Mumofballetmaddaughter

Never worn. Bought for an audition but not needed. Slight marks on the front of the right shoe and both heels, caused in storage. Soles and uppers are leather, soles are unmarked. Shoes are marked as 6.5 M (US) but the same size in the tan was worn by my daughter who is a 4 in ballet and pointe shoes and 4.5 in all other dance shoes. Would like £15 plus £5 postage.

Large dance bag with zipped top and flap with metal press stud fastening. 1 zipped pocket at each end and large zipped inner compartment on 1 side and 3 elasticated compartments on the other side. Adjustable shoulder strap with movable padded section. Bag measures 17" wide (not incl end pockets) 14" high and 8" deep. Very little use. All zips are working. Some minor marks on the front and back but otherwise in good condition. Would like £10 and £3.50 postage.

Hardly worn, in good condition. Would like £5 plus £3.50 postage.

Size 4 Sansha black practice skirt. 8 layers of net. Waistband unstretched is 24" circumference and length of top layer of net is 12". Previously worn but in good condition. Would like £20 plus £5 postage. The Sansha size guide states a 4 is equivalent to a US 4 so this would be around a UK 8 - 10.

Many thanks for all the work you've put in Julie (along with all of the mods) to help make this forum a wonderful resource. I've always enjoyed reading your posts which have been very informative and well reasoned. Wishing you all the best for the future and hope you still pop in.

Glad to hear your daughters are both doing well and enjoying life. Cruise ships can be a wonderful way for dancers to gain employment whilst seeing the world. An added bonus is not having to pay for food/rent etc. My daughter had a great time working onboard for 7 years and afterwards did the 3 month intensive professional dancers teaching diploma at the RAD. She now works as a freelance teacher and has more work offers than she can manage. At the end of February she opened her own school which is gradually gaining students. Good luck to you all for the future and I hope you pop back frequently as I've always enjoyed reading your posts. You always talk a lot of sense and give excellent advice.

I can't really offer much in the way of advice as we were lucky that my daughter's 3 year journey through vocational school (a long time ago) was a good experience for her and us. From what you describe, it doesn't sound as if the school is a nurturing environment and you don't come across as a hysterical mum! I would be very concerned about dancing in an unlit studio and the fear of retribution which isn't healthy for anyone, especially a young person. I would trust your instinct and try to encourage your child to think about the possibility of transferring to another school if possible. It is difficult however when dealing with a young adult who is determined to do it their way. I would just keep reiterating that it's ok to either transfer to a different school if possible or just walk away and try a different path. As I say it's not easy with a young adult as usually they know what a parent is saying is right but don't want to admit it. Wishing you both the best of luck.

Thank you for sharing your daughter's blog. Wishing you both all the very best for the future. Thanks also to Jan for posting the link.

Gosh, times must have changed since my elder daughter studied nursing. She was definitely the one with the vast collection of files.

One of my daughter's studied childrens nursing at uni, the other did a level 6 diploma in dance and the amount of theory differed greatly. One filled numerous shelves with files, the other barely filled one folder.

I'm now semi retired but have done some admin temp work through an agency. When I registered I was asked to do Excel and Word tests at the agency to determine the level I was at. As my previous role and level of responsibility was very different to the type of temporary work I was looking for, I was advised to do a skills based CV to focus on my transferable skills. There's a lot of info available online regarding how to write a CV and some free templates. It is surprising how many skills you build up just through everyday life, such as time management, multi tasking, communication, working on own initiative, budgeting etc. You could then list IT skills and any courses you've done. Do you have any employment agencies near you that you could contact for advice and a chat about the best way to find some work?

Not quite the ROH but during an evening perfomance in the West End last year I had the misfortune to sit behind a couple who were constantly stroking each others shoulders and nuzzling each others necks. To start with, I just put up with it thinking they'd soon stop but when one of them put her head on her partner's shoulder and the other inclined her head towards her partner, there didn't seem to be any sign that either had the ability or inclination to sit upright in their designated seats. I was faced with not being able to see anything apart from far left or right or inconveniencing the people behind me by constantly moving my head to see the centre of the stage. I had a polite word and asked if they could sit upright which after a bit of muttering they did. Can't understand how people can be so selfish and self absorbed that they are completely unaware of how their behaviour impacts those around them. Anyway, rant over!

So sorry to hear this Dramascientist but the good news is that your daughter is finding new things to focus on. Her health and happiness is the most important thing and I'm sure she will be successful in whatever she puts her mind to in the future. Also best wishes to you for what must be such an emotional rollercoaster and for sharing your thoughts so honestly. I'm sure you and your daughter will be an inspiration to others who may be in the same situation. Best of luck to you, your daughter and family for the future.

Wonderful news. Congratulations to your daughter and best of luck for the future.

I made an emergency box when my daughter went away (many years ago). It consisted of a toilet roll, shower gel, shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, small amount of cash, sainsburys gift card and some treats. She also took a screw driver for tightening/loosening the taps on her tap shoes. Not very exciting but all came in handy at some point during her time away. I wish everyone going away the very best of luck for the future.

From what you've described, I don't think your daughter's current school bodes well for the future and echo the advice already given to move sooner rather than later. Your daughter is very young and as such will most likely adapt to the change quite quickly. I can't help with recommendations as I don't know the area but doing a search on Netmums or on the various ballet syllabi websites for accredited teachers in your area might give you a few schools/teachers to check out. Good luck in finding somewhere more suitable.

You do still need to go to a checkout but only to transfer the scanned items onto a till system prior to payment. Tesco has a separate area for these tills although I'm not sure about other supermarkets as it's only Tesco in our area that has them. I found it took a little getting used to as I seemed to take ages getting around the store however the positives for me are not having to load and unload the conveyor and as there's a running total, no nasty surprises when it comes to paying!

I usually do scan and shop at Tesco so have to scan my clubcard to access a scanner. As Tesco probably know more about me than the government, I find it ironic that when purchasing alcohol I always have to have an assistant confirm I'm over 18. When I queried this a few years back, the reason stated was that anyone under 18 in my household could have 'borrowed' my clubcard to buy alcohol. As my shopping is always £70 minimum, I couldn't imagine my daughters, had they been under 18, spending that amount to get a bottle of low alcohol wine.

Or when you click on the 'I am using my own bag' which may already have something in it purchased from another store, triggering a message to remove the offending item.

Also factor in the cost of watching end of term/year shows, ie tickets, travel, accommodation if required and meals. Then there can be physio costs or health insurance policies. I decided not to take out a policy (it wasn't a requirement of the school) but pay for private physio if needed. Thankfully daughter only needed a couple of courses of physio during the 3 years. There may be costs for extra lessons and entry fees for vocational exams. All the hidden extras that you may not think about at the outset can add up considerably. Sorry for sounding like the voice of doom!!

Congratulations and well done to your daughter. What a wonderful achievement and such a lovely inspiring story about her journey which I'm sure will give a lot of hope to others who have had the 'not this time' results. Wishing her a happy and healthy career.

Hi Dancer123, my advice would be to continue for as long as your daughter wants to and you have the time and money to do so. I think I always felt the disappointment far more than my daughter did but I have to say that the more rejections she got, the tougher I got, to the point of being quite blase by the time she was an adult and was still auditioning!! The odds of being accepted onto the RB associate schemes are so small that your daughter did extremely well to be on the SWL in a previous year. Just because it's a no this time doesn't mean it will be next time. Even for those children who make it all the way through the RBS there are no guarantees of success. My daughter, now in her late twenties, tried every year from JA through to SA and never made it past the waiting lists. She did gain a place to the junior summer school after being on the SWL one year but there have been many, many rejections along the way, far more than the successes. She auditioned for upper schools but didn't make it off the waiting list for funding for Tring and NBS so auditioned the following year and gained a funded place at NBS. Although my daughter didn't achieve her dream of being a classical dancer, she has had a very successful dance career and has danced all around the world doing ballet, tap, jazz, ballroom and latin. After dancing continually for 8 years, she decided to give up travelling and retrained last year at the RAD on the professional dancers teaching diploma course and now has registered teacher status. She now teaches in several schools in London and occasionally dances at corporate and promotional events when it fits in with teaching. Hopefully my long winded response shows that a rejection from the RBS does not mean it's the end of the dream. I wish your daughter the best of luck for the future.

Sorry to hear this Lisa. Blackie had a good life full of love and care and you were both able to comfort her until the very end. Thinking of you and Sean at this sad time.

Thank you for the info Michelle. I will let my daughter know.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated