Mumofballetmaddaughter

Best of luck to your son Julie for a speedy recovery and hope the next few weeks go by quickly until he's home again.

Wishing everyone lots of luck for the new year ahead whatever they are doing and fingers crossed that the dancers stay injury free.

Hi Katymac IMO unless you are going to be in NY anyway, I would go with FelixGirl's suggestion of classes at Pineapple and Danceworks to see whether your daughter likes the style of American tap. It's a lot of expense if the experience doesn't meet your expectations. If your daughter is studying ISTD, she will find it very different. From memory, I think my daughter said American tap was flat footed (as opposed to flexing of the ankles) and a lot faster than ISTD, more like BBO. Apologies if this isn't correct as my memory is not what it should be these days! Daughter had studied ISTD for 11 years before starting American tap, which she did for 3 years alongside ISTD. She really enjoyed it as in her opinion it was a lot more jazzy. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I think exam results can be a bit of a lottery and cause upset at the time they are announced if they are lower than expected/deserved. In my experience this is usually short lived as after a few days, everyone moves on and past results are generally forgotten. Over the years, my daughter has had higher marks than she or I expected and vice versa so I suppose it balances itself out eventually. In the overall scheme of things, they are only a snapshot and both candidates and examiners can have off days. For her RAD Inter exam, many years ago, daughter had an examiner who was rumoured to be very harsh. We travelled to somewhere in the depths of Bristol and the examiner was the most miserable (daughter's opinion not mine) that she'd ever experienced. She wasn't hopeful of passing the exam as she felt the examiner was disapproving of everything she did. In the end, she got a merit so it was a lot better than expected. Rumour had it there was some controversy regarding the examiner's marking and it was reputed that she 'disappeared' from the exam circuit for a while. Never sure whether this was fact or fiction though. For her Adv 2, daughter had to travel to the Merseyside/Wirral area from Manchester. It was the middle of November, the exam time was 6pm and she was the only candidate. Her train from Manchester was late due to an incident on track, she was on her own and had no idea where she was going. Arriving with only minutes to spare meant there was no time for a warm up. She had to put her hair up and change on the train. Daughter ended up having a panic attack part way through the exam only the 2nd one (thankfully) that she'd ever had. The examiner who she'd at first thought was very stern turned out to be really lovely. She put her down on the floor, held her legs up (she thought she was about to faint) whilst daughter sweated all over her designer suit. When she'd recovered, she still had do the leaps, jumps, dance and pointe work. Daughter convinced herself she'd failed and refused to phone the school over the Xmas holidays to get her result. As she was so adamant she'd failed, I resigned myself to the fact I'd be paying for another lot of exam/pianist/hall fees during the next term. Surprisingly though, she got a distinction. I put it down to the sympathy vote and the examiner not wanting another ruined suit.

Thanks for posting the link Janet.

Hi BalletBloch, have sent you a PM regarding NBS.

Big congrats to everyone with a yes, such an exciting time for you all and so lovely to hear your good news. Fingers crossed for anyone still waiting and big commiserations to all those with a no at this time. Keep trying and enjoy the journey. Also a big well done to JA Dad for having such willpower and Belljul's son for great determination.

I felt the same as your parents do as living independently seemed to be a big step at 16. I have to say though that my daughter managed really well (although she was a year older at 17 when she went) in the accommodation, New Medlock House, that most at NBS used at the time. It wasn't cheap but it was very secure and only a few minutes walk away from school. Most of the time the students walked to and from in a group so they weren't alone. There was a free shuttle bus into the city centre just across the road from the accommodation and there is a train station, Oxford Road, just a few minutes walk away from school so it is conveniently situated.

Hi Pointetoes22 Not sure whereabouts in Devon you live but Totnes School of Dance offer a vocational dance course (30 hours per week) which is funded if you are aged 16 - 19. I know several girls who did the course and all were happy with the training they received. My daughter did several classes a week there and she also was happy with the teaching. I sympathise with you as living in Devon, it's not easy to access sufficient training and you do need to travel considerable distances. For several years I felt that we practically lived in the car. My daughter attended 4 dance schools, 3 of which were syllabus based and the other was free work, concentrating on performance. None of them individually could offer enough hours at advanced level. She was on the waiting lists for funding at Tring (classical course) and NBS but was unsuccessful at 16. She did get a funded place however the following year at NBS. Have you looked at the RAD website as they do various workshops/masterclasses. Not sure if Central still do their 'days of dance' as daughter did a couple of these in Truro, this was many years ago now though. If you can get the odd day or weekend in London, Pineapple and Danceworks offer ballet classes at different levels. My daughter has done both and recommends them but does prefer Pineapple. I would suggest that as you are aiming to be a classical dancer, you do as much ballet and pilates/body conditioning as possible whilst keeping your options open with regard to other dance styles just in case you need to change direction. Hope I've said something which helps and I wish you the very best of luck.

I've signed tonight as I feel so sorry for everyone who is affected by this. My daughter was fortunate to have finished vocational school in 2009 having received a dada for 3 years. Although her living and other expenses cost us a small fortune, she definitely couldn't have accepted a place without funding as under the new rules, we would have to pay full fees. The fact that so little importance and value is placed on classical/dance training by those not directly involved with it, still really annoys me. My daughter encountered a lot of negativity while she was at our local state comp as very few of her teachers were supportive of her ambition, most being quite dismissive. Her peers however, who were destined for uni, were given a lot of support. Almost 4 years on and my daughter is one of the few of her peers (from the comp) who has been in constant employment, paying tax.

My daughter attended NBS from 2006 - 2009 and I was impressed with the standard of tuition that she received. She followed the classical course for the duration of her time but also received excellent training in musical theatre although to a lesser extent than the students who were on the jazz course. A few students did 1 or 2 A levels at evening school but most didn't. The graduate success rate is high although the majority go into cruise ship work as opposed to classical companies or the West End. As funded places are like gold dust, I would put the A levels on hold until later if you seriously want to be a dancer. My daughter is currently working onboard a cruise ship but will be home for a break from the end of January until she starts rehearsals for her next contract at the end of February. If there are any specifics that you want to know, please let me know and I'll ask her while she's home. Her memory is far better than mine!! I wish you all the best with whatever you decide.

Many thanks to the committee, moderators and everyone involved in running the forum for doing such a brilliant job. Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and all the best for 2013.

Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and a happy and healthy 2013. Good luck to all those who have or are auditioning for next year. Fingers crossed for lots of success. Husband and I will be on our own this year as eldest daughter will be working on Christmas day and youngest will be dancing around the med. We have booked a Christmas break away but with the help of Skype, we will hopefully be able to see them both. Youngest daughter finishes her current contract at the end of January so we plan to have a family get together then.

Thanks for clarifying Ribbons.

Apologies for the stupid question (I've read some of the guidelines and have interpreted them 2 ways) Is it definitely the level of support for the whole tuition fee or just the student contribution and maintenance which will be determined by means testing?

Hi Katymac and welcome to the forum. My view would be to increase the number of ballet lessons, especially at inter foundation level if possible. I would drop the African dance and choreo class as your daughter's ballet technique needs to be as strong as possible for auditions. She's obviously very versatile with all the styles she does, and determined, to have got through the amount of ballet grades in such a short time. Most musical theatre schools require strong ballet technique and a lot of girls auditioning will be at Adv 1 level at the age of 16. Is it possible that your daughter could do Intermediate as well as her Inter Foundation classes. Pilates/body conditioning would be good too for her core strength. I can recommend Northern Ballet School in Manchester as my daughter went there from 2006 -2009. They do have an excellent success rate for graduates, mostly on cruise ships, a few into West End or touring productions and a few into overseas ballet/dance companies. Cruise ship work is a great life, my daughter is in her 4th year working onboard, but like all forms of dance employment, contracts are in great demand but short supply. The numbers auditioning for very few contracts are huge, especially at an open audition. Ballet generally forms the first part of an audition and if you don't get through this, then it's goodbye. Hopefully I've said something of help here. There are lots of very knowledgeable members on here so don't be afraid to ask any questions. I wish this forum had existed when my daughter had started out on this road. Unfortunately 18 years ago, we didn't have a PC and the internet was an alien concept to us. I love reading all of the posts and have learnt so much from others. I've come to the conclusion that I must have been totally clueless for most of my daughter's journey!!

Thanks lisadebs for posting the link. I've not got around to watching it yet but it's on the list for the weekend. I watched Anna Rose on youtube, (thanks Tulte) such a beautiful performance from one so young. It's lovely to hear success stories and here's hoping she has a very long and successful career. Best wishes also to everyone who will be watching their sons and/or daughters in their performances over the Christmas period. I'm sure there'll be lots of proud parent/family moments!

So sorry to hear your news C4D but the most important thing is that your daughter is happy and her health isn't being compromised. It must have been a very hard decision for your daughter to make but it shows real maturity and strength of character. As the path to becoming a professional dancer is a very long and arduous one often with many setbacks along the way, this isn't the end of the road, just a diversion at this moment in time. Wishing you both all the very best for the future.

If, as it sounds, your daughter has good quality local training, perhaps could she leave it a year and try again at 17 when she may feel happier at being away from home. Full time ballet training is hard physically and mentally and along with living independently for the first time, can put a lot of pressure on a young person, especially one who doesn't feel ready to cope with the demands of it. Writing down the pros and cons of going away versus staying at home may be helpful, as seeing things in black and white might help to clarify your daughter's thoughts. I wish you both the best of luck.

I've enjoyed listening to Darcey's comments so far and am pleased she's replaced Alesha. IMO she's a great asset to the judging panel as she gives good constructive advice to the contestants especially on posture. It was interesting to hear her advise one of the female celebs to pretend she was wearing a necklace to open up her chest area. My daughter's ballet teacher used to say this to all of her (girl) students from the age of 5 (the boys were told to imagine showing off a medal) I've watched every series and was sad to see Arlene dropped from the original lineup as in my opinion hers and Craig's comments were the only ones worth listening to. I didn't enjoy the show during the Alesha years as I found her very annoying and used to press the mute button during her comments. Nothing against her personally, I liked her as a performer but felt she didn't add anything constructive to the show. Overall, I don't enjoy the show as much as I did during the first few series as I feel it's become quite silly at times with cringeworthy VTs. I tend to record it now and fast forward to the dances and Craig and Darcey's comments. After Alesha's poor grammar and diction, I can put up with a few 'yeahs' from Darcey.

It's always worth reminding teachers who have a problem with a student taking classes at different schools, that you as the parent are the paying customer and as such it gives you the right to choose what is best for your child. Best of luck 2peas, hope everything works out well for your daughter.

My advice would be to let your daughter try other styles of dance that she is showing an interest in. At 9 she is very young to be limiting her options to ballet alone as so much beyond her control can prevent a career in it. Although her schedule is busy could you swap one or two lessons for a lesson or two of tap, modern and jazz. When my daughter was young, in addition to several weekly ballet classes, she did ISTD tap and modern (1 class per week) on alternate weeks and a 45 minute ISTD jazz class each week which was enough at a young age. Contemporary dance is another valuable skill to have (your daughter is possibly a bit young for this yet) and an increasing requirement when auditioning for contracts.

That's great news and lovely that your daughter has had such positive comments from her new teacher. I think it's a good idea to have set a time limit as being in limbo can be very unsettling. Best of luck to your daughter.

I can't add very much at all to the advice already given but if it was my daughter, I would put vocational school on hold for this year and try again next year. The uncertainty is probably not helping your daughter to settle into her new school. She obviously has talent and potential and her training so far must have been good enough to secure a place at Hammond this year. With regard to the messing around by some students, the issue is often resolved when subjects/students are streamed in later years. I will say that even with dada funding, my daughter's 3 years at vocational school cost us a small fortune as there were hidden/extra costs which we didn't factor in at the outset. I'd wouldn't like to think what an unfunded place from a younger age would cost. I wish you both all the very best with whatever you decide to do.

I donated in early August and didn't post then but feel the need to now as lots of others have and I don't want people to think I haven't bothered. Love the site, so many thanks to everyone involved with the running of it who all do a brilliant job.