aileen

Hmm, I think that quite a lot of so called freelancers would be regarded as employees by a tribunal or HMRC. It's a way of avoiding a lot of employee benefits including maternity rights and pension contributions. One of the distinguishing features of an employer-employee relationship is that organisation or person engaging the person has a high degree of control over how the person does his/her work. There's a lot of information on the HMRC website about this.

But surely professional dancers don't wear pants under their leotards when they are performing and these days much modern choreography is danced bare-legged. And when I have seen photographs and seen dancers live it's pretty clear that there is nothing more than a very small liner in the crotch area. Really, these leotards are pretty thin and pretty skimpy. Perhaps that's why student dancers are expected to get used to wearing leotards without pants underneath. I don't know why leotards can't be made with better lining and / or why the schools can't commission the manufacturers of dance wear to develop an appropriate range of low cost underwear for the student dancer.

I certainly think that your daughter needs to consult a doctor about this as three nosebleeds in one day seems excessive in the absence of an injury to the nose.

And adding to Moomin's points, children and teenagers do not spend as much time outside because of parental fears about safety (traffic plus stranger danger) and all the indoor attractions of computers, DVDs available these days. On top of that, more children travel around by car and there has been a move towards organised (and often indoor) activities for children and away from unstructured time spent outside in the street or local park.

At many studios there are a lot of classes at the lower grades but once you reach the higher grades there may be only one, or two at best. I don't know where betterankles is, but I live in London and as far as I can tell very few classes at most studios last longer than an hour even at the higher grades. I wonder whether betterankles is talking about one of the 'Russian' schools. I'm not saying that there aren't schools that can provide the number of hours which s/he mentions but I think that they are few and far between. It's a matter of economics. There are far more children at the lower end of the grades and it's not financially prudent to have too many sparsely populated classes; time is money in a business providing a service and ballet schools are businesses.

People overstate the usefulness of UCAS points from dance and music exams. The more highly ranked universities just ask for grades at A Level. Similarly, extra-curricular activities are given little weight for most courses and most universities. Lower offers will not be made and lower grades will not be accepted because the applicant has passed dance or music exams or has done extra-curricular activities eg CCF or DoE. The universities are looking for academic ability and a passion for the subject to be studied. In the case of highly competitive courses such as medicine and vet science some work experience is expected. I'm with ParentTaxi - and I'm not a teacher. I think that there is a difficult balance to be reached between emphasising the importance of a child reaching his/her academic potential (because this is what is likely to give that child the most options) and supporting that child's aspirations to pursue a career as a performer, sportsman/woman etc. Some highly academic and motivated children can spend a great deal of time in the studio without it impacting on their academic grades but the vast majority can't and it seems reasonable to me that a responsible teacher would have a tactful discussion with the child and his/her parents about the balance to be struck between school work and his/her training in the field concerned. Let's not forget either that in most schools teachers are heavily scrutinised on the results that their own pupils achieve in public exams and that schools in turn are judged by Ofsted (and the general public) by their academic results.

Seren also performed with Dane Hurst's company at Dulwich Picture Gallery last week. It was a series of performances inspired by Winifred Knight's painting The Deluge which was one of the pictures displayed as part of an exhibition devoted to her work this summer.

Not quite the same thing, and hi-jacking this thread somewhat, but I just had my first (adult) tap lesson this evening. Boy it's hard and that's just the basics! I'm going to have to get some help from my daughter who has been doing tap for quite a few years.

I think that this arrangement evens things up somewhat. Central does not have an associated company and its historical association with NB seems to have weakened in recent years. Students at the RBS, Elmhurst and ENBS all have opportunities to dance with their associated companies in their last year or two of upper school. Tring also provides students for certain ENB productions but that is only the younger students. And New Adventures is only taking two Central graduates a year, isn't it? Central is hardly scooping up all the contracts through this partnership.

Ooh, I wondered what had happened to Isaac L-B.

It's worth encouraging Sean to look at Ulster again. Going with a group can negatively influence a person's view of the place if the most powerful / influential member of the group takes a dislike to it. I wonder whether this is what happened two years ago. Apart from anything else, you aren't going to get a proper feel for a place if you don't have a proper look round and so he should give the place another chance. Sean has to decide whether he wants to go to a local university, in which case he appears to have only two choices (one apparently much harder to get into than the other), or whether he is prepared to go further afield which means living away from home, at least during the week. Those are the two options and he has to work with them. Perhaps Ulster isn't exactly what he wants but it might be the best option taking everything into account, or his only option if he is unwilling to leave home and doesn't get a place at Stranmillis. This is an important lesson for young people to learn: you can't always get what you want but you can still be successful / happy / fulfilled etc if you approach what you can have with a positive attitude.

Sean may have good reasons for not agreeing to his friend moving in with you. I would trust his judgment on this.

Well, the DWP (or its equivalent) must be much more lenient in NI than in England. In England, Sean's friends would not be able to just hang around doing nothing. If they were not making strenuous efforts to get a job and were turning down jobs that they were capable of doing they would be subject to benefits sanctions which can last months. But perhaps his friends are funded by their parents. I agree with orchidblue. Don't let Sean do nothing. You can't afford it anyway. If he's not studying then he needs to get a job and contribute to the costs of the household. Perhaps a dull job will give him the motivation he needs. If not, then it is the life which he has chosen to lead. You can't live his life for him. You can only encourage and advise.

I dread the annual check-up for my cats. I can usually manage to lure them into the house at the right time but getting them into the pet carrier is often a nightmare. Last year I had deep scratches on my wrists from a reluctant cat who fought me tooth and nail when I tried to put him into the carrier. I just book two in (we have three cats) and take whoever I can catch on the day. I then take the third in on a later date because two's all I can cope with in one day. One receptionist at the vet told me that some clients just catch their cat one day and then ring up and try to squeeze in an appointment for their cat.

Lisa, please don't take this the wrong way but I feel that it is you that is interested in Sean going to university rather than Sean. He really needs to be the one to drive this. As others have said, a three (or four) year degree is a huge commitment, and not just financially. Unless things are different in Northern Ireland, whatever loans and grants Sean would have access to will almost certainly leave some sort of a shortfall which he would have to make up by working, certainly during the holidays and probably during term time as well. You really need to have a passion for your subject otherwise you won't do the work to get a good class of degree. Students have to be highly motivated; it's not like school or college where you are nagged and cajoled by teachers and tutors. As Hull has said, there are options other than open days. Actually, most universities give very detailed information about their courses, accommodation etc on their websites and many have virtual tours as well. I think that many international students don't visit the university which they attend before they arrive at the beginning of their first term. In England, many schools arrange group visits to a selection of universities, by coach or train, and I imagine that transport costs are covered or subsidised by the schools or possibly the schools can access travel grants from the universities. Whilst the course is obviously very important so is the location of the university. You mentioned London. London is a very expensive place to be a student and it is a rather different experience to being a student anywhere else because of the sheer size of London. Your friends may end up living an hour and a half away from you once you move out of student halls (which are also very expensive - there was a protest by UCL students a year or two ago). Even outside London the cost of accommodation can vary quite widely from place to place with some perhaps less glamorous cities proving surprisingly expensive certainly when it comes to student accommodation. As someone else has said, Sean can go to university any time. He may be more receptive to the idea in a couple of years time, and for some young people going a few years later when they are more mature and more certain about what they want to study results in a better university experience. I won't deny that teenagers are hugely influenced by their peers when it comes to university. If all your friends are going then you will probably want to go too. Conversely, if none of them are going then you may find it hard to envisage doing something that no-one else is doing, particularly if it involves you moving away from home and leaving your friends behind.

Yes, definitely speak to someone in the pastoral team tomorrow morning. I'm sure that s/he will be very sympathetic. I don't know your particular circumstances, and so perhaps it's not appropriate for you to discuss your feelings with your mother / grandparents, but if you were my daughter I'd want to know if you were unhappy. However, you may have sound reasons for not wanting to share your troubles with your family.

Agree about the audience participation. However, holding one of the drawing boards (you are invited to draw during the performance) may make you less likely to be chosen. The 'dancing' which I referred to (I was one of the ones selected) was a couple of minutes moving slowly in a sort of very, very basic waltz (so nothing scary).

I saw this last night. It's not like anything that I've seen before. Bruce Marriott gives a good account of it in the DanceTabs review which appears in today's Links. It's quite a big production with 16 dancers including Dane and a percussionist who performs part of the score. He makes the most of the long central gallery. It was amazing to be so close to the dancers. There's a certain amount of audience 'participation' ie giving the audience members bundles of clothes to hold, touching and dancing with certain audience members. It was great to see Dane again. He danced a couple of duets and, luckily for me, I was standing right by him for these. An interesting evening inspired by Winifred Knight's painting The Deluge.

Tickets will almost certainly appear close to the performances and perhaps even on the day of the performances themselves. I suspect, from the seats which become available (ie good stalls and first/dress circle seats) that tickets are held back for major donors, VIPs etc and are put on sale if they are not taken up. Ticket agencies also return unsold tickets shortly before the performance. So keep checking the Wells website. Something will probably come up.

I saw CC there last night. He seemed to be in a very good mood.

I saw programme B last night. Open Door (Ronald K Brown), whilst pleasant enough, outstayed its welcome after a while. It didn't seem to offer much beyond lots of dancers dancing as individuals and occasionally in couples to some jolly 'Latin' music. I much preferred Piazzolla Caldera (Paul Taylor). There was more variety in mood (lovely score) and choreography with a complex and interesting structure and some beautiful partner work. I was interested to see how well Revelations was received by what I assume was a largely atheist audience. Spirituals and gospel music are not nearly as familiar to British audiences as they are to audiences in the US where this type of music is an integral part of the culture. The work was in fact very well received. The highlights for me were the opening, Fix Me Jesus and Sinner Man.

Hmm, rather risky to have only four casts covering such a long run. Another couple would have been prudent, IMO. What's everyone else going to be doing this autumn?

Yes, and Royal Ballet of Flanders also has a contemporary choreographer, who has his own company as well, as its AD. Unsurprisingly, it is doing a lot of contemporary work but still stages one or two classical pieces each year. Rather oddly (IMO), it's putting on Spartacus this season which doesn't seem an obvious choice for the company. Are Berlin audiences more conservative than, say, Stuttgart's and Hamburg's?

What a wonderful story, and that oncologist is a wonderful doctor and human bring. So kind and generous of you to pay tribute to the other children and teenagers who sadly did not make it.

MB, I think that you were the one who was worried about your son's height and posted something to that effect two or three years ago. Several of us assured you that he would grow and indeed he did. Boys can have their growth spurts very late. My son's friend did not have his until he was over 16 but he is now over six feet tall.