All4dancers

Streetbeat dance and Fitness Ltd in Lincoln do very good adult classes in ballet, tap and Jazz PM me if you want any more info. I don't think Jo Haylock does adult classes but is very good for children.

She knows a couple of dancers already there that will be in year 9 when she starts. She met them at nyb and they have put her in touch with other children from the school through facebook. Congratulations to your sister, I bet you'll miss her though. Perhaps if they would like, we could link up your sister and my dd through email or facebook before they start.

Hi, my dd was also offered a year nine place at Hammond, which we accepted. We're worried that her school hasn't received the papers yet, but other people who were at her audition have already done them some time ago. I have tried ringing Hammond on several occasions, but I'm always told the lady who deals with this is unavailable, so my dd is worried that her place will be taken away, or that she won't be considered for funding as she hasn't done the tests.

I totally agree with both sides of this discussion. My dd is 12 and is due to go away in September and although in some ways it will tear me apart (she is the youngest of 5, 3 of whom have already left for university), I know it's what she wants to do more than anything. We are taking it on a yearly basis. We have had many long discussions and I'm sure we'll have many more before she goes, I don't even know if I'll be able to afford for her to go for more than a year, she may be assessed out or she may decide it isn't for her. The thing is, we will never know unless she tries. At the moment,it is so hard getting her to her classes each evening after a long day at work and for her having to constantly miss out on parties etc, but when I'm in town and see her friends hanging around with their 'boyfriends' and messing around, I often think to myself I'm glad she's got something worthwhile to apply herself to and even though I'm aware that she will face some of the same pressures at vocational school and probably many more besides, at least she will be with people who understand her. Saying all that, I guess come September, there'll still probably be times when I'm crying on all your virtual shoulders!

Hi Smallbythesea, I have a feeling that your dd is auditioning for the same school as mine did. I just went out to the music shop a couple of days before the audition and bought a song book with cd as suggested above. DD is not really a singer, she is has a sweet but not strong voice, so chose a song she could also act out - I think it was from the Sound of Music. Anyway, she got in. Good luck to your dd. When is the audition?

Lovely news after what must have been a very stressful few weeks. Well done to your dd.

My dd also loved her Freeds but was killing them after only a few classes, so in desperation went over to Bloch, hoping for B-Morphs as this is what her sister has and these seem to last a good while. However, dd's feet are very strong with very high arches, narrow heels but very wide across the metatarsals (she refers to them as dinosaur feet!). She was eventually fitted with Bloch Synergy which are extremely hard but a very good fit and these seem to be lasting.

She really is super talented! I wonder if perhaps she is well enough to watch her ballet class and perhaps sketch some of the dancers? Hope she feels better soon.

My dd would say yes. I don't even think it's a choice; it's an absolute vocation.

a girl from my dd's (academic) school was there and she is definitely not vocational and also a lower grade than my dd.

my dd started Latin when she was four and did it right up until she started ballet at aged nine. Her ballet teacher then advised that it would perhaps be wise to stop Latin as she found it really hard to keep her hips still in ballet, so perhaps Latin is one to keep away from?

Hi, If I remember rightly, recall letters were sent out about 10 days after audition. Younger children who are not in main cast can board if it is a problem travelling and if there are boarding places available.

I think modern is a good addition to ballet and contemporary.

children are more likely to be challenged than in their everyday classes, they meet new people and can gauge themselves against others of a similar age.

signed it xx

My dd was also offered an unfunded place at Tring that we had to turn down, but that was right back in November, there would have been loads of dancers after her that were equally good or better that they hadn't yet seen. Of course, I'm not bringing her or anybody else down (she was also offered a place at Hammond), but they must offer far more places than they've got, knowing that a great many won't be able to afford them or would take up offers elsewhere funded or otherwise. The same goes for Hammond - she personally knows 3 other girls from her audition that were also offered year 9 places. Two of them were then also offered MDS places at Elmhurst which they accepted and are both due to start after half term. I don't know how they gauge how many places they can offer? I do agree though that to be offered a place at any of the schools is surely a validation of talent. The thing is, there are just so many talented young dancers out there, so in actual fact, the ones that take up the places could be equally as good as those that had to turn them down. I don't know, I'm absolutely confused by the whole process, so sorry for waffling!

I would say a good summer intensive is definitely better for developing and improving technique, but NYB is such a lovely performance experience and I can't help but feel sad dd isn't doing it this year.

The first year my dd went to YBSS, she hadn't even taken the her G4 which was the minimum requirement. However her ballet teacher wrote a letter about her ability and there was no problem. This year, I just wrote a covering note saying that she was dancing at intermediate level and you can include details such as associate classes on the form.

Just to add, I think another thing that the NYB summer school was really good for was having a taster of what it would be like to go away to vocational school. My dd had done YBSS for 2 years, but had her own room there. At Tring, she had to share a dorm with 5 other girls and from what I can make out, things didn't always go smoothly. She witnessed a couple of other girl's severe home sickness and also I think there was some falling out that although she wasn't directly involved with had of course an effect on everyone else in the dorm due to their close proximity. Quite a big lesson to learn to be sympathetic whilst not getting involved at that age I think and hopefully, one that will stand her in good stead when she goes away in September. The house parents were brilliant and really looked after the children.

Hi Danceroo, my dd did NYB last year and loved it. The performance was absolutely fantastic and professional and well worth seeing even if you didn't have a dc in it. I don't know the exact number who auditioned, but there were loads for I think about 90 places, I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Many of the dancers were from vocational schools, or at least associates, but my dd wasn't, so don't let that put you off. Younger dancers tend to get only a very small part. My dd was originally only in one dance, but was given another part at summer school. Our advice at audition would be to smile, and give a very technical performance. Sadly, my dd isn't doing it this year as it is very, very expensive, even with a scholarship. It was very much a performing experience, I don't think the classes at summer school were at all challenging, but it was very enjoyable and we would definitely consider it another year (I keep buying those lottery tickets!). I hope your dd gets through auditions and enjoys the experience as much as mine did.

My dd also learnt to do her own bun just before she went to summer school for the first time. She had just turned 11. I love doing her hair, but now she won't let me unless it's for an audition. I miss it, but as she's going away in September, I guess it's best that she does her own.

I remember when my older (now non dd) was 18 months old, her adult height was predicted at 5' 31/2". This turned out to be pretty accurate as she is now at age 21 5'4". When my next daughter was 18 months old, a year or so later, they no longer predicted adult height as routine as they said it was so inaccurate. I think all of my daughters have continued to change in body shape until well into their late teens and one at least looked like she was going to be tall and long legged, but now she is fully grown, she isn't at all! But I wonder if dance panels are so experienced they can see signs that we can't?

Lol! My dd was just talking about this exercise the other day saying that her and older dd cannot get fully down (they both say it is to test length of achilles). Whilst reading these posts I tried so hard to resist but in the end I just had to try it and did it with ease (much to their dismay). However after showing off and doing it repeatedly, I now feel a bit of a strain Oops!

I think passing Grade 1 is probably the hardest, so that's really fantastic! Think how hard it is to go into that examination room all on your own, especially when you are only nine. Talking of musical children, I have a daughter who is currently in her last year at uni studying music performance, specialising in singing (classical) and wondered if anyone knew of any summer intensives that may be appropriate? I told her I would ask the forum as it does seem to be the font of all knowledge

Hi Spacey, you do get to tour the school during prelim auditions after a talk by the Head teacher, a member of the boarding staff, head of academics and also a pupil. However, you don't get to see the boarding accommodation unless you make it to finals. I know of one girl who auditioned last year for a place even though she had been told there were no boarding places, she went ahead anyway just for the audition experience. Hope this helps and good luck.