Legseleven

On her own, not other own! Autocorrect is autoincorrect! Thanks afab, it may encourage mine if she knows that someone younger than her is going on their own...

Do you mind my asking how old your DDs are? Mine is Y8 (aged 12) and has just gone into RAD Advanced 1/Advanced Foundation. She would find going to summer school other own and not knowing anyone rather a trial, so we may decide not to apply.

Thanks, Loulabelle and afab. Will have to decide soon whether to apply and then get photos done quickly if so, in hope of getting the £25 discount! I wonder whether Elmhurst is prescriptive about whether photos to apply for Y7 and Y8 places are done with bare legs and feet?

Many thanks Loulabelle. Have you heard whether she has a place and if so how long did you have to wait for the confirmation?

Does Elmhurst want these photos with the dancer in just a leotard, ie with bare legs and feet? I know someone said on a previous thread that they thought this was the case, but I know that the senior summer school photos included pointe work and the line drawings also seem to show a bare-legged dancer! Can anyone whose DD has applied please confirm one way or the other?

Wow, amazing news Interested Parent! Huge congratulations to your DD! I now know of 3 forum members whose DDs currently have or have had full EYB scholarships - so impressive.

For EYB Oxford, JulieW, or elsewhere?

Great news Dea, you must be very proud!

Spannerandpony, we really must stop this synchronicity in thinking and posting - I was just thinking of suggesting that Just Ballet may well be able to assist via online booking!

Coming up to 29 years, I realise....And yet I remember the date and the examiner's name. It must have been etched into my psyche for some reason!!

More than 20 years actually, Aurora....ha ha!

You are able to query results, as taxi4ballet says. I suppose there will always be differences between examiners, especially when it comes to the marks for presentation, as what appeals to one person won't necessarily appeal so much to another. Or the students with lower marks might have had to contend with a less than optimal studio floor, or a pianist doing their own thing, or could have had an off day?

Merde to your DCS, ballettaxi and Belljul!

When I did pre-elementary, now re-named intermediate foundation, way back when, we definitely had to wear soft pointes - well, Delcos as we called them.

Perhaps that's why the RAD has just changed its rules to allow split soles in vocational exams, afab? I'm sure there are huge cultural differences as you say and as a worldwide examining board they may have felt there was little choice. Do students in France wear deshanked old pointe shoes as soft shoes once dead? That may be why the RAD now allows soft shoes to be worn for intermediate foundation, ie students do little pointe work for that exam so may not have had dead/outgrown pointe shoes to deshank and wear as soft pointes? Pure speculation on my part of course!

The RAD certainly seem to work their vocational examiners hard and worldwide! One of DD's teachers is a vocational examiner and has only just returned for more than a weekend since January, as she has been abroad examining in several countries. She says the standards do tend to differ from country to country, so I am glad that an RAD examiner can be from anywhere worldwide as that must surely be an added 'quality/level' standard, no matter where you take an RAD exam.

My DD says just the same, spannerandpony. She was surprised that almost all of the girls at summer school wore split soles, even those also doing RAD vocational exams, as she agrees that wearing soft pointes or deshanked pointe shoes makes it much harder to work her feet, balance, turn and jump. In fact, she is not allowed to wear split soles at all and even her friends with 'straighter' feet are discouraged from wearing them (even though the RAD now allow soft split soles for IF and split sole soft pointes/pointes -yikes! - for intermediate and above) so that they really work their feet as much as possible. That said, we will buy canvas split soles if she goes to a summer school again, so that she doesn't feel compromised! - and if she goes to an audition. As a footnote, are split sole soft pointes and pointes easily available? Not that I think split sole (or the half sole Bloch pointe shoe, which DD once tried on briefly in wonder and horror!) pointes will ever be an option given how fast she destroys even hard full shanks, but perhaps split sole soft pointes may be worth trying for her next vocational exam - if she can persuade her teachers...!

It makes such a difference, taxi4ballet, I am so glad that the pianist in London played exactly like the CD music. RAD vocational exams are stressful enough, they really don't need the additional panic of trying to keep up with a racing pianist or doing adage that seems ten times longer than usual because of v-e-r-y slowly played music! I would have thought that London would be a first choice for those within relatively easy reach for several reasons.

York Scholars are on Saturdays I think.

I too understood that the exam results are released only after 'quality control' reviews of the marking across the board. If there really was marking down for exams at HQ, there would be very few dance schools willing to enter their students for exams there. I would have thought that the facilities at HQ are likely to be second to none, plus the advantage of pianists who are probably - or at least possibly - the most familiar with the syllabi and the correct tempi, etc (and senior RAD staff on hand if required?) I can understand that knowing that you were taking an exam with a vocational school pupil might be off-putting, but I assume that Elmhurst and Hammond pupils don't travel to London to take vocational exams at HQ, so you may have the same issue at Birmingham or Manchester - or Liverpool and Leeds for that matter.

Anne Hathaway's cottage?

And merde from moi aussi!

I think York Scholars' audition may be at the end of this month, 25 May (Yorkshire Ballet Scholarship Centre), although the closing date for applications may have been and gone. If so but York would be convenient, you could always contact them to ask whether they may accept a late application.

I think someone on the forum, or the previous ballet.co forum, once said that the Liverpool RAD vocational exam centre - which may actually be in Birkenhead? - had a slippery floor. So the opposite of Manchester, Amethyst, but equally bad for dancing at one's best. I stress that I don't know whether that is the case, but I do seem to remember the comment.

Spannerandpony, we seem to make a habit of simultaneous posting! ;-) I seem to remember someone suggesting a summer school at Tring - for NYB or similar? Hammond are also holding a summer school, although I don't know whether they have a minimum age requirement - may be worth enquiring there as well as Yorkshire Assembly, especially as both are northern based; even though the girls are happy to travel and board, it is sometimes good to know that home isn't too far away!