Picturesinthefirelight

I was going to ask about that as I'm sure that I read a couple of years ago following an inspection/re-evaluation of how things were done, that Year 7's were no longer going to be assessed out and I am glad to find that is still the case.

The Tiller girls renowned. Semi-professional indeed!

I agree with Margarite, they can see their technical skills in class. In terms of the dance solo they really like to see children "perform" and show their love of dance. For the song they want to see that someone will have a go. It is a dance course with a huge emphasis on classical ballet but they wll take on children who have potential in other areas. My daughter knew her ballet was not her strongest point so she concentrated on trying to give the best vocal performance possible on her audition. (She did Quiet from Matilda which was fairly new out back then). Castle on a Cloud and Where Is Love are mind numbingly popular as audition songs and something else is a nice change but it won't go against you. (But please no She Used to Be Mine - its so age inappropriate)

There are also some fantastic adult tap classes run by Get Tapping at Penkhull Village Hall, Stoke-on-Trent on Wednesdays 7pm Level 1 &.45pm Level 2 (experienced tappers only, my daughter is Adv1 and she finds it a challenging class)

The info is mostly on the the Jubilee 2 booking website but it is quite difficult to find in amonst all the general fitness/conditioning gym stuff. The daytime classes are all for adults I'm not sure about the evening classes. They are fairly new to the timetable. Friday 11.30 - 1.00 pm Back to Basics Ballet (Beginners) Friday 1.00-2.30 pm Show Dances (Mazurka, Polka, Czarda, Polonaise etc) Saturday 9-10.30 Pro Ballet (over 14's are allowed in this class but the main attendees are adults, often ex dancers, teachers, older students etc) 10.30-11.30 Dance Stretch (as above) The Cardio Dance class at 11.30 is a mix of kids and adults

I don't think they even look at exam results until after a student has been admitted and then if its a school that offers the vocational grades to their students its purely to know which level class to put them in due to the exam board pre-requisites.

The link won't load for me. But are Daniel Jones classes in Newcastle-under-Lyme on it?

Yes tendu is a make dd has had.

Not Silky - they ladder as soon as you look at them. Dd generally goes for Bloch or one of the brands that Freed sell (sorry cant remember she buys them herself now)

I would wholeheartedly endorse what 2dancersmum says about going to the CDMT conference. I felt it was of much more value than Move It (which was fun but noisy!)

There is a last Lower School audition at Hammond on 5th March. MDS recalls are 20th March so there is time (just)

British Theme parks (Alton Towers etc)

For musical ensemble roles sometimes the ability to blend and hold a harmony line is more important than having the most powerful voice. Its very difficult to predict though. Currently the West End is full of small ensemble casts with chorus covering lead roles. But 42nd Street only recently closed which had a large chorus of tappers. And I guess Mary Poppins will have a fairly large dance chorus.

I’ve provided kids for supernumerary roles (extras) on tours before and occasionally amateur adults (usually parents of the kids or adult amateur class participants. It’s always been unpaid work. Ellen Kent touring Opera & Ballet productions use them & the last tour of Evita did.

You must be fairly near to where I live then. Do you mind saying which is the non qualification teaching qualification college).

Also I understand you may not want to give specific details on a public forum but a rough idea of which area you are in might help posters suggest local options for you?

How old is he? It would be usual for a teacher to choose/choreograph the dance. Is the teacher perhaps not supportive wioth the application?

As Anna says For most Lower School auditions I believe students tend to use either a dance they have competed with in a festival (if they do festivals) or their most recent exam variation.

To add to 2dancders post about Hammond- If your dd is really not keen on doing A levels at all she could do a btec in music or fitness teaching qualifications instead alongside the diploma. I beleive that KS dance isn't funded though they have scholarships - but at least there she would be working towards the Trinity Diploma as wll as the teaching qualifications. I've heard really good things about Preston College. There is also a great triple threat MT (free) Btec course at The Academy for Perfoming Arts in Staffordshire and I believe they have arranged Homestay for students in the past. Don't worry too much about being near London. The agents/industru professionals often travel up North to lead workshops and run casting days and the good colleges hold London showcases.

Hi, my daughter is a year older than yours and currently in her first year of a Level 6 diploma. Shed had had a few injury and other issues in Year 10 and we initially felt that she wasn’t ready so she applied to a local Btec course (run by an excellent local dance school, I wouldn’t touch the normal FE college one); also a private school that combined A levels/Btec with dance training. The plan was A Levels/Btec then apply at 18. However following feedback from current teachers she also applied to two L6 Dada Colleges. She was going to apply to Arts Ed 6th form but decided against for reasons of location, finance and academic choices. She was probably the person in her Year who applied to the least amount of places! Partly because she didn’t want to go to London at 16. I don’t know which college your dd applied to and was rejected from but there are certainly a few I don’t think would have taken dd as they are all very different. I’m fairly sure she would never be a Laine or Urdang girl for example but possibly Bird or Performers had she been willing to go to London, there are also places like Bodyworks, Wilkes Academy, Masters etc. Dd was accepted at Hammond & SLP (who offered useful on the day feedback) & also the school (but with only a small scholarship so unaffordable). So definately cast your net a little wider. We were told at one audition (& dd observed it at others) that the auditions were pitched around Intermediate Level. Some were stronger in ballet, others stringer in jazz or commercial. There are many on dd’scoirse who are 18 and she came across many older auditionees. I would wholeheartedly 110% endorse what Anna said about unregulated colleges not offering any qualification. Injury can happen at any time. Saying that you don’t get a qualification from a foundation course but they can be very worthwhile as long as you can afford the fees for students who aren’t quite ready yet.

It's pretty muchimpossible to correct posture and alignment over the internet. You need a teacher's eye to see exactly what the student is doing and to be able to make the (sometimes small but vital) adjustments.

A multiple champion in what? Ballet is often seen as the core/foundation of all dance and most serious dancers take ballet even if they specialise in other genres. A good teacher will work on correct technique and alignment but these are not necessarily the things that win competitions. Its slow and steady towards an end goal of excellent technique and musicality that can be sustained over a period of time. For example it is preferred that a dancer has a lower leg but correct hip placement rather than the leg up by the ears which looks good. I'm a lot further North but we paid around £30 an hour for private lessons for my daughter (plus the cost of studio hire) who was in a vocational school. For my son who is a recreational dancer but a late starter I pay £20 per hourat his usual dance school. But I would advise trying to find at least a weekly or twice weekly ballet class if possible.

There are no details at all on fees at Momentum. I'll be perfectly honest and say that my opinion is that as you have already spent two years at a private college then you could just be constantly spending money for no real gain. I would go for somewhere like Preston or an institution offering a funded qualification ove4r and above an unaccredited college any day unless you are purely wanting the teaching qualification. I'm not an expert on Advanced Learner Loans but at least repayments are income dependent unlike Career Development loans. I'm sairly sure they won't affect HE funding as they are often used for Access courses. DaDa funding is dependent on family income unfortunately so your mum's partner's income will be taken into account. The age lmit for Dada is is you have to be 23 or under at the start of your course. You get no help if the family income is over £90,000 per year.

Would your family income entitle you to feel support under the DADA scheme? Certainly when we were looking living and accommodation costs were a lot less in Leeds & Chester than further south.

Ini which case you need to push for the dance clinic. Print out the information from the website and ask for a referral to Dr Roger Wolman's Dance Injury clinic. If its anything like Birmingham the initial assessment should be done by Dr Wolman and he would then pass you on to one of his team of physiotherapists etc for treatment (depending on what is decided)