ZooZoo

Thanks all - I have texted info to other half - already up in Brum with DS. Good luck to all tomorrow - fingers crossed

My son is auditioning tomorrow and I am excited for him and also feeling a bit sick at the thought! Can any of you kind people answer these questions for me please? 1. Roughly how many audition in each group? 2. Will it be a boy only group? 3. Will it be a year 7 only group? How long will I have to wait for an answer as to whether he has got to finals?!

Welcome to the forum Myveryownbillyelliot. I am sure that people with much more experience than me will offer better advice, but I will add my own experience in. My son is a current JA and we are auditioning for the big four this year too. We could only go to Tring and Hammond if he is lucky enough to get a MDS though..... It is interesting that Stirrups thinks that, for a JA, they are likely to get a place somewhere. That might be true if you can pay but perhaps not if you need a MDS at Hammond or Tring..... Lots of the older dancers at my son's ballet school go on to Central etc after A levels (to do degree level dancing). They have not attended vocational school. A place at vocational school is not necessary to a career in dance, in my humble opinion, but of course it is if the goal is to be a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet..... What you need to remember is that they are looking for a very specific body type. You either have that or you do not. Last year I saw a boy dance who took my breath away. He was amazing to watch with true x-factor. However, for whatever reason he didn't meet the RBS body type (although he was accepted at Elmhurst, I understand!). His mum's on here and if she is reading this will no doubt agree with me! A little girl my son dances with is again a truly amazing dancer (wins all the festivals etc) but she is very muscular not lithe and was not even accepted as a JA. A truly unique and amazing dancer may well not get a place at any of these schools, therefore, but that does not mean that they are not amazing to watch and destined, one way or another, for a lifetime of dancing. Anyway, that's what I think.

Taxi4ballet - it is interesting what you say about the slipper socks with tiny dots. A long time ago I bought these for my toddler DS. I think the rubber or vinyl comes off and makes hard floors really slippy - our wood floors (as we had then) became lethal.

In my view such a large deposit is a penalty and is unenforceable. See this link pages 38/39. http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft311.pdf Same applies to school fees paid in advance and not refunded IMO.

Congratulations to those offered a place at Tring - well done. This does seem a huge dilemma and I am not sure how I would react if I was fortunate enough to be in this position with my DS. His audition at Tring is not until Feb though, so no early problem at the moment. I wonder what would happen to the Tring deposit if you paid it, got a funding audition and funding but also got a place at WL which you would prefer?..........presumably you would lose the deposit then too? Seems harsh.

Hi Munchkin16 How about physiotherapy specialising in dancers, or being in charge of costumes etc for ballets? I will post if I can think of anything else! You are right to try and find something you will really enjoy. A lifetime of working is a long time and you need to make sure you will enjoy it. But you can always be a politician who appreciates and enjoys dance - we need more of those!

Is Danceworks suitable for a younger child (11?). If not, is there anything similar that anyone knows of for that age group. My DS is otherwise off for a month at Christmas which does seem too long, especially with auditions coming up. Thank you!

Is that £73 per lesson or for the term?! If for the term, that seems ok, presuming that there are 10 weeks in a term that's £7.30 per lesson which I think sounds average to cheap (I am in South East). £4.90 per lesson would be very cheap IMO.

Ah thanks BillyElliot -so of the 12 boys in that class, 6 went to WL and three to Brum, one to States and three unknown. Not bad going!!

That was some class then (Miss Hubbard's). What happened to the other six - do you know?

Seems a bit much to pay for registration if they turn you down, doesn't it?!

Thanks Theodore - very interesting and informative. Presumably your son was a JA? He must be very talented to be offered 3 places, 2 with funding! WOW! How did you accept a place at Tring and then not go? Did you lose your deposit?

Sorry fergie69 - how amazing to be offered a place but disappointing about the funding. You could take heart from Theodore's experience where, I think, her son was not offered funding at Tring but was offered a place at White Lodge. Is that right Theodore? I think all the schools must be looking for different things so I hope you have better luck elsewhere. I am posting off the various forms for my DS today, and about to join everyone on the conveyor belt!

One green bottle ones are great. Google "one green bottle". They are stainless steel so no issues with plastic chemicals. They last forever and you can buy new lids!

Thank you!

Does anyone know what time the current classes for MAs are on Saturdays. Boys class? Just trying to work out if DS should apply and whether the timing would work for us (aware could change next year) but an indication of current time would be useful! Thank you!

These are tricky issues aren't they? Ribbons, you are entitled to your view of course, as are we all. I think all we can do is live each day trying to do the best for our children and family, whatever we decide to do. Should you never try in case you fail? Should you not send your child to board in case they feel in later life it was a mistake? Should we send our child to boarding school if they may later regret not going? If I send my child will he be become a dancer and move away from me to live abroad? If I don't will he become an accountant who drinks too much and dies young? Who can possibly tell? My philosophy is - make the right decision for today and, Moi, je ne regrette rien. I may have spelled that wrong!

The MDS awards link at the RB School website just has blank figures where it lists parental contributions. Is this a Bad Sign? They are not fiddling around with these are they? If so, we shan't even bother to audition as we won't afford £32k/year.....(

I listened to this radio programme. It was very interesting. From an early age dancing DS used to spin. His grandparents had a chair/stool that was well oiled and he could lean over it and spin it round with his legs. He did this for hours and said he never got dizzy. From time to time I test him by spinning him on a playground spinner and challenging him to walk in a straight line, which he can usually do. So I think he is programmed to spin and not get dizzy! We used to joke that he would need a job that involved spinning around so maybe he will end up a ballet dancer!

Thanks for your replies. Looks like we had better prepare for a long wait then after preliminary auditions, and just see what date we are allocated/venue we are close to...

BillyElliot my heart goes out to you. I see that you have had some very good advice on here. JulieW I was almost in tears reading your post. My son sobbed on the phone to me every night when he was at summer school and that was only 5 nights! He seems quite put off the idea of boarding at all and in light of this short experience I am not at all sure what to do. Apply anyway and secretly hope he doesn't get in?! Apply anyway and turn it down if he is offered a place and doesn't want to go? It's so hard to know what to do for the best for him... Billy - I did read an article once written by a teacher of year 7 boys at WL (some years ago). She said boys tend to get homesickness the worst, and that she basically taught her year 7s maths (or whatever) in tears for the first term, but it sorted itself out after that......I wish you strength until it gets better for him and you... Did your son do summer schools at all Billy? Did he get homesick then?

I have a couple of questions and was wondering if anyone here could kindly help me. My son is thinking of auditioning for White Lodge/Elmhurst for year 7. He is a JA at the moment but we are realistic about his prospects and realise that there is a lot of competition. Does anyone have a view on whether it is better to hit an early or late application date? I wonder if the earlier ones are less busy, and that might be better as there might be less pressure..... If successful at the first stage I believe both these schools then invite back for a final audition. If you have an early audition, do you know within a week or two if you are invited back for the final audition, or do they wait for all the preliminaries before deciding who to invite back for the final. If the latter, I guess it might be a long wait if we go for an earlier audition! Thank you! Suzyszoo

LOL at the Ebay thing! When I was looking for a cheap Ebay pair of black ballet shoes for my DS (for one performance only - didn't want to pay full price) I did see a truly dirty battered old pair of pointe shoes, the bidding for which was up to £30!! There clearly is a (odd) market!

Thanks Moneypenny and everyone else - doesn't sound like it's worth risking booking yet then - I will have to wait until September or whenever they publish the dates!