Anna C

I'm feeling very sorry for the dancers. All this uncertainty must be incredibly unsettling for them.

Well well! Thank you Aurora. :-) I agree; I can't see a good reason for changing their policy. Very odd!

Thanks Julie; I thought that was still the case. The RAD told me that the ban on split soles in Inter Foundation was to help prepare the students' feet for working solely in soft blocks and pointe shoes from Intermediate upwards. Seems a perfectly rational policy so I would be surprised if they were to change it.

I hope this goes well for ENB; it's such a great idea. My DD was about 3 and a half when we took her to her first ballet - the previous incarnation of ENB's Nutcracker. She sat on my knee and was utterly transfixed for the whole thing. Having said that, she's never been a fidgeter and has always had a long attention span but I appreciate that not all 3 year olds are the same, so an abridged ballet is a great idea. And as Kiwimum says it's a lovely opportunity for the ENBS students. I'll be interested if they do any more "My first"s.

I'm totally skint so have escaped the booking madness this time round! :-) Going to be VERY interesting to see what improvements they make and what effect they have on the booking system.... Good luck if you're still waiting, folks!

Have they changed the specifications for Vocational Exams then? I was only discussing the issue with the RAD a few months ago. As far as I know you may wear full sole ballet flats for Inter Foundation (not split soles) but for Intermediate and above, it's still soft blocks/demi pointes plus pointe shoes.

From what I can gather, split soles are fine for those who *already* have strong feet and whose feet don't need strengthening. There are a couple of girls in dd's Associate class who seem to have very strong metatarsals so for them I guess splitsoles are ok to work in. My dd needs to continue strengthening hers hence the physio's advice to "give the splitsoles to the dog to play with" (we didn't) and to wear soft blocks for everything except pointework. I once asked the RAD why splitsoles are not allowed in Vocational exams and they said it was simply because working against a full sole helps to strengthen the feet for the pointework required in the Vocational exams.

Who is Director of Dance now at Legat, by the way?

Legat doesn't have any MDS places, does it? Does that mean that there are no DaDas for Legat 6th form?

Ooh, garden sounds nice! I think there are a lot of different sizes of accommodation in that building, I don't think they are all that "compact". :-)

Nothing on the RAD website to suggest that they're changing anytime soon....might be worth emailing their examinations department? :-)

She's in Year 8. No, she's not auditioning this year. In two minds whether to send her for Yr 10 auditions or not because she's really academic too and at a very good school. At the moment she wants to audition for post 16 training but so much can change in the ballet world we tend to take it a term at a time! :-)

Great post, thank you so much Lottie. Does anyone know what the chances are of 2nd year students successfully getting into Ballet Central and 3rd year? With regards to the new accommodation opposite Central, I found this: http://www.zoopla.co.uk/to-rent/details/16815244

I can remember feeling just like that, C4D. It does pass, I promise! 3 years on and we take it all a term at a time now. :-)

I absolutely agree with this. My dd was once told that she didn't have flexible enough feet for classical ballet. A highly experienced dance physio has pronounced that to be utter nonsense and after three sessions the difference in the way dd's feet and legs look and work is amazing. I never would have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes. I know my dd wasn't ready in lots of ways for a place in year 7 but the change in her in a couple of years has been astounding. Of course now in years 8-10 places are rare (which is good because we don't want people to be assessed out :-) but the simple fact is that not every child is, at 10, what the schools are looking for on that particular day. All children develop at different rates so just remember, a "no" is not necessarily a "never".

I think she will be fine unless we get the world's tallest person in front of us (which seems to happen with surprising regularity!)

How amazing! :-)) Thanks so much everyone, that sounds great. I will ask DH to go and ask for a booster seat if necessary but from what you've said it sounds as if we will be ok. :-)

Evening all, We're seeing La Fille soon and the only seats I could get which are suitable for my disability were stalls circle row C (something like 71-73 if I remember rightly). We've only ever sat in the Grand Tier or the balcony before and had front row seats both times (the joy of the hugely discounted but now defunct Family Performances). Has anyone sat in or near those seats who can tell me what they're like? I looked at the photo preview but of course what it doesn't show is other people's heads and if they are in the way or not. Daughter is about 5'4 but much of that is legs so I want to be sure she can see. Any insights appreciated! Thanks. :-)

What a lovely post Hairbelles. :-). Welcome to the forum! :-))

I echo my congratulations for the "yes" s, very very well done! :-) Hugs and commiserations to the "no"s. Remember how very rare MDS places are for years 8 and above -and of course if there are fewer places because fewer people are assessed out then that's good. As Seagazer says, there are other routes and there's more choice for post sixteen training. xx

Well done! :-)). Is that for Year 7 too?

It's funding given by the Music and Dance Scheme: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/toolsandinitiatives/b0068711/mds Good luck with the bursary Wildflowers, and very well done Karen - was that for a yr 7 place? :-)

Some subject clashes really mystify me. Most of dd's dancing friends are also musical too and I don't think it's that unusual. I always wonder why schools let "arty" subjects clash like that? :-(

I agree Robin64. I don't think my dd would have managed it as a twilight course had she been taking the exam in years 10 or 11. She's only just managing it in year 8 but I must say it is useful as it's getting her into the GCSE mindset early.

That is an outstanding achievement, isn't it. Is it an Apprenticeship, or a full contract?