I sent LivingtheDream I don't know where your daughter is training at the moment but be mindful that sometimes their teachers aren't always the best ones to ask as they often have an opinion based on history rather than current knowledge - in the end I think it comes down to "gut feeling".

Dancedizzy - I know what you're saying - but as I've said before I'd like this thread to stay as discussion about where the graduates have gone rather than the discussion around the training at the schools. This makes is easier for people to find the info they're after. Please start a new thread if you would like to continue the discussion about the pros and cons of the ballet training at Tring Park or any other school.

This makes me feel even more proud of the students I know who have been given one year (and longer) contracts and have been kept on by their companies I have certainly noticed that a lot of the auditions the students are going for are for short-term contracts - for one production. But often they are kept on for the next one, so there's no real break in their work. I suspect a lot of the graduates this year will be taking these types of jobs are there seem to be far fewer full company contracts on offer. Just how the world is at the moment I suppose - Arts funding cut everywhere.

Thanks for sharing this with us Tutoo2much. I have certainly advised friends who are starting out down the audition route to stop and think about whether they actually would be happy with getting the place and having their child away from home (not sure you'd have taken much notice of me by the sounds of things though ). As you say, it's very easy to get swept along with the whole thing. We certainly started out never believing our son would get a place anyway, so it didn't really matter - but he only auditioned for WL and it was his dream to be there, so despite the collywobbles when he did get in we were very happy. It probably helped from my point of view that I had two dancing children still at home - with my daughter in JAs and doing lots of festivals etc and me being very involved with the local dance school - otherwise I would have suddenly felt very cut off from my own hobby! In fact, I'm feeling a bit that way at the moment as my son is about to leave Elmhurst and my daughter will be going to uni next year - their dancing has been such a huge part of my life for so long, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do!!