wildflowers

oh and good luck picturesinthefirelight!

Pasdebourree15, you could always plead ignorance and apply anyway on the basis that it wasn't there when you first looked at website I guess they are saying that because they don't want to trawl through another few hundred applications, if Mr P is selecting from photographs. That said, how many dc's are in Huddsballetmum's position I wonder - based upon the number of applicants they had this year, one would think the majority of dc's considering vocational school would have applied first time round. Would have been nice if the audition was also extended to all finalists, although as already mentioned, many of them have been snapped up by other schools. And then of course there is summer school to pick from too! interesting times ahead! Best of luck Huddsballetmum, how lovely to be given a second chance when you thought it was too late, shall be keeping everything crossed for you

Hope all the auditions are going well so far! Has anyone heard re the London dates yet?

Fantastic news - have been looking out for a post from you with everything crossed, so so pleased.... new name most def required!!

They do say photos are only for reference after audition so don't panic too much if you can't redo them. Few years ago we had last minute decision to enter dd for WL summer school - photos taken and sent to photobox, ordered two sets so we had copy - for some reason no 2 pics were the same.....in some could see her feet but not her hands and vice versa.....ended up stapling both photos together , shrugged my shoulders and thought that was waste of money.....she got a place

When we were there last year, the majority of dd's were JA's so no they don't have a JA group and non JA group. Really don't think there is anything more complicated about it other than they have to split the group in two. You can beat yourself up trying to second guess them - doesn't make the day come round any sooner and won't change the outcome. So try and relax and enjoy the moment as really this is the easy bit, believe me!

Elmhurst Year 9 students and parents are to be given the appraisal results in individual meetings with Mr Parker and Miss Ward. These are taking place over next two days. Best of luck to all concerned.

lovely clip, thanks for sharing, nice to see some little faces I know, what an amazing production to be involved in. From what I could see, all heights represented!!

For lower school, the date of the finals are set in stone, it is first auditions where you (may) have choice. I know Elmhurst and tring have more than one date from Nov onwards. RBS your choice of date is determined by venue. On looking at websites, I may be wrong but I beleive for the first time in my memory, Elmhurst are having their final for lowerschool before Whitelodge (yr 7 only). It seems to change from year to year so just keep checking websites and as everyone says, do what suits your family and finances best, especially if you are coming from abroad. Good luck whrn it comes, will feel like a long time away but will be here soon enough!!

I'm still trying to work out what PITA stands for.....is it catching? Hope everyone's poorly DK's better soon

When I watched the RBS end of yr show at ROH, in the extract from Paquita, counted 32 fouettes Amazing!

DD has some from Freed (Aspire), didn't get them from Freed London thou, stumbled across them in a the dance shop in Peterborough that the RBS Associates use - they are called Express Dance Supply tel 01733 565563 or email Dancewearman@aol.com Good luck!

further to my earlier post, agree, it was hair nets rather than bun nets, as my girls also like to wrap them around 2 or 3 times

We live close to this supplier and have found the tubs of pins they sell good - not too flimsy and good value http://www.hairbitz.com/ they also had a fantastic deal on bun nets - we got something like 12 packs of 3 for the ridiculous price of £2.50 or similar.....HOWEVER, before this I did buy dd one pack of 12 of the 'bunhead' pins - dd swears by them, expensive but 12 pins was more than enough to keep a nice neat bun in. She unfortunately 'lost' them at a summer school so made do with the large tub but has begged me to buy them again! May have got them from dance direct, can't remember, will have a look and let you know!

Balletjack, the written paper at WL, tends to be an 'all about me' type paper which they then use as a discussion point for the interview. At Elm, it is a non verbal reasoning test - both schools go at length to say it has no bearing on the result - they are chosen on talent, potential etc alone. As for summer school photographs, who knows! The year my dd got offered WL SS, we'd decided at the last minute so took photos myself....got two sets printed when we received them in one particular pose you could see her feet in one photo but not her hands and vice versa, so I stapled them together, said 'what the heck, can't really afford it anyway' and she got offered a place! It was hilarious. She didn't do it in the end as thru JA's she had an amazing opportunity to dance with the Bolshoi at the Opera house which she and a number of her peers chose to do instead....reason I mention is not to boast but to point out that should you apply and get offered waiting list then don't despair as some students do turn places down! Anyway good luck to all those starting out - keep an eye on RBS website as they offer insight days, such as be a JA for a day which is also something to try. WF x Edited for typo!

JulieW, I was there today and watched your fabulous son and his peer group perform, fantastic - with a DD in yr 8 and her younger siblings chasing at her heels, I cannot imagine how it must feel to have come through the other side and have that lucrative contract in hand. I wish him and all the others every success. The grand defile had me in tears, when Mr Kelly then made his farewell speech, it took me about 15 mins to be able to speak again, how you must have felt! Please keep us up to date with his journey, especially that first time you see him on the professional stage!

We watched on Sunday afternoon and I think Elmhurst does a fantastic job of trying to showcase all their talented students. I am no critic so in laymen's terms I enjoyed how they split the show into 3 Acts - the first demonstrating the variety of genres they offer, from ballet, to contemporary, to flamenco and the fabulous Fosse. Followed by Act 2 where we got to see the girls and boys on their own....as parents of 3 DD's, we rarely get to see boys dancing so it's always a treat, I enjoyed both their numbers but do think 'The Argonauts' and 'Libertango' of previous years were a hard act to follow! We then had Act 3, the showcase for the 6th form which was just beautiful, yes the costumes were simple but this let us enjoy it for the dance alone. Having a DD in lower school, I must give special mention to La Jeune Fille, biased as I am, thought it was a lovely piece of choreography . Would have loved to see her in another dance but fully appreciate it wasn't possible. Which leads me to my rather simple conclusion....if they can't take split the show into Lower and Upper Schools and they can't take it to a theatre.......why not just make it twice as long!! We certainly didn't want it to end and can't wait to see it again Friday!

We got an estimate and the actual was near enough. This year we took the option to pay monthly via a company who specialise in school fees, you will be sent details about this when your first invoice comes through. Has worked well for us - helps spread the pain over the year!

Don't know how to edit and remove random smiley face with shades from my last post - was meant to read and b ) lack of boarding!

I have heard many good reports re YDA.... would you say it's not automatically considered in the same breath as 'the big 4' because it's inaccessible to many due to (and not in any particular order!) a) lack of funding and lack of boarding, therefore, you have to be London based? Regarding ranking.... my hubby always compares the 'competition' between the schools as to the competition between Oxford and Cambridge universities. There will always be those who believe one is better than the other but there will always be those who believe a place at either is a testament to how talented, gifted, clever etc your DC is. I know we are in the latter camp and let's face it, very few of our DC's have the luxury of a choice. Winning a place at any of these schools is a huge achievement and I for one would never want my DD/DS to think they were settling for 2nd, 3rd or 4th best!!

Thanks JulieW, was looking for that thread to suggest to plie that she might like to add her US experiences, couldn't find it! You moderators do a great job!!

Wow! USA! Can't top that one!! Eldest DD is just finishing her 2nd yr at vocational school (yr 8). Middle DD will be starting MA's in Sept, she desperately wanted to follow in her sister's footsteps, made finals for the schools but wasn't successful...this time. She's going to put me through it all again next yr!! Would love to hear more about ballet school in USA, perhaps you should start a thread and tell us more - always fascinating to read about how other countries do things. Congratulations to you DS, just realised never said that before!

Well done and well deserved! Fantastic news

Does your elder daughter still dance Plie?....I have had 2 JA dd's with youngest desperate to audition for yr 4 place next yr to make up my hat trick....feel ill at the thought already!!

We had eldest DD's on a Saturday and middle DD's on a Tuesday! No rhyme nor reason other than what day they were posted! With middle dd, she asked every day 'is it here yet?', the day it arrived she was on a school trip and didn't get home till 6. We gave in opened the lovely yes letter, resealed and put on kitchen table in prime place. She came back from trip, full of her day, dumped bag on table over letter and never asked us! We couldn't believe it! The yeses are lovely , cherish them. We have since had more than our fair share of No's, at the time, you feel you as if your heart could break for your DC and it will be impossible to move on but believe me, you do and they bounce back much better and quicker than we do. My middle DD may not be following her big sis to vocational school but is taking her own journey and is lucky to be starting Mids in Sept, not the route she wanted but hey, it's a long, long road to Rome The disappointment at such a young age is tough and I totally emphasise, but keep strong and positive for them, and if you both feel brave and strong enough, then try again next year.............now remind me of this when my youngest DD auditions for JA's next yr!! Many congratulations to the yeses, big big hugs to the Nos and Huge good luck to those still waiting! WF x