Loulabelle

We didn’t have to pay back my DD’s DADA when she left vocational ballet school part way through.

I think some dance teachers feel threatened by the Associate programs, not sure why as they are to be attended alongside the lessons provided by themselves. My DD’s dance school principal didn’t ban them but she also didn’t promote them or particularly accommodate them. She used to tell me that DD would get bored as the associate program went very much back to basics. This was true to an extent, but DD gained lots of experiences she never would have had otherwise and I gained an understanding of the ballet world I would never have discovered without taking DD to various different associates over the years. We also made many long term friends through associates, so although we never felt fully supported from DD’s local dance teacher, it was very much worth it. It’s very difficult to get enough quality ballet training as a non vocational dancer not living in or close to London. That’s when good quality associates become vital when a dancer is hoping to begin vocational training at sixteen. 
There are few local teachers that can provide the amount of hours of quality training that the teacher MissEmily above is speaking about did (if I’m correct in my assumption of whom she is speaking). My DD was friends with a few of her pupils and they were always beautifully trained. But I do think banning pupils from auditioning/attending is strange as surely student success only reflects well on the school. 

My DD also suffered with uneven growth over the years and had wonky hips for ages. I too took her to an osteopath and he performed his magic on her and gave her exercises to do regularly. It all evened out by the time she was 17.
 

On 24/05/2022 at 21:11, Mrs Brown said:

Sorry I posted too soon. Yes I made her national costume.  I am quite good at sewing but it did take some time and a lot of research.

National costumes were always my favourite costumes to make, I have a collection of my daughters in the loft. The research is the fun bit as well as making something look as unique as possible from modern fabrics. I mainly make tutus now but would choose a National costume over a tutu any day. 

Very sad to hear of Shirley’s death. She also mended my daughter regularly and lived in our hometown 😢

With hindsight and due to an unhappy experience, we very much wish our DD had taken her Tring offer rather than ENBS. But it was not unhappy in any way due to living arrangements or capability to live in London independently. 
 

My DD would definitely have stayed in vocational school had she been completing A’levels as well, but she is very academic. Doing both is not for everyone but would have been better for her. It’s personal choice. The days at ENBS are very full, any academics would have to be completed independently (online maybe?) in the evenings or at weekends, there were a couple of students who did this. 

My DD lived very successfully in Queen Alexandra House and travelled to ENBS by bus (which is free). The students mainly travelled together or in small groups but by DD became very adept and confident travelling around London by bus or tube quickly. 
QAH is a little shabby but comfortable and the staff there are excellent and caring. 
Breakfast could have done with being earlier as it doesn’t start until 7.30am so the  ballet girls were always waiting at the door for it to start and generally grabbed toast on the run. There was only one day a week when they struggled to get back for dinner on time. On that day they generally ate out on the way back or cooked themselves in the communal kitchen (one on each floor). 
 

Laundry times at QAH were allocated, each floor to different times, by DD always managed to do hers pretty much when she wanted to. She always tried to do one lot mid week and another at the weekend. She never had any problems coping. 
 

This was all three years ago so things may now be different, but they never needed to be in school before 8.20am and warm up time was given in class. 
 

My DD didn’t stay at ENBS long due to injury but life at QAH and living independently in London has very happy memories for her.
 

Thanks Anna. I’m sorry about your daughters experiences too. 
 

However, although our DD’s ballet journeys have ended, the good memories are there to treasure and are providing solid life experiences and foundations for their lives going forward. 
 

I still have my love of ballet, I tend to lurk in the ‘performances seen’ and ‘ballet news’ sections theses days 😃

Gosh I’ve posted twice in one week when I’ve not posted for around three years! 
 

2 hours ago, SJBallet said:

Thank you all. Sorry my post wasn’t intended to dismiss what you had all so kindly offered in way of your experiences. 

 

I’ve read all of these with interest and it really does give food for thought and you’re right it’s all about what may or may not suit an individual. 
 

Reading the posts I may have incorrectly tried to tie all bad experiences to one place  and my observation I think was based on a ‘what if we choose the wrong one or more along the lines of what if I choose the one where all these individuals didn’t have great experiences’ which is wrong I know. 
 

It’s both a very exciting and very scary time. 

No all the bad experiences talked about are not from the same school.

Its a minefield out there and as has been said, not all pupils have bad experiences. Indeed my DD would not describe the entire time at the particular school she attended as bad, she would have definitely seen out her time there if not injured, despite the poor pastoral care. 
 

To be perfectly frank, I’m not sure my DD had the mental strength to be a vocational student, she was non vocational until Upper School. It’s a culture shock when you’re a (young for your year) 16 year old who suddenly doesn’t have mum around to vent to. This must be doubly hard for overseas students. 
Looking back we were definitely naive and ‘rabbit in the headlights’ as someone described above😳

The original post was about regrets, we don’t regret any of the work done, money spent or experiences gained. Just maybe a few regrets that we weren’t better informed and prepared for was ahead. My DD went to a very ‘festival’ local dance school and we tried to do it all. I would say right up until the end of year 9 we managed successfully. When DD decided she wanted to try and be a classical ballet dancer, we hit problems with loyalties and expectations at her local school along with the need to gain more hours of quality ballet training versus all round dance training. 
 

In hindsight we did things wrong, we both know that now, but there were lots of good times along the way and we met many lovely people, including quite a few members of this forum🤗
 

19 hours ago, taxi4ballet said:

So do I. We were advised during the audition rounds (by someone whose opinion I respected) that should DD be offered a place at one of the 'Big' schools, then she should take it and turn down any others. DD was in the fortunate position of having several offers, and she did indeed take the top offer.

 

Taxi has said almost exactly what happened to myself and my DD, this was definitely the wrong choice for us. My DD accepted the top offer she had but really should have taken the offer she was more comfortable with.

She suffered an injury that the school, while not being totally neglectful of, were very slow to treat and made her feel she was an annoying burden on them. The total lack of pastoral care at the school was unbelievable! She was so mentally drained and damaged that one weekend she just packed her bag and came home for good. She was subsequently offered a place at her ‘comfortable’ school when they heard what had happened, but sadly the damage to her confidence and mental health was too much for her to even carry on dancing at all and she’s not taken a single ballet class since stepping away from vocational school. 
 

I don’t regret any of the time and money spent on my dd’s dance journey leading up to going to vocational school, but that experience destroyed her confidence for a long time.
 

It’s taken three years for her to recover which included going back to sixth form and gaining three very creditable A’levels. She now works full time after gaining a place on a very competitive apprenticeship scheme. She was told when offered the job that her ‘ballet journey story’ had impressed them so much and showed true grit and determination to succeed with plan B when plan A hadn’t panned out. 
 

So all’s well that ends well, but I could have done without the stress along the way!
 

Hi sorry I’ve only just seen this as not on here much anymore. 
I don’t have any of the uniform left now, also I believe the uniform changed after my DD left so it wouldn’t have been suitable any more. 

My daughter had two hamsters, one called Darcey Rustle and the other Carlos Ahamster🤣

I used to sit in Harris & Hoole ......... with Crystaltips!! Haha 😉

Very sad news, my condolences to his family and friends.

5 pairs Russian Pointe shoes.

Brava Drawstring 40 W3 V2 FM

Brand new, 2 pairs in their boxes, 2 pairs in original bag of which one pair has a ring of darning around the edge of the tip. One pair with elastic and ribbons seen on and my daughters name on, but not worn.

£20 a pair or £90 for all 5. 

13 hours ago, Curlypearl said:

Thank you, my daughter successfully auditioned last week and we’ve also found out this week she’s been offered a yr 6 RBS JA place. We are just trying to decide if it’s worth her doing both! 

Congratulations to your daughter on gaining places on both schemes.

Definitely worth doing both if you can manage it in my opinion. 

Your daughter will gain so much, but completely different things from each programme. Also MA place at year 7 is not guaranteed so will be good to still have Tring CBA place to carry on with as I believe Tring do not (generally) assess out of the CBA. Although there are assessments at the end of each year. 

There are a few sellers similar to this that advertise tutus made by established tutu makers in the UK and worldwide. The tutu you receive is a poorly copied version of the tutu pictured when you order and also for a very cheap price. 

I’m not saying this is definitely one of these sites but be very cautious. You get what you pay for and these look very cheap to me. 

There are some very good honest tutu makers in the UK, you would be better off ordering from one of them. You’ll also get a much better fit if it’s made to measure and you have fittings in person. 

Some of the boys lived in Holland House when my daughter was at ENBS.

On 04/03/2019 at 21:00, ashiebashie said:

I would love to buy some new/used pointe shoes for a decoration project for a little girl!! anyone in England??

I have some I’d be happy to send you if you’d like to pm me your address? 

Yes. The year my DD auditioned we had to accept Tring and Central before having other results. 

We forfeited a deposit at Central in the end.

Just to add to my above post, one of the t-shirts is brand new in the packet and I also have a book that the 1st years were asked to buy Dance Anatomy by Jacqui Greene Haas. PM me if you are interested in it.

Happy to send anything directly to the school or to QAH if needs be.

I have lots of first year uniform for sale if anyone is interested?

I believe they changed their supplier this year though so not sure if the leotards are any use.

Includes:

Pink practice tutu that’s only been worn once for a photo.

2 x Black tracksuit trousers and zip up jackets 

Magenta chiffon wrap skirt

Lots of magenta leotards some strappy, some cap sleeved. 

Bloch black shrug (brand new)

Couple of other black approved warm ups. 

Black t-shirts

Pm me if interested in any of it.

From others Instagram posts it’s clear that it’s Leticia Stock that is leaving. 

9 hours ago, Mnemo said:

Loulabelle, dd and me just wanted to wish you and your daughter every success in the future, so glad that she is doing well and enjoying being a 6th former! All the best xx

Thank you Mnemo, it was a very difficult decision for my dd to make but we are very proud of her for making this decision so maturely. 

I would just like to say that she is fully recovered from her injury and another lovely school has approached her about the possibilty of joining them. 

However she has decided not to pursue a classical career but luckily as she was an all rounder, may audition for dance/MT after her A’levels. 

Thank you everyone else for your best wishes, I don’t want to hijack Taxi’s thread so will say no more. 

If anyone wishes to talk to me about out experiences please feel free to pm me. I don’t have any criticism to throw at the school she attended.