Huddsballetmum

Pups mum I know exactly how you feel. My dd's PE teacher had the gall to say to me that she didn't take any interest in her own physical fitness. On asking why the teacher assumed that she stated that my dd didn't try hard enough in PE. At which point I simply stated that she was probably tired from the 22 hours of dance lessons per week, and that PE wasn't high on her agenda. At which point the PE teacher shut up rather quickly. However said PE teacher also doesn't recognise dance as a mode of fitness. Shame they are so shortsighted!

Dance direct have a sale on at the moment and they usually have some nice but inexpensive leotards. They deliver really quickly too.

Best advice I can give is to keep your chin up, your head down and your ears closed. Jealousy is such an unattactive trait. Don't let your child's obvious talent be tainted by small minded people. Unfortunately you have just entered the world of the bitchy ballet mum, however there are many more who are lovely, supportive and caring. Take heart that your dd is doing very well at something she loves and ignore the rest.

I believe that some children are just born to dance. My dd nagged from the age of 2 to go dancing like her older friend, and at 21/2 I gave in and called the local dance school. It is a love affair with dance that has lasted 11 years so far, and shows no signs of waining. The only sacrifice she could make would be to stop dancing, which would destroy her entirely. Therefore I will continue to pay out and ferry around my dd as she gets ready to audition for vocational school (her decision - not mine) and will stand by and wave her off with a smile, whilst crying inside, if she is lucky enough to get a place.

Congratulations on your ds's job and also his mending ankle. Persistance and patience is sometimes rewarded

Good Luck for the audition. Fingers crossed for you all xx

It's always worth auditioning balletqueen, and I think that there are more places in Juniors than Seniors. There tends to be large numbers auditioning so competition for places is fierce. However if your dc is sucessful the quality of tuition is superb and the experience is great. Be aware that they are moving from the Railway Institute in September to a school, and whilst there is loads of free parking, there is very little around and you definitely need to be able to drive there. I wish you the best of luck.

Hi All It was a no for us for Yr9 but we have been asked if they can keep our application for 2014, and when I confirmed that was okay, got an email back in 4 minutes saying they were happy to do so. Good luck for those auditioning. I am glad to have my dd home for at least another year, and won't have the dilema of the mad dash to get to Oliver! first night.

Hi Mumoffive. We got a confirmation email a few days after I sent the application, but haven't heard anything else yet. However I do always send thing recorded delivery as you often don't get confirmations from places. Good luck with your application though.

This article is very acurate and I know of one young lady who missed one of her A level grades by one grade and therefore thought she would not gain entry to her university of choice to study medicine. The university not only accepted her, but told her that her years of ballet study was the deciding factor as she had proved that she was dedicated, fast on the uptake and had the discipline and application needed for the course.

Jealousy in dance schools is very common. My dd has recently gone through this and been called a "Ballet Freak" becasue she is not particularly interested in commercial and street dance, but excels in ballet and contemporary. This had been going on for several months until she broke down in class due to the pressure, and told her dancing teacher and the principal of the dance school. The school have been brilliant and dealt with it really well. However this is going to happen to her again at some point I have no doubt, so we have had a long discussion about how to handle it and about why it happens. My dd lives to dance and is determined not to let this get to her, but is lucky to have some close friends, both inside and outside of the dance school. It's important that your daughter knows that you are behind her and support her and in some respects to teach her that the opinion of her peers is not neccessary, especially if it makes her unhappy. It's a hard lesson to learn when they are young, but "those who matter will care, and those who don't care, don't matter!" Edited for spelling mistakes!

Personally I think it is very sensible to have another career option. Not every dancer gets the dancing job/jobs of their dreams, and injury can prematurely end a career. A back up plan is an essential. My 12 year old is very determined but has two career options. Ballerina or Architect. Both have very long training periods, so I will never have any money!

We are hoping to audition for Yr 9 Dancingfeet. Hopefully we will be advised in next couple of days to enable hotel booking etc!

Don't think you get your money back w445403 as it states it is for administration. I got all excited last Friday when I recieved an email from the registrar of Elmhurst, but it was just acknowledging reciept of my dd's application, and advising that auditions will be advised after the closing date on 12th June. Heart was beating fast when I saw the email pop up though!

Ballet is an activity which requires a high level of physical fitness and expends a great deal of energy. It is therefore likely that many dancers will be slim as they burn off the calories that they consume. They also need to eat healthily to be able to expend the energy. The article strikes me as poor body image being an issue for the parents not the child, and if I was concerned about my daughters body image, then I would not be filling her full of sweets. By the way, my dd started dancing early at the age of 2, and have never met a dance teacher yet that will take children at 12 months old as most of them have only just learned to walk!

Don't ask how I managed to do the quote twice - technical ineptitude I think. She is auditioning for year 9 Pasdebourree. I have never wanted her to go away to school, but have to realise that it is not my decision and if she is lucky enough to be successful then I will just have to swallow it. Thanks for your good wishes.

That's fab news. I am so pleased for both of you. If must have been so hard not to be able to dance

Intermediate on IDTA attracts 28 QCF credits. You will need to check with UCAS as to how many credits get UCAS points. Usually it is only Level 3 in vocational qualifications that attract UCAS points. There is a chart on the IDTA website that tells you how many credits you get for which grade.

So glad to hear your dd is on the mend and managing to do a little dancing. I hope she is soon back at full strength.

Thanks everyone for your good wishes and great advice. This is our first application for vocational school and dd has heartbset on elmhurst. I will keep you all posted!

Many thanks along for the ride mum and billyelliott. Your help has been invaluable. If we could get away for 4 that would be fine. That's assuming that dd gets an audition in first place. I don't want to count my chickens!

Can anyone tell me how long the auditions last and what time they start? If dd is lucky enough to get audition I have dilemma as audition date is same as 1st night of Oliver production at home, and as she's playing Nancy I can't let her back out! Birmingham is 2-3 hours from us dependent on traffic. Oh dear!

- That you will have to purchase a sat nav system to ensure that you get from A to B - That french lessons will be helpful for mums - That you never put dance tights in the dryer - that you will never again watch a programme on tv withour arms, legs and hair flying through your vision whilst your dd pirouettes round the room - that your house will look a permanent tip as you are never in it to clean or tidy it - that you and your dancing child will make friends for life - that the pride you feel in their wonderful talent makes your heart burst - that it all worth it to see their faces come alive, even though you have spent a small fortune on shoes, clothes and hair nets, plus the new hoover & washing machine! - Most importantly - you are likely to have a confident, graceful and happy child who is capable of making their way in the world whatever they finally end up doing!

Many thanks Billyelliott. I shall stick to a tried and tested size then.

Ooh! This is exciting. My dd has been going on and on about auditioning for Elmhurst, but I thought I had missed the boat for this next academic year. I think we will be applying when I get home tonight. Does anyone know what size the photographs need to be?