lisadebs

Really feel for those of you who are still waiting - I do hope you hear soon To those with yes letters - massive congratulations, enjoy this exciting moment and the final audition, it is a very special time. Angel, sending your little DD very best wishes and hoping she has a wonderful time at the Elmhurst final audition. Will be thinking of you at JA's on Saturday.

Thanks JulieW - and everybody else. What a great forum, massive cheer for those who keep it up and running. Have been looking at various options, we are near enough to Northern Ballet for their CAT scheme to be a possibility, have to say - having dd home for two years would definitely be a silver lining

Good luck from us too, and don't be scared, they do make the class enjoyable ! Have a lovely day everyone, fingers crossed x

Ah, now the cereal box game is something I would really like to see introduced at auditions! Perhaps with the addition of Twister to test rotation in the hips Our family (even my son) got banned from the cereal box game one year as we were deemed too bendy!

Thanks so much everyone for your support and advice, it is so helpful. dd sounded quite chirpy on the phone last night and in her own words is 'taking it one week at a time'. She was fairly unfazed when she read her report, her reaction was 'well now I know what I need to do'. She likes her teacher and likes being challenged. I think one of the problems last term was that she became so exhausted that she didn't have the energy/brainpower to put corrections into place and I can see how this must have been really frustrating for the teacher. She is now working on strategies to try and keep her energy levels up and we will cross the next bridge as and when we come to it... Thanks again for all your words of wisdom, will keep you posted.

Thanks BankruptMum, trying to be level headed about it all... Sometimes wish we could go back to the days when ballet involved skipping round the room and pretending to be a giraffe!

Yes Kiwimum - you're right. She is at WL so the performances have been with the Royal Ballet Company, she is smallish and so has been the right height for various roles. The trouble is time spent both rehearsing and then going backwards and forwards to the opera house eats into class time. Having said that, she has been very lucky to be involved with these performances and has really enjoyed the experience. I guess we'll just have to wait and see....

Hi there, just wondered whether I could share some concerns with all you experienced people out there. Youngest dd is at vocational school and up until now has seemed to be doing well, good appraisal marks, fairly positive reports, some nice opportunities to perform, scholarships to summer school etc. However this year we have just had a pretty discouraging annual consultation with her ballet teacher followed by an equally discouraging (but very honest) written report. Suddenly there seem to be all sorts of problems, behind on technique (she has had to miss a lot of classes for rehearsals) lack of strength and stamina (21 performance of Swan Lake straight into Nutcracker!) weak feet, concerns over proportions to name a few! This is fairly concerning with the appraisals looming fast and reading between the lines I am fairly sure that this will be our last year at the school. Has anybody else out there had similar year 9 problems? If so how did you handle them? Any advice/moral support greatly appreciated!

Hi Katy Not an expert here either but I think spanner has asked a really important question. What would she like to do with her dance training? Does she have a particular school that she is aiming for post 16? What is the focus of that school? Its great that she has such a broad range of experience, she's obviously very versatile and capable of adapting to different styles, but maybe its time to sit down and talk with her and perhaps her dance teachers about how best to use these skills. Its tempting to keep adding classes, but you do both have to stay fit and sane!!

Hi Lemongirl - children are selected by photo application only, there is no audition. You send off an application form with the required photographs and hear back you have been successful or not. If you go on to the RBS website and look under 'The Courses' you will find a page with all the details on. At the moment it says application for 2013 will be available in Dec. Hope this helps

Have just stumbled on the RB documentary that was made in 2006 and shown on BBC 2 at Christmas time. There is footage of RBS students training and also company members talking about the reality of life as a professional dancer. Topically there is also a short interview with a young Anna Rose O' Sullivan - so nice when the dream comes true! Hope the link works and that it is alright to post it here http://forums.dancemom.com/post/Documentary-OfferRoyal-Ballet-School-From-Dreams-to-Reality-(Follows-1018yr-olds-livingtraining-full-time-at-5728111 I'm sure many of you will have watched it the first time round - but it is interesting to see what some of the dancers interviewed are doing 6/7 years later!

This is very sad - have always enjoyed reading your posts. I do hope you reconsider.

Hi Happymum, My dd did this summer school back in 2009 when she had just turned 10 (summer birthday). The standard was very good and they had classes in ballet, contemporary and musical theatre, the school where it is held is lovely and there is a theatre on site where they performed the final show. They sleep on mattresses on the floor of a large gym, with various areas divided up - gives it a sort of sleepover feel and the food is very good DD had just finished a week at RBS summer school (we booked Sussex thinking that it was unlikely she would get an RBS summer school place!) so Sussex did have a more relaxed feel in contrast! However, she really enjoyed both and it would certainly make a good first residential summer school. Hope this helps a bit - they are very approachable and answer emails quickly, so you could always contact them for more up to date info

Congratulations, what lovely news! Good luck for the finals and to all those still waiting for letters

I wouldn't stress too much about the order of the auditions. When the time comes, do what fits in best with your other family commitments and what your dd feels happy with. Good luck to all about to embark on the audition process and to those making preparations - try and enjoy it in all its stressfull, exciting, memorable madness !!

WL just have this week off - very much looking forward to having dd home for a week and hoping that at some point all 4 siblings might be under one roof at the same time

We paid a very reasonable £12.50 for the Vue cinema in Leeds - no technical problems at all and a real feeling of being immersed in the event. Thought that the short films were brilliantly done creating a real sense of connection with the cast which made it incredibly moving. Will definitely be recommending the experience to friends!

taxi4ballet - this has made my morning absolutely conclusive evidence !!!

Another vote for the RB's swan costumes! Love the way they move and their 'featheriness'. Was lucky enough to see the pre-general last Friday and found it incredibly powerful despite it being a rehearsal and not fully costumed. Interested Parent - so glad you enjoyed the Welcome performance, youngest dd was dancing in this and was hoping that the audience was really enjoying it! I know what you mean about the seats - at the pre general we got to sit in the stalls - certainly a first for us as we normally peer down from the upper amphitheatre.

It wasn't just the room - it was having to look after a key as well!!! Fortunately she only locked it in her room once - on the day we collected her.... Have sent you the password elly

Well said fairytoes - don't feel pressured by the year 6 audition frenzy do what you feel is right for your DD and your family. When our youngest DD was an RBS JA we let her audition for two schools 'just for the experience', this is what felt right for us. They were very memorable and for the most part enjoyable days, but also stressful and expensive and I was glad we didn't try for all four schools. I don't think there is any harm in giving it a go - provided you keep the whole thing fairly low key (easier said than done). If you are offered a place you can always reconsider DD is now at vocational school and for her it has (so far) been a very positive experience. very best wishes in your decision making

Hi Spanner, my DD did the second week which seemed to be slightly quieter than the first. Think there were about 25/30 in her group (she was in the middle group and is 13, I'd say she was one of the youngest in that group). She has a fairly quiet nature but didn't mention feeling swamped or overwhelmed, she really enjoyed the teaching and I know she would love to go again next year. Her close friends from vocational school did the first week so I was a bit worried that she would be on her own, but in actual fact she said everyone was very friendly and it was really good to meet new people. It was a bit daunting leaving her in university accomodation though - especially when we realised this would be first time she had slept in a room on her own !!

Have just sent the password to you Tutugirl

Hi Millie Yes - there are some really nice photos online. The photographer was Andrew McMillan and the site is http://techphoto.co.uk The site is password protected - not sure whether its alright to post the password here? If not I can pm it to you (Have just sent you the password in a pm - happy viewing!)

Can now tick 'donate to Ballet.co' off my list of things to do! Thanks so much to all those who make the forum possible