sarahw

I think Urdang do a foundation year which has no fees and prepares for auditions for level 6?

Sorry to hear this pupsmum - hope you feel better soon.

I would go for any emollient cream for eczema such as diprobase or epaderm.

Yes you're correct Ruth - I suppose as virtually all going in at Y7 are UK trained it gives an easy indicator of British progress without going into personal details of individuals.

I would imagine a significant number of those entering after Y7 are not UK trained. 

I also wonder are Y11 students and their parents adequately counselled about their chances and encouraged/supported adequately to apply elsewhere? I ask this because of the surprise there seems to be each year about low continuation rates?

You would hope they do review the situation but as the same issue (sadly) happens every year I have to assume the powers that be are not interested in training British dancers....☹️

@Mumofdancegirls

Unfortunately there are only 4 lower schools with MDS funding

Royal, Elmhurst, Tring and Hammond. You may find this thread useful if long....

It's grim 😥😥

In my DD JA class the ones who got into WL started Y6.

Barnums is only 10 mins walk from Warrington Bank Quay. We've been very happy with fittings there but if you have small/difficult feet stock levels aren't great and you need to return. The Liverpool place is near Lime Street and has a bigger stock I think.

We had a mixed experience at one of the Preston shops.

1 hour ago, Tiaramum said:

This is my worry about taking up a year 7 place, we've also heard rumours that if assessed out of WL there will be little/no chance of getting another vocational school. What happened to just going to one class a week. LOL

 

There were a few pupils assessed out of WL at Hammond and I know of others at Elmhurst in past. I think being assessed out can sometimes happen quite late in the audition season and this can make getting a place (especially MDS) tricky.

We never had a choice of LS places but for those who do I personally would be wanting a school where my DC had a good chance of getting to Y11 and where the LS was getting significant numbers into their US. Being assessed out before Y11 is mentally very tough and also academic issues.

I think the key is the amount and quality of training available at home.

Shocking.

The other issue about Y10 entry at Hammond is class size. In my DC year they took in a lot of students in Y10 which led to large classes.

I can't comment on this issue in other schools.

My post is not a criticism of Hammond. It is a description of the training experience of a DC who wants to major in ballet. For those who are more interested in a wider range of dance or MT the experience will be different. And it is not a criticism of the teaching itself - I noted some excellent teachers.

The longer you are in the system the more you realise that each of the main lower schools have issues as evidenced by the recent Tring report. Parents need to make a decision based on the best place for their child at that time.

As many children will not have a choice of offers and because parents do not always know which questions to ask before entering the system there is a lack of accountability; exacerbated by the fact that once in the system parents/children are afraid to raise issues in case it affects their training.

I think if you would only attend the school if achieving a scholarship then you may not need to pay a deposit. The MDS is funded by government and it would be discrimination if you couldn't attend finals because you couldn't pay a deposit. I would call them.

Onto Hammond and ballet. Our experience at the time DC was there was that there was no flexibility in timetable depending on your preferred dance genre. DC found that lots of time spent rehearsing for Christmas Carol concerts etc dug into ballet time significantly. There are some excellent ballet teachers there but there appeared to be a lack of overall dance planning and consistency in training.

Clearly there are many other issues to consider when applying to vocational school - academics (very happy with Hammond), pastoral care (turnover of boarding staff an important issue) etc. We were declined a dance timetable for information during the admissions process. Personally I would be more pushy if doing it again - this is core information that should be available to parents to enable decision making.

Definitely see a dance physio if you can possibly afford it. Which region of the UK are you in? Forum members may be able to give recommendations.

I agree that performance skills are the things to show in the dance. It could be a festival dance or an enchainment from an exam or something choreographed by teacher and/or child.

Being willing to try the singing is most important thing.

DD found the auditions relaxed and friendly.

I buy a size larger than indicated on the size charts - no wrinkles but prolong life.

Have used Bloch/Capezio/Gaynor/Wear Moi/Plume.

Apart from Plume (poor) all seem similar. Buying bigger size made most difference.

There's an overwhelming number of possibilities and options in MT and dance training.

Maybe it would be helpful to go to Open Days at MT schools/colleges.

Eg Laine, Bird, Hammond, Performers, Urdang (dance), Northern Ballet (dance)

Amazing!

Off topic but re: Cecchetti my DD has done BBO most then 2y RAD and has just moved to Cecchetti. She rates it as much harder than the others which she thought were similar...

This sounds very stressful for you.

What about getting a dance science or dance physio assessment? My understanding is that much shin splints is caused by inadequate strength in particular muscle groups.

You will be at a disadvantage due to your age I would think

Yes apart from he's in Lausanne/NY or similar - could be hungover as well I suppose..😂😂😂

Yes that is true @meadowblythe.  I'm not sure if we hit a bad year.

I would also like to add there are some fabulous ballet teachers there. It's more a lack of prioritisation of ballet and a lack of training structure at time.

I'm sure the same issues make it a good place for MT.

Wiz

Regarding your offers from Tring/Hammond - if he is really keen on ballet particularly I would make sure that where you choose (if you have a choice!) has adequate hours of ballet and compare that to what he can access at home.

Our personal experience of Hammond is that it offers a wide range of dance and doesn't always give priority for ballet. For example, a lot of dance is sacrificed for preparing for the carol concert in December. Hence when my DC auditioned in the January due to the carol preparations and Xmas holidays there'd been a month with no ballet. Not ideal at all.

Good luck with your choices!