Janabiyah-Jane

Beautiful pictures, you are so lucky to be so talented...

Fate often needs a helping hand and I think we have to work hard to achieve what we want.... Well done for trying your utmost to give your DD a great opportunity.... Wishing you all the best, I have shared the page and some of my FB friends have too one is in France... My thoughts are with you and I wish you all the luck in the world....

I love this ad, and can only hope that it also highlights to tv viewers the beauty and talent of ballet. We so little of this art form on our tv screens. How fab to associate it with high profile football players.

This may rock the boat but I have heard that at least one of the schools offers a place to almost everyone that applies for the dance course as otherwise they would be unlikely to guarantee enough fee paying students to make the school viable. At this school, it appears that those most likely to meet the requirements for MDS are invited to a further audition to decide how to allocate funding. Is this correct?

 

Am I right in thinking, also, that MDS funding is offered on the basis of ability/potential and that only after the award is made is the level of support worked out by means testing? Ie, MDS funding is not awarded on the basis of socio-economic factors?

No this is not true.... I know of a friends daughter who applied the same year as mine and was given a no for Hammond.... Was given a no for Trings dance course but was offered a place on the Musical theatre course..... Obviously this would not apply to Elmhurst or RBS so unless it is for another school, then I am afraid your information is incorrect...

Of course if they feel a student is likely to meet the requirements they will invite them for the MDS audition.

MDS is awarded on talent/potential... household finances are not known at this stage.

Hope that makes sense.

Not exactly linked to weight loss, but the RB Upper School this year have insisted that all students that joined the 1st year in September have a blood test for vitamin D levels. They are going to be monitoring this in the current 1st years. They are doing this to see if there is any correlation between bone stress injuries and vitamin D deficiency.

That was gorgeous and so different.

During my daughters years at WL there were children assessed out every year, including year 7 and year 10! But most were in year 9 when I think there were about 4.

It's a tough life for these youngsters.

I would just like to share my experience on here (some of you will have heard this story 6 years ago). My daughter started ballet at a very early age, however it was a recreational class purely for fun, until somebody (can't remember who but something to do with ballet) saw her doing Irish dancing when she was about 8 and advised me that she should be doing ballet as she just had that physique (I never did question what they meant by that, always wish I had). I told my daughter this and she said well I will carry on with it then, she was only doing 30 mins of ballet a week at the time, and her teacher had heard about JA's and thought she ought to audition, we didn't expect much but she was given a place as a JA at age 10 with very little ballet technique. After being a JA (fortnightly) for 6 months and having only had about 7 classes she then had to audition for MA's. Her JA teacher advised me that she may not be accepted into MA's due to not being technically advanced enough. She had at that time taken grade 2 IDTA ballet!

So therefore we were shocked to receive an invitation to a final audition for WL even though we had not ticked that box on the app form. She decided to audition for the experience and again we were totally shocked to be offered a place at the school. She managed to retain her place at WL for the full 5 years and is now in her 1st year at Upper school.

Thats just our story but just goes to show, you don't have to be too technically advanced, just to be able to show that you have the potential to get there.

Thank you! And I have offers from: Rambert, Tring and Scottish ballet (royal conservatoire of Scotland).

 

Loving the idea of the classical ballet from Scottish, I love the teachers and facilities at Tring, and the reputation at Rambert is really outstanding.

 

I think it's still too fresh to be able to make a decision - I keep going different ways!

 

LB x

How fabulous to have that choice... Well done and wishing you luck with your decision I am sure you will be fab where ever you go...

How fabulous and exciting Little Ballerina... well done and good luck for the future.. x

I've been dipping in and out all day, and have absolutely loved it. What an amazing insight for us all.

I agree with Julie W on this....

Although I guess we have never been in the position to have to make that decision. As some of you may know my daughter was given the opportunity to audition for White Lodge even though she had never even considered it, and she was very lucky to be given a place and managed to remain there for 5 years. However when it came to Upper School auditions she felt that if she wasn't good enough to gain a place at one of her 4 choice schools in the UK then she would take another direction. She would never have considered training overseas and its not something I would have encouraged either. I am happy that she is still training here and I feel she is getting top class training.

But each to their own..

Does anyone know how many White Lodge students will be going to the Upper School this year?

I believe there are 14 which is superb. 9 girls and 5 boys.

Just had a call with the offer of a funded place for my little dd. She is over the moon as am I

That is fantastic news, how lovely for you all... Well done...x

Thank you Spannerandpony, I have been a member (of the original ballet.co) since 2006, when I found this forum extremely helpful to me, although there were not many of us parents on there at that time, as Julie W will confirm.

Sorry to go off topic.

Thinking of you all during this difficult time of uncertainty, but you must enjoy the experience and excitement of it all no matter what.

Thinking of you all at the Hammond funding audition today... I remember the day 3 years ago very well...

A lovely day for having tea in Chester.

Lots of luck from me too. I remember that day (6 years ago) as if it was yesterday. It was so exciting, just make the most of the day and really enjoy it.