tutoo2much

I think the fact that your daughter is applying at only 16, goes against her, rather than it being that she doesn't have the potential. From my observations of the path students at our local dance school have taken, the majority get places at 18 , having done a Btech. One or two have gone at 16, but they were very, very strong dancers. I have also heard that employers prefer to employ slightly older dancers and it could be harder to get a job at 19, rather than 21.

Yes. She turned 13 after the summer school, even though she was yr 8. I suppose my point was that it is easy to get a bit fixated on the photos and poses. it is possible to get a place without the perfect application if you are what they like. Puberty has also struck and I think we could send in an amazing set of professional photos of DD, not forgetting any poses and she still wouldn't be offered a place.

My dd who turned 13 in the August, applied and got a place for a year 8. She didn't wear pointe shoes for the photos. The photos were sent in a tiny bit late and weren't all there..

Perhaps there will be some information about John Cranko School appraisals on The Ballet Talk for Dancers site which has a whole thread on the school. http://dancers.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=28989&hl=%2Bjohn+%2Bcranko

Just had a look and you can buy contigo water bottles on amazon. This one even has a secret compartment!

Will give the sistema ones a go. But very impressed by the contigo video demonstrating how to drink from it.! Not sure how to get hold of one though. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp9VYsf9IdM

I have seen those but have become so wary thought I would ask on here before spending any money.

We have tried cheap ones, expensive ones, designer ones, camping ones etc, and haven't found one that doesn't leak or leave an after taste. DD just re-using old water bottles, but I don't think this is particularly healthy. But at least everything else in her dance bag stays dry.any recommendations?

Thanks, I will email her.

Does anyone know anything about this school? Does it actually exist? I tried googling it and found a reference to it starting up in 2011, but couldn't find anything else. It was run by Mary Goodhew from BBO.

I have heard of quite a few children auditioning for year 8 and above who have been offered places to start more or less immediately. Might be worth an early audition for some!

No experience but they do offer some dance scholarships

Taxi4ballet she is 14 and has been on pointe 4 years. I think it varies how much time they are en pointe in her classes, not sure if there is even a set amount?! I am sure on Ballet talk I have read about dd's doing a lower level class en pointe, if enough pointe classes were available. Seems they do separate pointe classes there and a vocational schools here. Balleteacher- I think this is probably more important.....

Despite doing several advanced classes a week, she thinks and may be right that she doesn't do much pointe work. Does anyone's DD do lower grades on pointe? If so what grade?

Thanks for that information. I think I will just have to wait and see.

Hi I see the auditions dates are up on the web-site for this years production. In order to make the most of an expensive trip to London, I would like to book the train tickets in advance and maybe go to a show the night before. However there are two possible audition dates and they say quite firmly you cannot request a date or time? How strict are they about this? And do they audition all age groups on the same day, or do they tend to have younger ones on one day and older on another? How long before the auditions do you get your date? Although I guess they could change all of this anyway, might do it differently every year! Thanks in advance.

I get the impression Elmhurst make it up as they go along! And they aren't really accountable, so why not!

Given the cost of airfares, summer school and accommodation I don't know if any of the summer schools over here are worth it as such, given what you will end up paying per class/days of training. However RBS summer school is a wonderful experience, in terms of the unique location, the international atmosphere and slightly exclusive air. The standard seems quite high, but the classes are fairly big and some students do get very little individual attention. From what I understand from my DD, the Australian students tend to be of a higher standard, stronger and more technically advanced. And of-course, it is the opportunity to be seen by them (a 2 week audition) and if they like you enough.....................

I don't think that very many of the young people who make it into the criminal justice system have had any of the opportunities that many of our dancing children have. They have parents who can afford multiple dance classes per week, and actually are interested enough to invest the time and effort to take them. Parents who pay (although many may struggle)for pointe shoes and leotards and the cost of ballet exams. Some are driven or taken hundreds of miles for associate classes and attend summer schools, easter schools and master classes. They have an opportunity to express themselves through dance, learn that the harder they work the better they get, develop confidence and self esteem through finding something they can excel at. I also find the underlying assumption that poor people have it easier somehow is odd. Poor means not having much money. Therefore I doubt loads of 'poor' people will be turning up at classical ballet auditions having had sufficient training and getting the DaDa's, unless they have had access to a CAT scheme or something similar.

If funding is not an issue, why not try Young Dancer's Academy for Year 11. Maybe they could help you prepare for the sixth fom auditions which sound very competitive. http://www.youngdancersacademy.co.uk/

It does seem bizarre to have a system where one group of people can afford the first five years of training but not the next three, As I understand it, the old dada system disadvantaged poorer people so that didn't work either. Maybe use the same sliding scale for MDSs and Dada's.

Hard to believe they survived at school.

John Cranko School in Stuttgart. Tuition is free! http://en.john-cranko-schule.de/admission/ DVD's accepted for auditions= not too late to apply!

Julie Milner- This is an interesting point. In what way did these students in Vienna work harder? Was it in or out of class? Was their motivation to do so from intrinsic or extrinisic factors? Have students who have gone abroad noticed this?

I wasn't questioning the quality of UK schools. Some people were saying that they might send their children abroad because they can no longer afford to send them to Uk schools, which I am sure would be their first choice. I simply had a look on various web-sites to see if it was the case that they were cheaper.