Farawaydancer

I’ve only heard good things about it. 

We’ve always had a written report at the end of each year for Elmhurst associates and the teacher has always been happy to talk to us at any point about concerns or feedback. 

I’ve just checked the email for the order I placed and it says on it something about delivery being delayed 7-14 days. 

2 hours ago, Picturesinthefirelight said:

 

I remember reading some of your posts about your Ds & it’s a different school. 

Its also a different DS, I have two who have been through/going through vocational school. One experience much different to the other. 

Our DS struggled massively last year due to teacher bullying but always maintained he wanted to stay and always enjoyed performing. I think what stands out in your posts though is the amount of pressure he feels under. I would be very concerned about this. Some children just aren’t ready for/able to cope with that and it can seriously affect their mental health. DS struggles with the boarding house and personality clashes (maybe the same school?) at times but loves the school enough to outweigh any difficulties. Pros and cons list would be useful and perhaps arrange for him to see a counsellor to discuss the issues with someone neutral? 

A physio with a special interest in dance would be best I think. My dd has had a recent ankle injury too and finding a physio who actually understood what she was aiming for, both short and long term, has been invaluable. It was really helpful that the physio understood exactly what the physical demands of the classes were too and she tailored her advice and exercises to fit. 

It might be worth contacting a local-ish CAT programme and asking if they know of any physios? Or one of the big schools if you’re near them? Or people on here will know, if you can give a region/area?

6 minutes ago, Jane said:

One of the problems my dd and her peers complained of over the years was that the medical centre was never open at times convienent to them as students so I hope for the sake of the current students this has improved. 

It’s open until 8 on weekday evenings and until 2 (I think!) on Saturdays, so reasonably accessible?

4 hours ago, angel said:

 

7 hours ago, Kat09 said:

It would be interesting to hear if anyone has experienced excellent/supportive pastoral care within the UK vocational system .... 

I Very much doubt it!

 

Elmhurst has been superb with us whilst dealing with an extremely tricky situation. The senior staff have been nothing but supportive, and I know other parents who would say the same. I do think there is a long way to go with regards understanding adolescent mental health, but the same could be said of non-vocational schools I visit on a daily basis!

Thanks for the replies. She has an appointment with a dance specialist physio this week so that’s already underway, the GP wanted to refer her to a nhs paediatric physio so I said I’d take care of it privately. She doesn’t have private health insurance, she’s not at vocational school. I was just wondering about where else to go if it doesn’t resolve. 

Does anyone know if there is a lower age limit on being referred to one of the NIDMS clinics?  Dd has an injury and the gp doesn’t seem to be overly concerned about the rate at which it isn’t getting better. I’m going to ask for a referral on and came across NIDMS but it doesn’t state any age limits. Thought someone here might know more, before I contact them. 

TIA

Your technique will not fall behind in the space of two weeks. Lots of students miss classes for much longer than that due to injury, and they pick up where they left off just fine. 

Speak to your teacher, I’m sure they can reassure you. And enjoy the show, performance experience is so important. 

32 minutes ago, Kat09 said:

If any of you are lucky enough to be within striking distance of this amazing  opportunity please do seize it .... Emma offers an environment and approach that will allow your DD/DS to flourish and achieve their potential - Emma will have total belief in your child - imo that is far more important than the Kudos of  attending  a big name ballet school, where you, the parent, is a lone bye stander to the regime your child has signed up for, where your child  might be struggling physically/mentally without you ever knowing ....  before it's too late..

 

As a parent, I come  across Emma when my DD needed help - It is my belief that had my daughter met Emma and trained with her from an early age, then she would now be following the career that she dreamed of.  I cannot recommend her or this opportunity highly enough.

 

Wishing you the very best of luck Emma - it is your time to shine..

Absolutely agree wholeheartedly with this. If you live close enough then make the most of the opportunity. We certainly would be if we could. 

It will be amazing and I’m so envious of all the families who will have the chance to study with you. The very best of luck 🍀

The vocational school my ds goes to is good at taking into account his processing difficulties in the classroom and academics, but completely refuses to make any adaptations in the studio for him. He had a teacher for two years who gave all verbal instructions, despite being told that ds needed to see what to do rather than just hear it. Thankfully his teacher this year is slightly more understanding but they still don’t really get it. 

For JAs I would put all his needs on the form.

I think she probably means a lack of maturity in her dancing. My dd is similar, technically very good but comparing her to the older girls in the same grade there’s just something ‘little girl’ about her that she hasn’t grown out of yet. 

Ds’s school teacher at 6 suggested dance lessons as she thought he was ‘quite good’. We found somewhere running half an hour of boys ballet per week and a term after that it snowballed into grade 1 classes and an elmhurst associates audition, then 3 years later off to vocational school. His sister followed when she turned 4 although I’m hoping she won’t want to go to school until at least 16.  I can’t imagine our lives without ballet now! 

36 minutes ago, amos73 said:

 

Wow. 

36 minutes ago, amos73 said:

 

1 hour ago, Balletmummy18 said:

I think you all have articulated the problem perfectly particularly Pups Mum ... you certainly can’t discuss it with pastoral leaders or the head- your child would simply be asked to leave... 

 

 

My dc had similar problems with their y7/8 teacher and we did discuss it at length with pastoral leaders and school leadership, including the artistic director and changes have happened as a consequence of these discussions. They haven’t been asked to leave (yet!) and they are having a much happier y9 with a different teacher, although we have already made a decision that they won’t be staying for y10 and 11. 

1 hour ago, Billyelliott said:

DS yr 11 Elm is very much still hard at work with Dance and academics - too busy to chat - had to get on with homework, but not so busy he couldn’t find time for a trip to Aldi and 2 snowball fights tonight!

Yes, the snow has been an added distraction today apparently!

It’s good for them to be ‘off timetable’ for a little while, I think. The rest of the term is so relentless that a break from the routine of it all does them the world of good. 

Elmhurst have lost a little dance time to practise for the carol service next week but have still had most classes, and they have RAD exams yesterday, today and tomorrow. 

Her teacher would be able to tell if she’s in the right class, regardless of whether she’s old enough for the next exam yet. My dd has always been in classes with girls older than her and scraped into the age bracket for doing exams because of when her birthday was and when the exams were held. 

If you're waiting for elmhurst it might well be delayed because I think Denise Whiteman is at the genee? 

31 minutes ago, balletmum20 said:

Do many children get into elmhurst for year 9? Will they only get a place if someone leaves?  

Is it hard to get a place? 

New children have joined and others have left the current y9 group nearly every term since they started. More are joining in September. It really is a case of apply and see. They don't have a set number of places per year group so some are much larger than others. 

I did lots of chaperoning. It seemed to be a sensible option since I would be there waiting anyway. 

Dd is doing panto again this year. It was her first last year and she absolutely adored the whole thing so I've 'agreed' she can do it again this year. It does take over the whole of December but she got such a lot out of it that it was worth it in the end. Good luck!

Dd is about to turn 10 and has just got demipointes and joins in the pointe class using them. It'll be a little while til she has pointes but there are so many factors affecting readiness that it's impossible to give a definitive age surely? The range and differences in the physical attributes of girls at age 10 is huge and I would be guided by her teacher.