primrose

We used to sell the costumes to each other as the dance was passed on to the next dancer. The costumes I believe do need to be authentic, but its very silly when parents pay vast amounts of money for them. Most schools have parents who dress make or have contacts that do. We used to get given a photograph of a National costume and told to have it made. We then payed one of the parents to make it for us. I never paid above 30 pounds for any costume other than a tutu, and at that time my dd was doing 12 different dances, solos, duets, trios and groups. The teacher at the time was one of the examining bodies of ISTD and she was highly regarded for her National dances often winning the Grandison Clark national competitions.

My dd does at least a two hour ballet class per day, then repetoire. She does character, acting , pas de deux, Russian gymnastics, although these arent every day. She has academics everyday aswell. I think most classical schools will be simular.

Hbrew when I mentioned in my post that some of the decisions made at Elmhurst were odd it was not meant in a way to detract from the very talented students selected. What I meant by that comment was that its odd how a student can be told no at the final audition but whatever happens between then and September the same student has gained a place. Now of course the student may have been looked at again by the panel, I know of several girls who did just that and gained their place at the school.

daisybell, your story is so inspiring for many young dancers, and really backs up the theory of keep trying as no at this point means just not yet. Its lovely to hear your daughter doing so well, please keep us all informed of her journeys in the ballet world.

I have known several girls to get a no for Elmhurst and a yes for RBS and ENB. I also know that when my dd did finals at Elmhurst several girls from White Lodge were not given a final audition. Again, some girls who were told no at finals suddenly are given a place. Elmhurst is a lovely school but do some odd things at auditions. The schools do generally know what they are looking for and a lot do not come from vocational schools. Non of the vocational schools are interested in exam or festival or other previous performances, They are looking at the student in front of them and if they have the right attributes for their school. Sometimes they get it wrong in our opinion. If a student wants to be sucessful in the ballet world then they need to be very determined and not give up when told no thankyou. Many students daily life consists of not being chosen for something or other or being overlooked by somebody else. These are not necessary the ones who get the best jobs though. Keep going Discouraged there are other good schools out there. This is why us parents hate the audition process as it is so hard when the rejection letters invariably through the door. Auditioning is the easy bit, the waiting is the hardest.

My daughter has this beautiful arched foot coupled with sway back legs, Fortunately her feet and ankles are strong. However up until she went away to the Bolshoi she hadnt really been doing much with them as asthetically she was getting away with not doing much. She has very thin ankles and has had to strenghten them. Now she works very hard at strenghtening her feet and sees the importance and improvements in doing so. Her teachers ensure she is doing the correct exercises and insist upon it. School footwear is incredibley important. If you shop around good shoes can be found. You can also enhance shoes by buying good insoles for them. UGG boots are unfortunately one of the worse things the children could wear. Most youngsters wear them as they are comfortable and the big thing to year, but they do cause the feet to roll.

I am waiting until the culprits are caught and the true and real story can be revealed. The school and the company do have close links. When I first heard this story I was quite panicked wondering if my daughter was in a safe place. Having calmed down I realise that she is very protected whilst at the school, probably she is in no more danger than if she was in London. As my daugther progresses with her training I am begining to hear many stories about problems in lots of companies from around the world, how true this is I dont know as its always hearsay. When we first went out to Moscow we were told to be very wary as my husband is in the RAF and that we may well be followed by various people and organisations in Russia. I was terrified, but what a load of rubbish that was. Nobody was interested in us at all. The staff at the Bolshoi are aware of my husbands job and again nobody is interested. I believe that the stories we hear are magnified tremedously by the media. My prayers go out to Sergei and his family and I really hope his sight is restored.

At the moment it is only specutlation as to who threw the acid at Sergei Filin. Until proven I would not allow what might be false information to cloud my judgement about the company. I would love to have seen the Sleeping Beauty but will be away on holiday in St Petersburgh of all places.

Just been looking on the Groupon website and saw this offer, With Breakfast, Prosecco and Parking from £65 at Jurys Inn Birmingham (Up to 67% Off) I cant find the dates the offer is for but was thinking about people who may be doing auditions for Elmhurst.

I am most definately no expert on ballet, but I know what I like when I watch it. For me it is the passion and the lines that the dancer produces when dancing their role. I believe that it is first and foremost talent that brings dancers to the publics attention and a shed load of publicity. Carlos Acosta and Jonathon Cope alongside Darcy are names that come to mind when thinking of ballet dancers. I have only really watched a few ballet performances but these are the names that come to mind and would recognise on a programme. I am getting better in that my daughter has educated me in recognising others such as Sarah Lamb and then the Russian greats. These dancers often appear in our newspapers or on our television screens, they are very much in the public eye through the media.

If she is dancing with BRB they often have a shoe department that provides the dancers with pointe shoes. They gave my dd several pairs when she was doing some dancing with them a few years ago.

Oh you poor thing, I dont know of any ballet shops near the station.

They are indeed in Bristol. Yury trained at the Bolshoi and was a principle dancer in the companies. Chika his wife trained at the vaganova in St Petersburgh and again danced in the companies. If you type into google Bristol Russian Ballet School you can get all their information. Heather will be taking classes with them during the summer. However she needs to rest. The training out in Russia is very intense. Mind you she has mentioned going back to the Bolshoi early to do their summer school, however we will see what happens later on. Her summer break starts at the end of June until 1 september. I would say about 3 weeks rest and then getting back to a class a day isnt a bad thing.

Am I right in understanding that your Son is being trained in the Russian method. If this is the case then I can fully understand what your teacher is saying. My dd will now only go to her Russian teachers in Bristol when she comes home from the Bolshoi school in Moscow. She finds that when she has attended classes here in Britain the teachers try to change the Russian style, which is not the best thing for her.

I was also going to say pirates of the caribbean, wow you could do all sorts with that one and the use of facial expression could be fantastic.

Unfortunately it has closed down, I think the owners just wanted to retire. I know that the Bristol Russian school still exists in different studios as they used to use studios above the shop.

I changed my doctor for other reasons apart from my dds medical forms. My dd needed certain medical tests doing before she could enter Russia including HIV. My original GP wanted around 400 pounds for the tests. The new GP charged nothing and gave the tests for free as she was under 18 years of age and in full time education. How can one practise charge these amounts and another only a couple of miles away charge zero.

Dont worry the standard wont be too high. The teachers want to see your potential. They wont be expecting you to be doing triple pirouettes or anything like that. They may ask for some basic pointe work. My dd had to do corrus accross the studio on her prelim audition. Relax and enjoy the day. If you can sleep in a good hotel then that would be a better option rather than travelling all that way. Traffic to Bham can also be challenging so that would have to be added into your travelling time. Good luck to all the students auditioning.

Keep positive spotlight, as I said to my dd, her job was to do the best she could at the auditions and it was our job to worry about the funding. ( She did understand though that without funding she couldnt go to the schools). Students auditioning for 6th form places have it so hard I think. They are worrying about their GCSEs, staying in the best shape they can (Christmas doesnt help at all) and then of course the audition itself. Very stressful when puberty is also added to the mix. Good luck to all you young wonderful dancers out there. Just do the best you can and nobody can ask more than that.

Be careful Spotlight, Northern Ballet School only send letters at this point with intent of funding should that be available. What this means is that it is run on a points system, the ones with the most points will be offered the Dada first and then so on. Nobody knows how many points they have until that letter comes through the door offering the funding. I am not writing this to upset you in any way, I know the letters from the school can be a little misleading. A lot of the vocational schools (Elmhurst, RBS, Hammond and Tring) offer A level study alongside their dance training. Good luck with it all.

Just thought I would let people know that Bloch have started their sale today, also dance direct have got some lovely sale leotards on offer.

Happy New Year, lets hope 2013 bring lots of joy and happiness to the world.

They are on average 18 years of age. I asked my dd about the dancers in the clip and she said that there are quite a few internationals amongst them. She also said that every graduating international student gained contracts last year.

The Bolshoi Ballet Academy shared a link. Музыка – К.Васильева “Листопад” bolshoiacademy.net This link appeared on my face book page and I just thought I would share it with you all. These students are currently in the 3rd year of the upper school. The clip just gives a small insight into the standard of the current students. I was wondering if other schools shared simular links, as for me its always interesting to watch the up and coming dancers of the future.

I would go back to the shop and ask the advice of the manager, she is fantastic at fitting pointe shoes.