All4dancers

15 people on the panel - that must have been truly nerve wracking! I have really enjoyed following your dds stories, thank you for sharing. The very best of luck, do you know when you will find out?

Oh thank you so much for replying. I will try to stop worrying so much now!

Good morning everyone! My dd has extremely 'clicky' joints. It sometimes seems that she only has to move and you hear a click! She has absolutely no pain when this happens, but I can't help worrying slightly (yet another thing to worry about) as it does seem excessive. Before an audition yesterday, she began gently warming up and her clicking joints seemed to positively echo around the room, attracting quite a number of raised eyebrows from other parents. Is this normal? Does anyone else experience this? I have tried looking it up on the internet, but the answers are pretty vague and mostly refer to this in relation to pain and lack of mobility which is not relevent in my dd's case.

Three years ago, I noticed that my older dd (who doesn't want to be a dancer, but takes classes just for the sheer love of it) was beginning to develop scoliosis. The doctors said we must just watch and wait and over the next couple of years, I watched as her spine became more and more twisted. However, she continued to dance and although her breathing became affected, she retained good mobility. Last year, her curve became so bad she had a major operation which involved a bone graft and rods and screws to straighten her spine. I knew this was necessary, but couldn't help but be heartbroken, knowing how much she loved to dance and thinking that this wouldn't be possible at least not for a year or so. After her operation, the physio remarked that she had made one of the quickest recoveries that she'd ever seen. I'm positive that this was due to the strength ballet had given her and the physio agreed. She had the op on the Tuesday and was home 3 days later. 6 weeks after, her consultant agreed that she could begin gentle barre exercises again. 8 months after her operation, she took part in her dance school show and unless you looked closely and saw her scar, you would never think that she had had such an operation. I think that the time she spends at ballet classes has certainly paid off!

I go through stages of intense worry over the amount of time my dd spends dancing. I also know that friends and family members think that it's all a bit over board. I also worry that she is absolutely obsessed with dance, but she says it's a part of her. I was some way reassured last week when her head master invited her for an interview after being asked to sign a license for her. He asked her how many hours a week she danced and apparently didn't look at all disapproving when she told him. He showed a genuine interest and talked with her at some length. One of the things he asked her was did she have to make sacrifices. She replied that dance was her life, so there were no sacrifices. He finished the interview by telling her how impressed he was with her dedication and committment and that she was exactly the type of pupil they wanted! It was lovely to feel that someone outside the dance world was being supportive.

I would recommend 4 dance, Walton on Thames. I take both my dds there to be fitted - expert fitting and they even pick you up from the train station!

Anjuli, I laughed so hard at this that the cat fell off the arm of the sofa!

Thank you for that explanation. I was also wondering why oversplits were practised and now I understand

Hope you and your dds are ok.

Good luck to your dds for tomorrow!

Thank you Dancerbabe82, she will be 12 next month.

The Newark Associate scheme does look very good, but is held in an out of the way village, so though quite near, too hard to get to for us

Yes, my dd is . Does anyone know what the audition involves?

Hi Smallbythesea, I was also at York to see BRB yesterday with my 2 dds. I totally agree with you - it was absolutely fantastic! I really wasn't expecting to enjoy Lyric Pieces, yet it moved me beyond words and when I looked at my youngest dd, she actually had tears in her eyes! All the performances were brilliant in our opinion.

Wow, she is fantastic! I'm hoping that she will inspire my dd to practise her violin more

sorry for the disappointing news today. Best of luck for tomorrow. Will be keeping fingers crossed!

My dd does BATD ballet at one school and RAD at her other. They seem quite different, but pretty well matched in terms of level grade for grade if that makes sense.

Out of all the great number of body shape/size issues that could potentially present problems for a classical dancer (including the development of scoliosis for my dd) I think too large breasts is one that she need never worry about if our genes are anything to go by

I think all children under the age of 16 need to have a parent/guardian staying with them

O is for 'over the moon' when you get that 'yes' letter. O is also for over-time (needed to pay for everything!)

I love this thread! I think I will download The Hunger Games to read when I go on holiday. I have just finished reading My Dear I wanted to tell you (Louisa Young). Not terribly exciting, but poignant and beautifully written.

I would agree with you Anjuli. My dd's feet sometimes appear almost disproportionately large in everyday life at the moment. She is eleven and I think she just needs to grow in to them! However, they have very good arches and are also strong; when she dances, people comment on how lovely her feet are, showing that she uses them well. I actually thought maybe she danced well because she had plenty to balance on!

The letter has just arrived - a very happy little dancer gone off to dance this morning!

Hi Millie It was more a little demonstration of what each class had been learning really. I think we were just invited for an hour on the Friday afternoon and after that we took the children home.

I think some of the older ones stayed until the Saturday morning last year, but most I think went home on the Friday after the performance for parents.