HAIRBELLES

13 minutes ago, Boogalou said:

How do you know if a agent is a good one or not??? 

You would have to do a bit of research see who they represent etc.. ... 

All the top colleges do a showcase   That the agents are invited to. The agents then express interest in people they might possibly like to represent.

Unfortunately it is a case of the agent picks you  not the other way around .

From my limited knowledge an agent is a must and a top one at that if you want to audition for  top theatre jobs and tours as these are usually closed auditions that only the agent can submit to . I don’t think many of the dance auditions are closed usually open at Pineapple and such places and you just have to register.

You also need to be part of Spotlight and they have regulations as to who can join too.

Another minefield to negotiate after graduating , not for another 3 years thank goodness .

I cannot remember where it was possibly RCS , Central ? You can audition free if your income was below a certain threshold .... Or maybe I've just dreamt this 😉

 Hi Dramascientist sorry to hear of the stress you and. your dd have  been under .I thought I would post to let you know there are others out there who know how you feel. 

Your post made me feel quite emotional thinking back 3 years to when my eldest decided not to continue with her training.

Quote " my heart bleeds when I think of all her talent going to waste"  Completely resonates with how I felt and still do feel at times  especially if I hear her singing along to a tune or absent mindedly tapping on the kitchen floor.

It sounds ridiculous but it is almost like a "mourning" of what could have been. Like you say and with most of us our DCs will have been dancing from a very early age so it is a huge part of our lives. Their dreams become our dreams and it is difficult to accept it is no longer what they want.

Im sure it is very difficult for your dd to talk about especially to you too as feelings of letting you down and disappointing everyone could well be underlying.

I have never had a definitive reason for my daughter giving it all up and I have finally stopped looking for one , my common response when people ask why  ...... "Who knows".

Wishing you and your daughter lots of happiness for the future . 

Also Establishments can  have a different feel for siblings .With my eldest dd  I had only got as far as Epsom High St when I got a text message to say " I'm not coming here ! " 

With my youngest I could see it being a good fit for her .

This is very helpful thankyou .

Hi Pointermaid

DD has a place a Laine for this September, although will have to attend funding audition and will not be going unless she gets a dada , which is a feat in itself .

I know they said they get a personalised timetable ,but Could I ask you on the whole ,how much singing and acting they do compared to the dance, also do they do many/any lessons in commercial jazz? 

Hi BlueLou 

I'm sure you know that Laine offer their own Betty Laine Scholarships. When dd auditioned ,albeit a few years ago, there were 6 on offer , I'm not sure if you have to attend the funding auditions to be considered .

At audition they said there is a daily ballet class taken with your own grade .

From what I could gather your timetable is personalised to your weaknesses. 

Well done to your dd Bluelou

I don't know a lot about Rambert but maybe ask herself what type of job she would ideally prefer and which place is most likely to prepare her for that.

If it were my dd I would be asking her questions along the lines of 

Is she going to enjoy the other aspects of Laine  ie singing, tap, commercial jazz etc , does she want the high level of Contempory on offer at  Rambert and what is drawing her slightly more toward there.

Good Luck 

13 hours ago, tutugirl said:

Oh thank you Hairbelles . Yes I do try to accompany the children to auditions if I can .

How kind of you to notice .

Just got another one into Hammond with an MDS !

Hope yours are both well and happy x

They are thankyou . Still on never ending auditions with the youngest . 

That's fabulous news you must be into double figures by now x

Maybe that's why dd failed her GCSE maths too many Friday's off for RBS associate lessons 😜......purely said tongue-in-cheek .

Not forgetting that some exams attract UCAS points that can come in very handy if you don't have A levels .

Dd used to be a tap Attack associate classes were held at Centrepointe in Denton , same studios as Royal Associates was a few years ago now could be different .

I was going to mention yours Tutugirl........ MrsMoo Tutugirl has a had lots of children who go onto Vocational School from her dance school and a very successful young man of her own .

The only teacher I've ever seen actively supporting her students at auditions .

The CAT scheme is held at Northern Ballet in Leeds.

It recognises that some children do not want to live away from home to train Vocationally and offers intense Classical training beginning with a couple of nights and weekends gradually increasing.

Everyone is awarded MDS help although not on the scale needed for vocational school.

My younger dd was on the CAT scheme and I was very sorry to have to give her place back had it not been a 4 hr round trip every time she would have stayed there. 

The scheme achieves fantastic results at Upoer School level .

Its a while since we were there other members might have more up to date information .

Hi MrsMoo

Take a look at Moorlands in Clitheroe, great teaching, beautiful setting and most important to dd was good food.

The teachers have young children of their own and were very supportive of my dd when she lost all her confidence .

40 minutes ago, Seaside H said:

Thank you to everyone’s support and advice as my dd wasn’t lucky enough to be offered MDS or high enough on the list to be considered we have emailed Hammond today declining our offer with bursary so we can move on with our life.  Good luck to everyone is waiting and congratulations to everyone that has been successful 💕

Seaside H sorry I've just replied to your post on another thread I hadn't seen this .

Just to say I wasn't really in the position to pay the bursary for  my eldest daughter and I was gutted to hear of awards being offered in the Summer holidays.

14 hours ago, Seaside H said:

Can I ask advice my dd has place at Hammond for entrance in to Year 7 but no MDS with bursary we could send her in September will be extremely tight and five years of hardship and help

from our family.

 Is there any chance of her getting MDS while she is at Hammond or better talking the chance or re auditioning next year??!

Thanks x

Hi Seaside H

This indeed is a very tempting dilemma to be in , well done to your dd on gaining a place , however having been in a this very position and paid the bursary for eldest dd my advice would be to weigh it up very carefully there will be lots of extras that are covered by MDS that a bursary will not cover . 

Im sure you will have looked at the tables and know how much you would pay on MDS and if the difference is huge I would take the gamble decline the bursary and stay on the waiting list . 

I have known in the past parents removing DCs for lack of funds some were eventually given MDS some not ,a friend of my dds her parents divorced and were unable to keep her there she wasn't given one and left.... I'm sure there are members on here that would disagree with me but you can get plenty of good tuition for £12,000 plus a year .

When it came to my younger dd I wasn't in the position to pay another bursary and said she would have to wait until her sister left , 6 days before the start of term I received a call to say a child had decided not to take up her place , so it does happen.

Good luck with your decision hopefully a few more forum members will share their experiences .

On 27 March 2018 at 18:30, balletbean said:

Interesting that I’ve just heard that there is a scholarship at Laines for pupils with strong Ballet Technique. One off Personal Scholarship not sure how to apply for it or whether it’s by invitation only. 😉

 Have just seen on Facebook a young lady who has been offered 100% scholarship for Laine ...., how wonderful .

They will indeed Clarkd3 .... It really is  small the dance world 😜

Mods I can't seem to use the quote ... It's a new format since I was last on here .

Hi PJW 

At Bird Diploma and Degree do the same dance etc classes haven't a clue why the cost is different .

Hi Bethany

I haven't commented on the forum for a while as my knowledge isn't as current nowadays but I also have a dd currently at PCD.

It is well worth a look ,however on the 16-18 course although the DDE is financed it is only for one subject you can pay for the other two , vocational exams are taken care of as well , additionally you pay £1,250 a year for the performance package .

This includes classes and workshops from ex industry professionals some of whom work at "bigger" colleges 

If your daughter has to live away from home there is the usual rent etc we are lucky that DD travels in every day.

So depending on income it can cost you more than if you were on dada funding elsewhere.

There is an annual Choreograph competition , Christmas showcase, Annual show trips to move It and New York.

Take a look at You Tube this years Move It pieces they were fabulous .

6 hours ago, Pas de Quatre said:

Preston college used to have a course that might suit, have a search.  A member of this board (or the previous incarnation) had a  DD who went there some years ago and said it was very good.

6 hours ago, 2dancersmum said:

I was about to say Preston college aswell. Others I have heard of/know of people who went there are: Dance Academy South West (in Bristol), The Dance College/Penny Meekings dance teacher training and Linda Virgoe Dance Academy. I should point out that although I know of people who looked and sent their DDs there, they are people who I lost subsequently lost touch with so I don't know what their DDS thought of the courses or how they got on.

Hi Katie**

I have a dd at Prestons Dance College. How she came to go there is a long winded story but basically she wanted a Classical Upper School. She was at the Hammond so we brought her home and enrolled her at Preston and she auditioned again ,still no joy .

Preston used to be basically a course for the DDI / DDE exams ( fully funded ) they also do a foundation degree for teaching in the private sector along side this you pay for a performance package £1,200 this includes workshops with industry professionals , commercial,jazz,MT, Lyrical etc some of her teachers have taught at Hammond and SLP.

Exams are up to Adv2 in Ballet , tap , modern and national 

There are trips to New York and London every year and regular theatre trips

Quite a few Graduates this year have got cruise jobs with Disney, Cunard , Royal Caribbean and Costa.etc

There is funding to help with living but I've no idea how much or how it's allocated.

Although quite a technical dancer already the staff at Preston have made my dd perform more than she ever has and her confidence is going from strength to strength .

The end of year show might not have had all the polish I'm used to but it was fabulous to see all of the students performing their heart out whatever their capabilities. 

An all round fab course and dd hasn't used any HE funding . The only drawback is if she wanted to try for theatre work the new rulings for Spolight means she wouldn't be eligible to join this is a requirement for getting oneself an agent .This is also a consideration when looking at University make sure there are enough contact hours if a career in performing is what your dd would like .

Its a minefield but things tend to fall into place. Good Luck with it all lots of help on here and on the Notapushymum forum.

Hi Miracle what sort of recommendations are you looking for ? What to put in one or who to film it ? 

Does your dd/ds have an agent ? 

16 hours ago, ButterflyBallerina said:

I did think that may be it, but thought worth a double check x

There is means tested funding available for all Associate programmes and travel allowances too.

I think dd was awarded something like 70% travel allowance for her and one parent.

This was Advanced Associates so classes only held at Covent Garden.