Anna C

Aileen, can I ask you to start a new thread with your post in? Just so that we're not discussing two separate issues in one thread? :-)

That's excellent advice Pas de Quatre and Robin64. And as angry/hurt/bitter/bemused as we can be feeling, it's also worth remembering what a very small world the ballet world is. Teachers and Directors can pop up at any time in the most unexpected of places! We should be able to ask questions and request feedback, but when push comes to shove - and as hard and heartbreaking as the ballet world is - the decision usually stands. If as parents we can conduct ourselves with dignity and keep a cool head (no matter how shredded we feel inside) I truly believe it helps our children heal and move on.

How fantastic. :-))

Just popped in to say hello Gazelle, and welcome! Glad you have joined us. Good luck to all auditioning. :-)

Excellent post. :-))

I know, you were a very long-standing member! :-)). Great to "see" you again here.

Hello Janabiyah-Jane, welcome! Yes, lovely day - hope it's sunny in Chester. Good luck everyone! :-)

But schools have waiting lists, don't they, so if a child doesn't take up his or her place then I assume the child at the top of the waiting list would be offered the place. It is not for parents to have to justify here why they may send their children to more than one final audition. As I say, while the schools allow the practice, it is every parent's perogative to let their child audition. Nothing will be achieved by going round in circles about whether it's right or wrong.

Lovely video; EYB posted one on their official Facebook page. It looks as if it's going to be a fabulous production; good luck to all involved, and enjoy the experience!

Gosh, Pavlala, what a wonderful and extraordinary present! Welcome to the forum, by the way. :-)

I know from experience how frustrating and sometimes brutal this strange world our children have chosen can be. It must be infinitely frustrating and heartbreaking to have one child turned down for a school which is already training an older sibling. However, all children develop at different rates, and while their brother/sister may have been ready for a year 7 place, it maybe that younger sibling needs a year or two to reach the same stage. Or it could be that the school is looking for something different this year. Sadly, like the Assessment process, the audition process is mysterious, opaque, and appears to have no rhyme nor reason - BUT we all know this before we send our children off to audition. It's on every school's website or application form that correspondence about the result will not be entered into, rightly or wrongly, but it is there. With regard to auditioning abroad, as has been pointed out, there would only be a few non-MDS spaces available to students from abroad. The fashion for Chinese and Japanese ballet dancers is not a new thing, nor is auditioning in Japan limited to Elmhurst. We already know that Elmhurst and RBS will not fill spaces unless they find a child who ticks all the boxes at a time, so I truly don't think it's a case of children from abroad taking spaces which would otherwise have been given to British children. The question of attending another final once you've been offered a place elsewhere is tricky; I can see reasons both for and against. But while the schools allow the practice, I don't think it's for us to start slating people who do it. Everyone here looks after their own children's interests first, after all.

Best wishes from me too. It's such a stressful time! Thinking of everyone during funding auditions. :-))

I think it all depends on your local dance school which is why so many schools do things at different times. Some teachers like to take years over a syllabus; polishing and polishing, while others are happy to be a bit more speedy over the process. To be honest, you could work on a syllabus for ages, be on track for a distinction, and be ill or have an off day on the day of the exam anyway! :-) As has been discussed, exams themselves won't help get a place at Vocational school, but step vocabulary, the ability to follow enchainements, good technique and a sense of performance probably will help (physique dependent). If doing exams is one way to practice these skills then it's no bad thing. My DD's local school does Vocational exams by invitation of the Director, but the Vocational girls all continue with Grades as the higher Grades concentrate on artistry and can be a nice contrast to the Vocational Grades. I do think now that the newer syllabi for Vocational Grades have fewer exercises because several old exercises have been combined to make "mini-dances" there is perhaps less of a need to do both. But my DD does both in any case because it's one more class she can do, and there are no freework or repertoire classes at her school. She is just 13 and working towards RAD Grade 6 and Intermediate, if that helps.

Is the MDS/MADE website of any help? Lildancer is right, at the recent CAT taster day we attended we were told that all students get MDS funding, but that it is means tested, so income dictates how much the parental contribution will be. That was of course for dance, but as the MADE scheme covers music and dance, I'd be surprised if there was a vast difference.

Hugs and commiserations for the no's, and many congrats, Lala! :-)) Don't forget the no's aren't saying "never", they're just saying "not this year". It doesn't have to mean the end of the dream. :-)

I will message you. :-)

This is something I particularly like about my DD's Associate Class; they have a stretching session between barre and centre. My DD does exercise at home BUT these are exercises given to her by a specialist dance physio and are almost all strengthening exercises, with only one specific (and gentle) stretch.

Ah, ok Bruce. I didn't know whether you could pin a linked copy of the document at the top of each forum, but if it's a case of having to update the document multiple times then that could be a bit of a logistical nightmare. :-)

A few years ago, my DD was offered a place on the Theatre Arts course at Tring following her audition for the Dance Course. Apart from the lack of funding ( no MDS awards for Theatre Arts), my DD's first love remains Classical Ballet, so we turned the place down because she didn't want to miss out on ballet. She is however keeping up her singing lessons and some tap, in case she veers towards MT in the future. I believe there is some ballet training on the TA course at Tring, with the option of doing RAD classes on a Saturday, but I don't know if there are singing and acting classes for the children on the dance course? If the two courses are quite separate at Tring, have you considered looking at The Hammond? I believe their course is excellent for children who love ballet but are also Musical Theatre inclined. Edited for typo

Gosh, difficult choice! Don't envy you that one! :-)

Hello Porthesia, Can't help with info but very well done to your DD!

I'm inclined to agree about resting if that is the advice that has been given. I doubt ENBS would want a candidate to risk doing serious damage by dancing when they had been told not to. My DD's much older ballet friend told her about a student at a recent audition who had been doing barre with no problem, but balked at doing Grand Battements - when asked why, the student said "I had abdominal surgery a few days ago!". Needless to say, the school panicked somewhat!

Gosh, I'm on and off the site all the time during the day - hope I'm not driving up a bill somewhere! :-) May I make a suggestion that once the Acceptable Use Policy/Forum Rules are finalised, that they are "pinned" to the top of each of the active forums, so that the guidelines are clear for new users? (and new Mods! ;-))

That is an excellent point about dancing with like-minded children of similar ability. My DD is the only child of her age at her local school who is deadly serious about ballet, and the youngest in her Vocational class there by several years. She loves her local training but says it makes a huge difference to be in a class of girls at Associate Class who are all as serious about ballet and all of a similar standard. Interested Parent, that's very interesting re. Children in more than one Associate Scheme. I know of a child who does Associates on a Saturday and a different associate scheme on a Sunday. NOT something I would consider for my DD given the amount of homework she gets, but also because I believe children should have one day a week to rest. But on the other hand, I suppose it's up to the individual child and their parents, and some could say that if they audition and get offered a place, it's their perogative to take both places.....?

Fortunately if you live within travelling distance to London we are blessed with the number of good associate schemes; not just Royal Ballet School, but Central School of Ballet, London Junior and Senior Ballet, then of course there are the CAT schemes at The Place and Laban...outside London you have Tring Park's Classical Ballet Academy, Hammond Associates, Elmhurst PVPs and Associates. And that's just in England! Personally, my DD wasn't ready in terms of performance skills, technique and maturity to get a place at Vocational School at 11. The only decent school which we can get to easily (and still fit in the massive amounts of academic homework she gets) is completely syllabus based, and although she also does private lessons, I knew that she would need to top up her training with different, more advanced and definitely non-syllabus training. Plus one of the Upper Schools she hopes to apply to is where she is an associate. So she's familiar with the building, the staff, the school's ethos etc. which hopefully will make her feel more at home there during the audition process. Associate Classes aren't vital for progression to Upper School, but for some children who may be getting a somewhat limited local training (either in terms of available lessons, or if an aspect of the dance training is not available locally) then I do think Associate Classes are important.