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Thank you Aileen, the audition is in 2 bits... Tomorrow is the physical part... If she gets through, the second part is in 2 weeks...

Anjuli_Bai, last week DD2 had a very special private lesson with a famous teacher in Paris who helped her prepare her audition for POB which is tomorrow. I sat through that lesson and had to think about you as the teacher repeatedly told her to breathe, explained her even how and when to breathe and kept on saying things like "I can't hear you breathe" or "I can't see you breathe"... That was a few days after you posted your original message and the very morning I got my 2 eldest DDs to read what you had written about breathing! They both tried doing pliés, demi-pliés and pirouettes following your advice and said it really helped them! Thank you very much for your advice, dedication to helping us all and the fun way you go about it...

For what age?

I agree Taxi4ballet and I really like analogy...

I think the people who decide to have plastic surgery do it when they've finished growing and are adult, physically, mentally and legally and I don't suppose they ask their parents for permission... It must come from a very personal choice... I know of a 16 year old who cannot wait to have a breasts reduction because she has to wear 2 bras on top of each other to dance and it still hurts a lot. And she's been told very clearly by different teachers that there was not point auditioning for work at the moment for that reason...

Some adults have a size reduction done...

I find what you're all saying interesting because it is an exercise that I see being done daily to warm-up by kids who are younger than 13 and unsupervised... I suppose they are all dancing everyday... To me, it's always been normal and part of the routine! And actually when DD who's 12 auditioned for RBS, most kids were doing it or big splits on the floor or against a wall as part of their warming-up routine...

Regattah, the rumour about The Rosella Hightower school is that it used to be a fantastic school 15-20 years ago, then it went downhill but it's trying to go up again. A good enough school but not one I would consider at the moment for my DDs. I also heard some complains about the kids not having enough to eat there... I think the boarding school stays open at the weekend as it's very international... Lovely setting... and a pool... I hope that helps... Note: this is my personal opinion based on what I heard or read, I could be wrong...

Aileen, you didn't say anything rude at all. Flaner means walking leisurely... Le Flaneur would quite easily be a good nickname for Hollande who took his time to get where he is now. Much nicer name than Flanby anyway... Merci for DD1 & DD2... Back to Twitter... Apparently, Hollande would have won!

Tomuchtallent, thank you... What do you need to know about training in France ?

Aileen, "le Flaneur"... that's quite funny! Who's Le Flaneur? Do you mean Hollande, also known here as "Flanby" (a sort of crème caramel!)??? Yes, he's expected to win comfortably and I'm half answering this forum and following news on Twitter and foreign press at the same time as we cannot know the results officially until 8 tonight! We live in the North of France near Lille but we are moving somewhere around Paris this summer as the best dance schools are there and DH actually already works there... DD1 has been accepted to the school of her choice and DD2 is trying POB school on Wednesday Fingers crossed for her! She has been accepted in all the good schools but POB is the ultimate one so the pressure is on...

Nope, we don't have the tradition of sending kids to boarding schools here. And when one does, even in a normal academic school, the school closes at the week-end! It is cheaper to study dance here but way more complicated to organize for families...

There is boarding for all age groups at the POB school but not at the other top schools taking kids from the age of 8 or 9. The National Conservatoire has boarding but they take students over 14 only. The other thing is that even with boarding, schools close on Friday night and students must go elsewhere for the week-end hence the obligation of having a contact person in Paris... All that must discourage foreign families, I agree with you...

I agree Jellybeans but is the Dada bringing boarding and schooling to less than that ?

Aileen, That's a good question and I have wondered myself... I even went to check on the POB rules to see if you had to be French to apply and the answer is no. As for the POB school, you have to be under 13 to get in. After that age, it's not impossible but it is through special agreement by the director so it makes it really difficult. The POB gives a priority of audition to the students of the school but if they haven't filled their quota, everybody can apply... The school is extremely linked to the company and trains dancers to dance in the company and I don't think it's necessarily the case in the RBS. I think the kids who apply to the school are mainly French because at the age of 8-13, very few foreigners speak French... Maybe the school chooses French kids over foreigners, I don't know...

I have to disagree with that as schooling in France in the top schools is free wether you are French or not. All you have to pay is boarding and social security i.e. about 500€ a month... And you can get help if you are part of the EU, exactly as in the UK.

Well I did ask! It makes you wonder!

I was told there was nothing they could do regarding funding if you didn't qualify for MdS apart for Musical Theatre. As such, my DS got a non funded place for Ballet year 8. They sent me a long list of funding bodies (none but 1 could help a little) but no offer of a bursary came with it. We had to turn the place down!

When DD was banned from rugby (to the utter dismay of her dad, a rugby player), the school was not too happy so she was made a referee and had to learn the rules properly and sit through a season of training! She was sooo bored but happy not to be in the (dangerous) action!!!

Or else like our DDs because, even though British, they live abroad...

I agree with Ribbons...

I was there and I think the way she said it was meant to make the kids laugh and ease a bit of the tension! And it worked! I also think she meant it in terms of physical potential, not in what you might become terms... I don't know if I'm being clear?!

Even when they were smaller my DDs would have refused to wear socks!!! They hated being bare legs even for the RBS SS photos!

Auroratobe, do you mind telling us in which country you train? We're abroad too you see...

That's wonderful news Sniffymum! Our DD was on the waiting list last year and was never called! What a disappointment it was! Luckily this year she got a place straight away! Not her big sister though who got a no 2 years in a row!