taxi4ballet

There's one big difference though, isn't there? Students at vocational school can be afraid to speak up because they are scared stiff of losing their place at the school and having to kiss goodbye to any chance of a career. Having the courage to complain about a teacher at a vocational school is a whole different kettle of fish compared with complaining about one at the local comprehensive.

Gargouillades were once described to me as a small circling movement, like water going down a plughole, such as you would find draining out of the mouth of a gargoyle on a building. Hence the name - the French word for gargoyle is gargouille.

There was a tv documentary series about that ENB Nutcracker with Joe and Vadim in it, we did have the programmes stored on our digibox for a while, but they got culled by accident.

I have an angel in a burgundy dress on top of the tree, who looks remarkably like one of the angels who glide about like daleks in the RB Nutcracker.🤣

Well, with the repeated uncertainty over train strikes, the inability to get time off work on the right day, and now covid, I am missing seeing the Nutcracker altogether this year. Still... at least I can sit here looking at my Nutcracker-themed Christmas tree instead!

Tring Park School does weekly adult ballet classes on Saturday mornings. The towns are not that far apart, so there is probably a bus route.

Thanks, I haven't been keeping up to date with the whole thread, I just read the last few comments on the current page today. What a nuisance for him, hope he's soon on the mend.

What's happening with Bennet Garside, is he injured?

I think it is to do with the level of realism which can be left behind on stage when the pony departs!

Rosin can be a bit gritty so i'd steer clear of that anyway.

AD Christopher Marney. Good chap.

There are far more options available at 18+ for musical theatre, and I would suggest that she does stay on at school and do A-levels. Aside from everything else, that would give her UCAS points and enable her to study dance at university level. Dance courses at local colleges from 16-18 tend to be at at level 3 (equivalent to A-level standard) and are relatively basic level industry-wise, so few people would go on from that into their career. The courses are intended as a stepping stone into full-time training at 18 really. So to be honest, she would be better off doing A-levels and continuing at her current dance school. She could also look at workshops and holiday courses run by the professional dance colleges and places like Tring and Hammond. If she enjoys singing, she could join a local Rock Choir as well. There are no guarantees of a career in the performing arts however good you are, and it really does pay to have a Plan B (and possibly a Plan C too).

A friend of mine has a massage gun and she says it is brilliant.

Could you speak to one of the associate teachers and ask their advice as to which scheme would suit your dd better?

The OP is not in the UK, which explains the time difference.

If you don't mind travelling, then Tring CBA. They also do very good residential short courses that would be worth considering.

I'm not going for two reasons: 1 - the price of tickets. I absolutely cannot justify the expense of becoming a 'Friend' so once tickets finally become available to the general public, most of the reasonably-priced tickets are long gone. 2 - the ongoing rail strikes. I don't want to buy tickets months ahead, and then find I can't get there because there are no trains.

What is the plan B instead of a dance career? My suggestion is to go to a couple of auditions with a "Don't care if I don't get in because I'm planning on doing something else anyway" attitude, and see what happens.

Well, it appears that the first students to be affected are only now starting primary school, so the likelihood is that things will change again before then.

That makes economic sense really. They have made a colossal financial investment in all the costs of a new production and they need to recoup some of those expenses, otherwise spending that much money would be unfeasible.

So true!

One plus point that all former vocational dancers seem to have is determination and a strong work ethic.

I'm not misinforming, I'm talking about my dd's personal experience. I've had enough of this thread now.

If someone has used up two years' student funding on one degree, then they can embark on an entirely different degree, but they only have two remaining years' worth of student loan available. The third year would have to be self-funded. Not all that many people have parents who can afford to support their dc for another three years, and find the money to pay for their final year on top. Yes, anyone can do Open University courses, but doing it within three years would be a pipe dream for most. Again, the question of funding and having to earn a living rears its ugly head.

Not an easy watch for the ADs and the teaching staff at vocational schools either. I don't think it was a random coincidence, I think the timing of the broadcast was deliberate.