Littleone

My daughter did the Hammond Audition earlier this month. She is very much a 'dancer' rather than a singer or actress but she prepared 2 songs with the help of her singing teacher at her comprehensive school and also learned 2 monologues with support from one of the drama teachers - she doesn't take drama or music. This certainly took her out of her comfort zone but I think was a really valuable experience for her. The ballet class took up most of the group dance audition in the morning with far less time spent on contemporary or jazz. They did pointe which she said was mainly pose turns form the corner - on both sides There were 9 altogether auditioning and 3 were unfortunately cut after the morning session. DD stayed for the day and was particularly pleased that she managed to remember her monologues ! Altogether it was a positive experience for DD and hugely valuable I think as I believe singing and acting are also part of the audition process at some of the London colleges e.g. Urdang/Laine and the atmosphere and friendliness she experienced at The Hammond made the whole process as relaxed as it could be . We heard from Hammond on the Friday after the audition that she had been offered a place x

My DD auditioned at Hammond on Monday - just waiting for the letter now . Happy to answer any questions.

Happy to say that I have now found a tutu :-)

Hi - I am looking for a tutu suitable for the 'Lilac Fairy' for my daughter to wear in her dance school show. She is a small adult - approx size 6-8 Happy to buy or hire :-) Thankyou x

Brand new Bloch Belle Practice tutu . Bought for an intensive but never worn as too large for my daughter. Size : XS/S Colour : black. Further details available on Move Dancewear site from where it was bought . £22 + P&P ( £4.95) or can collect.

Hi - my daughter is 14 and her friend 15 . They have both done a more general dance intensive before but never a ballet course ! It sounds like a lovely few days and I expect they will learn from not just the teachers but from all the talented students around them :-) How old is your daughter balletmum20 ?

Lovely to read the above when my daughter and her friend are going to MBS as their first ever ballet course :-) Sorry your daughter is injured Swayback Sapphire :-(

Hi - Like Parentaxi's DD my daughter also took ISTD Inter foundation at 13 and also does similar amounts of other styles and group work. With regard to gymnastics I think that a well run class could enhance strength, flexibility and stamina and also teach skills which could be very useful in the future if your daughter is wanting to follow more of a modern contemporary route. My DD did gymnastics quite seriously from 7-12 and the tumbling/acro skills she gained I believe will be useful to her if she chooses to go down the modern/contemporary path - however with regard to ballet , she and her teachers have had to work quite hard to change the stance/posture/habits she learnt from all her gym ! I think as Picturesinthefirelight says , it all depends on your DD's ambitions :-)

There were no solo parts as such but the Sugar Plum attendants and one of the advanced boys had small solo/duet parts which were lovely ! I think Miss Lewis will maybe adjust the choreography a little to allow the dancers to show their talents :-) My DD was lucky enough to be Clara and at Buxton she did a 'Mime' seen at the start of Act 2 ,joined in with the Reed Pipes and also danced a little with the Sugar Flowers - mainly Clara sits on a fancy chair at the back of the stage watching the Divertissements :-)

I also saw the Buxton shows as DD was taking part. All the dancers appeared in the second half :-). As Bluebird says there is an Arabian dance ( 8 girls)- en pointe, Spanish Dance - at Buxton a group of 4 girls, Dance of the Reed Pipes ( 6 girls)- en pointe, Chinese dance - younger girls and boys ( 8 I think) Sweets ( lollipop) again younger girls, Jig dance for the older boys, Russian dance ( older girls who weren't en pointe ) and a lovely dance of the Sugar flowers - again older girls majority en pointe . 4 Sugar plum attendants featured in this - (older more advanced dancers) There are also some fab solos and pas de deux from the Principals. The snowflakes also were on at the start of act 2 but their main dance is in the first act . There weren't any Harlequins :-) I suspect the numbers and age groups can vary depending on the cast . Hope this helps :-)

I recently attended a meeting where a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon spoke about Plantar Fasciitis and he stated that in a lot of cases this is caused by having a tight Gastrocnemius muscle ( one of the calf muscles) and therefore it can be helped by physiotherapy to stretch/ lengthen the Gastroc e.g. heel drops :-)