Farawaydancer

Yes Elmhurst staff are in during the holidays. Good luck!

All the staff at Elmhurst are really lovely and your dd will thoroughly enjoy her time, congratulations to all the new associates!

At the Elmhurst induction day I spoke to the mum of a day pupil and she was saying that her dd only comes home to sleep - she eats and stays at school with her friends until the very last minute and is back in time for breakfast! She also spends a lot of time there at weekends. I hope you get things sorted out, it sounds like a difficult situation.

Yes, my ds! I'll send you a PM ????

We're looking forward to the 13th too, it still doesn't feel too real yet! How lovely to get real post from her guardian angel too.

I'm sorry but I don't agree that feedback should be given. Firstly, it would be a logistical nightmare as there are too many at finals but most importantly, the reasons that schools don't take some candidates are as simple as: too fat, too short, not flexible, no turnout, head too big, boobs too big, no musicality etc etc. Now try explaining that to an impressionable, sensitive young girl/boy. So much better to be told that THIS time it's a no but please try again next year. Then mum can comfort and reassure and the child can pick herself up and try again. What if the reason is that her feet aren't right for ballet? There's not very much that can be done about that, therefore, a devastating thing to hear. The schools know what they're doing. This isn't the job market which deals with adults. It's the world of ballet where sensitive young souls may well have their dreams shattered with the wrong feedback. CeliB, I would hate my daughter to be privy to the discussion made by the panel at her audition. I want to be able to tell her that she was fantastic and beautiful at the audition but the competition was too fierce without her turning round to me and saying, actually mum they said it was because I have flat feet.

Yes, y7 ????

Just updating to say my ds was offered a place yesterday from the reserve pool! I hope there's some similar lovely news for some of your dc too. ????

My ds is also waiting in the reserve pool. We're doing our best to try and forget about it all now but it's really hard! I really wish they had given some kind of timescale in the letter.

My ds was still in a primary class when he auditioned successfully for Elmhurst associates. He'd only been dancing six months. If he's keen let him try.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has any info/ experience of the Elmhurst reserve pool?

Yes, I'd like to know more about this too. Even just a cutoff date would be good so I know when to stop running for the post every day!

My ds is in the 'reserve pool' so still more waiting to be done!

It might be a swollen gland rather than an injury as such? Has she been off colour or might she be coming down with anything?

Ds just got a yes to y7 finals from last week's audition. One very happy boy. Hoping there's some more good news letters arriving for people today.

My ds is auditioning on Thursday too, it's all suddenly becoming very real!

My ds wears shorts and a tight fitting Tshirt, leotard to associates classes and for exams. It honestly hasn't made a jot of difference to him. The boys at his school are allowed to wear anything comfortable and suitable though.

I know that historically this used to be the case. I know one child who was allowed to do some early grades early. However, I'm not sure they allow it any more because my dd teacher was telling me she's ready to take gr1 with a group who are ready but because she's only 6 she can't.

I would think at 10 that she should be doing more than one 45 minute class. I would move her if she's not going to be offered this at the original school.

My ds was the only boy in his class when he started at 7 and it has honestly never been an issue. More important is finding a school which seems excited to have boys, the children will take their cues from the teachers.

Not at all - I am not seriously advocating we change things now, it would be far too messy! I am just saying what it "should" have been in my opinion from the very outset.

 

As such, obviously the same scheme would have been applied to music & drama exams as well.

 

Entry Level in education has three "Grades" - Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3. See my logic here? Pre-grade 1 exams such as Primary are specifically intended for very young schildren - no non-special-needs teen or adult would ever be entered for them - and cannot be regarded as a qualification, and hence do not need to be accredited. (They would correspond to the "P-levels" in education used in special needs classes (the higher P-levels would represent a level expected of children of the target age for Pre-Primary & Primary).

P levels in education are not the levels for a child the age pre- and Primary are intended for. Education p levels are for children working below the standard needed to access the national curriculum. It's a very difficult task I think to try to take a ballet syllabus and equate it to educational levels. I think it's done mostly on the number of study hours and the course content, nothin to do with the intellectual ability needed for either qualification.

My ds was at the associates intensive last weekend and loved it!

At my dc school exam invitations are made by email for the parents to decide. However everyone's results are emailed out together in one document! Not entirely sure how I feel about it.

How can a ballet school not have a principal/head of ballet?!

I was just about to say the same thing. I seem to remember from somewhere that deposits have to be refundable - they're only allowed to keep an amount to cover any losses they might have made. I can't imagine they would be out of pocket if you didn't take up the place!

Booking fees are permissible.

My ds loves his elmhurst ass class and thinks the world of his teacher. It will very much depend on the child I think.