Clara

When I was younger and dancing gymnastics was certainly discouraged and probably frowned upon. It was always considered that dance would aid a good gymnast but not the other way around. However, I'm not sure if the train of thought on this has changed over the years as I know dd has 2 gymnasts in her level on the CAT scheme and I think TV shows like Dance Moms certainly seem to advocate a lot of acro within their dance routines! I personally would prefer to see the girls in this show just dance, although I do appreciate what they can do; I would love to see what they are capable of without all of the tricks! Just out of interest, does the same teacher who takes your dd for modern also teach her ballet class?

Mum in a Spin we have not been offered an unfunded place, just told dd's name would be added to the reserve list, but assuming that as there are others who have also had a no but did see the physio, we are probably quite low in the pecking order!

Amandalou I emailed and was told the same thing It does make it hard to decide whether there's still hope or very little. I'm not telling dd until Sunday night as she has her NYB audition that day and I don't want her to go in disheartened. I just hope she doesn't come across too many from the audition who have been accepted otherwise she'll probably put two and two together and realise hers was a no. I'm, glad your dd is able to look ahead to Elmhurst finals. Fingers crossed for you both.

Oh Amandalou, I feel even worse for your dd. I had at least prepared dd that those seeing the physio may have been more likely to have been allocated places. Maybe it will mean she will be ranked quite high on the waiting list? But as I have learnt, no assumptions can ever really be made when it comes to auditioning for vocational schools! I wish her all the best for Elmhurst and hope she gets the positive news she's hoping for somewhere along the line, whether it be at the Elmhurst finals or a place from the waiting list at Tring! Thank you Along for the ride Mum and Bankrupt Mum, I do want to retain a glimmer of hope but I'm also trying to be realistic! Dd in her own words only ranked herself as about number 20! And she really isn't the kind of child to put herself down unnecessarily! If she thinks she's done well she's happy to say so but if she sees others are better she will say that too. Either way I think she'll still be crushed even if we were all kind of expecting it. Fingers crossed that miracles can sometimes happen though! In the meantime she'll have to dust herself down, pick herself up and carry on dancing. After all, if it's where her heart lies she'll have to learn to cope with the disappointment along the way!

I've just had a 'no' email following dd's funding final at Tring yesterday. We were completely anticipating it as we didn't even expect her to reach this far! It's the only school she auditioned for on the advice of her teacher (hence the reasons our expectations were quite low to start with!) but even still it's disappointing to know the dream is probably over for her for this year. I just feel a bit sad for her but I'm sure she'll bounce back. The email does say she's on a waiting list but obviously that's generic and will probably apply to everyone who was there yesterday! Good luck to those still waiting and a massive well done to those lucky enough to have had a yes! Your talented children should be incredibly proud to have been picked from what I'm sure must have been an incredibly talented group of children!

Sorry to hear you didn't get a recall Anaballerina. The competition is really tough at NYB so don't let it get you down.There are lots of other opportunities. Have you tried EYB? There are also a lot of residential summer schools that are non audition based (I think there's a thread on here somewhere). Put it down to being good audition experience!

I'm glad you enjoyed it Anaballerina! The standard at NYB is very high, but I was never at vocational school and like I mentioned I was always a couple of grades behind most of them.....so don't rule yourself out yet! Audition experience is always a good thing whatever the outcome!

I'd go for a plain colour that you feel comfortable in. I think dd wore purple last year! Good luck and enjoy your audition! x

I wouldn't worry too much.....I'm a suburbs girl and although I often found the girls closer to London (or any of the other big cities with more opportunities in dance!) were often more advanced I still managed to get in! They definitely look for a sound technique but coupled with the ability to perform so make sure you enjoy your audition and convey a sense of performance even if you feel nervous! I sometimes think it was to my advantage that I was quite short as girls of my own age were often 2 or 3 grades ahead of me so I would be placed with younger girls as they were probably at the same standard as me! My dd was in a similar situation last year and in her audition group she was the one on the lowest ballet grade......But she still got in! So don't be put off by what your teacher has said!

Hi Anaballerina, I take it you're in your teens and this is your first time auditioning? Try not to be nervous. NYB is a fab experience. Yes the standard is generally high, but from audition stage to the end performances you'll love every minute however far you get in the process. I first auditioned at about age 11 and was unsuccessful as I was a shy child, but I persevered and auditioned successfully at 14 (way back in 1994!!!) and enjoyed several successes with NYB thereafter participating in numerous performances with them including a couple of once in a life time very special performances. My dd auditioned for NYB for the first time last year and absolutely loved every aspect of it (and not just the summer school, rehearsals, classes and shows, she actually enjoyed the auditions too!). She'll be auditioning again this year on the 2nd of March. Good luck for your audition, I hope it goes well for you!

We were at Tring on the 6th of Feb and told results could be up to 3 weeks, so not sure whether the January dancers will hear first or whether both sets will now hear altogether......Which would mean an exceptionally long wait for you sarahw! Fingers crossed that they will send your results out soon.......Or even better that they send both lots out together very soon! We're fully expecting a no as it's the only school dd auditioned for on the advice of her teacher, but she did have a wonderful day and enjoyed every minute of the experience, so fingers crossed it just spurs her enthusiasm to keep on persevering!

Any suggestions for an 11 year old? Dd will be auditioning for NYB again this year as she had such a fantastic time last year, but if she doesn't get in I would like to perhaps give her the opportunity to have a taste of another residential summer school!

I may do with the ones on her face if the scabs have come off just to tone down the red marks!

Just a quick up date to day dd STILL has several scabs on her forehead!! We are now on day 23 since the spots first appeared! The rest of her face is relatively clear thankfully, but as you have mentioned Moomin the red marks under the scabs are still quite clearly visible, especially those on her arms and torso! It feels like the longest ever case of chickenpox I've ever come across!!

Thank you GeriatricBallerina, your post does sound strikingly familiar with our current situation! I do feel happier now that I have spoken to her other teachers as I was really concerned that her dancing may be suffering all round and that she had just taken on more than she can manage, but I feel more reassured now that there is no real concern and hopefully Saturday's meeting will help too. Your dd sounds very sensible and I agree with her that any dance career would definitely benefit from a sound ballet technique! Thank you for posting, I greatly appreciate it! It's good to hear that others have gone through similar and come out the other end still dancing and working hard for their dreams!

Thanks all! I have a meeting arranged for Saturday, but I have also spoken to the teacher who she dances with predominantly as well as her associates teacher who have not had any of the problems with her that have been mentioned in her ITP at all. In fact they were both very positive about her so whatever the problem it only seems to be connected with the CAT unfortunately. Hopefully it's just a case of adapting to all of the new hours etc. last term and coping with a new style of dance. I know how advantageous the scheme can be and the benefits of it to a dancer, but ultimately however much I can see what a good basis it would be for dd I will have to follow the route that's best for her. Fingers crossed it's just a few teething issues. When I spoke to her she said she didn't feel she was any different at these classes than she is anywhere else and that she enjoys it and wants to be there. She also said she'll just have to work even harder! That's the spirit I guess! I did double check that she wasn't doing lots of dance because she thought it would please me and told her I wouldn't mind if she didn't want to dance at all........She looked at me mortified and said her life would be pointless without dance!.........And so I guess the crazy schedule of classes, auditions etc look set to continue!

Thank you Katymac. Definitely a few things for me to consider! I don't often take her or pick her up from the CAT as I'm usually teaching myself when she has classes, so I haven't really got to know any other parents. To be honest I had no idea until I read her ITP as dd always says she's enjoying it. I know that she prefers ballet and has obviously only just started contemporary so it could take some adjusting to, but the remark about working on her sense of performance came from her ballet teacher! She is still very young. The youngest in her class I believe. I will see what her other teachers say, but I would rather she did less and recaptured the love than become bogged down with it all. I don't want to make any hasty decisions but ultimately she isn't going to achieve what she wants to if she has stopped dancing from the heart. I did question whether she was only doing things because she felt I wanted her to (I'm sure even my 3 year old thinks that dance is just a way of life in our house!) But she became so distressed when I suggested a change of hobby altogether that I cant doubt that she is still desperate to make it as a dancer. Time will tell I guess!

Hi Katymac, I have emailed Kate about my concerns as Becky no longer works there. I teach 2 of her classes and she is not always receptive to correction from me now that she is getting older.........But I put that down to me being her Mum! I am also emailing her other teachers to see whether there are any problems. She is level 1 and only started in September. I thought it may be a good route for her as although she is determined to be a ballet dancer I know how tough it is and thought that a strong contemporary foundation would stand her in good stead as an alternative route.

I have just stumbled across dd's ITP (Individual Training Plan) which I think arrived before Christmas but our house is a little chaotic at the moment as we're having some work done! She started with the CAT in September following a very successful year both audition and exam wise. She is not the best dancer technically, but I think her success has largely been down to her real passion for dance, her determination and effort to succeed as well as the ability to perform. I was therefore quite concerned to read in her ITP that she looks fatigued, loses concentration and attention and needs to develop her sense of performance! I would have been less surprised to have read she needed to work on her turnout, flexibility, contemporary technique, core strength etc! I'm really worried that she's lost the elements she was once so good at. I'm concerned that either she has become complacent, is doing too much, doesn't enjoy the CAT.......or could there be another reason?! I'm not sure if this is the right route for her if her dancing is deteriorating as opposed to improving?! I have spoken to her and she insists she doesn't want to give anything up. Ballet is still her first love and she is adamant this is the career she wants to pursue. Could it be that the heavy focus on contemporary at the CAT isn't suited to her? Any advice would be much appreciated especially with auditions coming up! She needs to recapture her sparkle!

Hi LinMM, they have thankfully cleared on her feet now and she's back to dancing, but she's still absolutely covered in large scabs! Everyone who sees her can't believe that the spots appeared on the 1st of Jan as they're still so prominent! The smaller ones are starting to fade down, but I am wondering whether she'll be going to auditions still spotty at this rate! One audition is at the beginning of Feb BankruptMum and it's the last one this year for that particular school......Hopefully she'll be slightly less stiff and spotty by then!

Thank you for the info! It's really handy to know. I am very worried that I have somehow presumed chickenpox when it could have been shingles? I assumed she was suffering a lot worse than my youngest just because she's older. She has been very good at not itching because she's at an age were she can appreciate the consequences and wants to avoid scarring where possible. She has a few on the insides of her arm that got caught against something and seem to have left craters but hopefully there won't be too many big scars that are overly noticeable. She did say if she still looked spotty at any of the auditions at least she would stand out and attract their attention!

Thank you all! She did get it quite badly bless her; but I guess a few weeks later and it could have been worse! She is much happier in herself now and was raring to get going again today, but it really got her down when she just couldn't get on with doing anything.......especially dance! Maybe I'll wait to see how she's looking in a couple more weeks and then if I think there will still be any evidence of the pox visible on audition day I'll just send a quick email beforehand. She's quite resilient really, I thought she might be a bit conscious in her leotard today but she just got on with it! Fingers crossed she'll build her strength back up in the next few weeks! Sounds like your dd had a rough time with it when she was little 2dancersmum! Has she been left with any scars? Dd's have been pretty large and close together too.

Just a quick post! I've been absent from the forum for a while as the chaos of everyday life on top of performance schedules (my own, not dd's!!) took hold for most of December! Dd has a couple of auditions coming up over the next month and with only a handful of classes after the Christmas break beforehand, her plan had been to keep stretching and dancing around the house over the hols. Unfortunately she broke out in severe chickenpox on New Year's Day! (She's 11) She was only able to go back to school yesterday as the spots were so big and covered her from head to toe and just took forever to scab over! For the first few days she suffered really badly and was knocked out for most of the time feeling really poorly and lethargic. Then she had really painful chickenpox on her feet and could barely walk let alone dance! She had to miss her first dance lesson back this week, but was determined to return today despite looking a bit of a mess with the scabs glaringly apparent through her ballet tights and all over her back, arms and face! Anyway, the point of my ramble is that she has inevitably stiffened up and is worried she won't be at her best for the auditions! Is 3 weeks enough to get back in shape and will the spots fade in time?! My youngest also had it but her spots had pretty much disappeared in half the time. Dd's scabs are still more than obvious! Think I'm just after some reassurance on her behalf!

Is anyone still waiting for an audition date? We sent our application off weeks ago and still haven't heard anything! Starting to panic a bit!

Snap! I was beginning to worry and it's only been a week for us so I'm glad I just read this!