All4dancers

Happy birthday, merry Christmas and a huge thank you to you all. This forum has helped my dd enormously and is seriously a big part of our lives now!

We went to see the Nutcracker today, it was so, so lovely and the children were all wonderful

It certainly isn't just about whether dancers can do splits or not. My dd is very flexible and can do all splits, but didn't get through.

There are also monthly associate classes, for example MIDAS in Birmingham and Graham Fletcher in Leicester which may be worth you thinking about.

congratulations to your dd too Sparkledust - what year will she be?

Hi theballerinapointe, dd is intermediate level ballet and grade 6 modern. She is very flexible and can do splits to both sides and box splits, but has only been en pointe for about a year, so no fouettes en pointe yet! She said the ballet class for the audition lasted an hour and a half and was very basic, looking more at their technique than what they could do and the same with the modern class. I hope this helps.

Letters for 26th auditions for Hammond are out! My dd has been offered a year nine place. I'm so excited to tell her, she's at dance at the moment so won't know until 5 o'clock! This was the school she was hoping for, so her dreams are about to come true

It's funny to think our dds have been at two auditions together 4dancers - today at The Hammond and at Tring!

My dd auditioned for the Hammond today and also felt it went very well. They were very open about assessing out in yr9. They also said they didn't have a specific number in mind for each year group and although the girls boarding house is very full, they would fit people in if they were allocated a place.

It was a 'no' for my dd too for a yr 9 place, but she knew it would be so isn't too upset. A massive well done for all those with 'yes' letters. We know one potential Yr9 who got a call back. Good luck to everyone for finals!

I echo what Just Ballet says. It wouldn't do if we all had the same opinion, we need balanced views. Personally, I get so much from this forum; not just the invaluable support and advice all things ballet related, but through these posts I had my daughter's belongings sent to uni through a courier service and found out how to convert dvds into a format suitable to play on an ipad to name just a couple of things! So I feel sad when people feel they can no longer be a part of this community. Thank you moderators for this service.

aww, thank you! The thing that's made me even prouder is that when she got home from dance and saw the letter, she was absolutely ecstatic that she had even been offered a place and didn't get at all upset that she can't actually go, even though it would be her dream. Oh well, Hammond next. Would be grateful if you lovely people could keep your fingers crossed!

Letters are out for November 6th auditions. My dd got offered a year 9 place, but wasn't invited back for a funding audition, so sadly we can't accept. Still, I'm very proud of her and I think she will be happy to know they liked her.

Next time I pop in there for a sandwich and coffee, I will be thinking "hmmm, wonder if Fiz's daughter is in here"!

So pleased for your daughter Porthesia, it's soul destroying when you can't get work. My 16 year old dd has been to every likely and unlikely place she can think of to try to find a weekend job. On the plus side, my non-dd who's at uni has just got a Christmas job at Windsor farm shop. At the end of her shift she is given left over food that would otherwise go out of date, so that's extra good for a student!

If anyone has any tips on how to remove mould from the sealant around the shower tray I would be most grateful. I have tried all sorts of expensive cleaners and nothing works, I can remove mould from the grout but not sealant and it looks so awful.

I buy cheap supermarket home brand denture cleaning tabs and drop one down the loo last thing at night - gets rid of limescale a treat!

I have completely and utterly lost my voice - not good when you're a primary school teacher. And tomorrow I have to take dd to her Elmhurst audition. She will just have to do all the talking when buying train tickets, giving taxi drivers instructions etc. Ugh, so frustrating! Oh well, could be worse; could be dd who's not well.

I will admit to being totally naive about this subject, being very new to the ballet world, but I was wondering if British schools would produce more exceptional dancers if they were not so fixated on body type in very young dancers, but more their ability to dance? I'm not saying that the dancers that British schools produce aren't exceptional, just that there could possibly be more of them if body type wasn't such an issue.

Both my dds started off wearing ouch pouches, but when my youngest had her first fitting at Freed they said she would be far better off with either wool or wool pouches. She chose the latter and says she now feels much more in control of her feet when en pointe. Older dd now just uses a tiny amount of wool and tape if she gets a blister. She even says the thickness of her tights makes a difference! Her bloch b-morphs have got a bit of padding at the end though.

Whilst I would most certainly seek medical opinion on any injuries or symptoms my dd may develop in the future, I would also always ask forum members to share similar experiences.

My dd's first choice for lower school would be the Hammond. However, she would be absolutely over the moon to be offered a place at any of 'the big four'. She had her first audition at Tring on Tuesday and would've moved in there and then if asked!

It definitely works, but you're right it's only a temporary measure. Dd still had to have a new pair. The lady at Freed was quite happy that we had used it on dd's shoes, although she did say the main thing was good maintainance, eg, drying the shoes out properly after each wear which she didn't feel dd was doing. She recommended putting them in the airing cupboard (we haven't got one) or some other warm place.

my dd was literally only in the shop for about 15 minutes this morning because she was perfectly happy with her old pointe shoes, it was just that they had had it, so she just got the same size by the same maker and that was all there was to it. I wasn't with her, she was with her older sister and the only thing was that the fitter ripped the sole out of her old ones to make into soft blocks. However, she has an audition on Tuesday, so I hope to goodness she doesnt't have to do pointe work in it because I'm not with her to sew on ribbons etc!

Just been told that the rising sun maker has gone back to Japan, so will have to have a different maker next time dd needs new pointes