Piccolo

Hi Sugarplums mum, come to think of it...I may have some information that could help you. I know of someone who has just gone away to study at the Guildhall School of Music which is around 9k per year. Three charities (in your area ;-) ) are covering the cost apparently. I will PM you them, plus others which this person recommended. Vocational training sounds like a huge financial burden. As the mum of a 'twice weekly' sort of child though, if I had a child in voc school, at least I could focus on working to fund the excess without the pressure of needing to be on the ballet run and needing to be in work at the same time..! Or is that not the case? Maybe thd long distance ballet runs take over...

Not necessarily, but likely (I think!). At our centre last year, 3 year 6 JA's got finals at WL. 2 of them are now at WL, and the other did get offered MA's. No one else got MA's. I think maybe 5 got wait list. One got offered a place off the wait list but declined. Not sure what happened next! The RBS Annual report audition figures show how the amount of associate places becomes more scarce in MA's and then SA's :-( . However, the RBS is apparently not the only route to a career in dance :-) .

Congratulations Happymum! Lovely news! :-)

Thanks Happymum, you next... All fingers crossed for your dd!!

Thanks dtadmin :-)

My dd also has the offer of a place and a funding audition. Still totally wired at 23.25 on a school night. Yes she knows it may not come to anything but her little spot of success at this stage is a big boost nevertheless :-)

Anjuli, wow!! Have you ever written a book? Love your post :-)

Hi Sugarplumsmum, Your posts are so moving. I will PM you too!

Gottokeepworking, I'm intreagued. Is the 'by invitation only' audition common practice? How does ones child find themselves in that situation?! Thanks.

Lots more good points! I'm surprised no one has cashed in on a situation that must amount to lots of DC's all set to dance but nowhere to dance. Maybe someone should start up a summer school for wait listers, leaving the 'costly' selection process to the RBS ;-)

Thanks all! So great to be able to run your thoughts past the Balletco and get a more rounded perspective on things! Probably no need to book time off work should the RBS SS opportunity come up. I could probably work and fit in taxi service duty too as per usual. I could focus time off work in the hols around a family holiday and maybe organise another good SS for dd. Would then have nice things for all of us to look forward to :-)

Just wondered if any of you have received the RBS e mail re closing date for SS? After applying for dd and taking precious time off work in the school hols 'just in case' two years running, and two wait lists amounting to nothing, I've been thinking that maybe a family holiday should come first. The e mail makes it seem (probably unrealistically) accessible, and I'm probably going to make the same mistake again and submit an application for dd ! :-) ! (Yes, she wants to go. She'd be there in a shot). What do others think? A top up of vitamin D in the sun or another gamble on RBS?!? Anyone had similar experiences? I'd be grateful to hear.

Happymum, it can take an hour to cross Birmingham alone in rush hour. You may have other towns to pass too. Get a hotel IMO and spend your morning being pampered Premier Inn style over breakfast and getting ready rather than driving. Worth the money in the long term if this means a lot to dd. Much better to be calm and organised for dd.

There's also a price to pay in later life for having long, fine boned limbs. In older people, this category is most at risk of fractures.

Yes, thank you Taxi! Bit of a strange word, instep, IMO. Could be anywhere!

As I understand it, but I might be wrong (!) the instep is the shape you are born with, and the arch is the shape you create when you point your toes. It can be improved with the right exercises.

Thanks Anjuli, great article. Really helpful. I think dd must be somewhere in the middle. She has been shown a couple of ways to increase the flexibility of her instep which she says are helping, but is asking for an arch stretcher (or wherever it's called!) for Xmas. I've heard they can cause injuries if not used properly. Does anyone have any experience of them?

Anjuli, can I ask, how would you describe a foot that is well constructed for pointe work? Dd has been doing pointe work for a year and one day announced happily that her feet were starting to look like the older girls at her ballet school. Slightly concerning! Balletqs, what foot exercises did you do, if you don't mind me asking?

sarahw, I'm really glad you asked this question on minimum hours per week needed to retain the option of vocational training. Not everybody asks it. Not everyone is lucky enough to to eg get beyond RB JA's but if they got there in the first place I've heard it's because they are talented. I don't believe it's the only route to a dance career and as DiL said, the ballet body a only needed for ballet. The UK teachers on this thread have highlighted the difficulties they face with finding enough available dance space to teach in, and the high cost of lessons. There's also the issue of varying abilities in classes. In my Dd's dance school, it is assumed therefore, that the door to vocational training would be closed without a continuing associate programme. Alternatively they have supported people successfully with private lessons but it takes a proactive parent to initiate this. From a parents point of view, it's difficult to accept that sometimes children are held back according to age in their RAD Graded classes. I have to say that after 3 days of seeing my daughter flourish at Elmhurst SS, it is upsetting to see unhelpful comments on Balletco about the unsuitability of the struggling twice weeklies (or words to that effect) at the showing of work. Sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place! Anyway, I know now how many dance hours I should be looking for in order to support dd and that the idea of going in to the classes above actually works. Great! BTW, DiL, you're such an inspiration. I know you have the privilege of having dance studios, but it sounds like you appreciate that and use your time to great effect. Your thoughts on here are crystal clear, I expect your teaching is too. And your support is tailored to a wide range of needs, even single mothers :-) ! We are lucky to have a great dance school but reflecting back through this thread, so much more could be achieved in dance schools in the UK with better financial support from the UK government for dance, eg subsidising cost of lessons and providing dance spaces IMHO.

So the arts are accessible to everyone in France, not just the affluent. So it should be IMOH. There must be so many stones left unturned in terms of discovering potential and nurturing it in the UK. Pity the arts aren't considered worthy of investing in to the extent they are in France IMO.

Well she's been dancing happily for two years by the sound of it, and is eager to make up her own dances. Sounds promising, in terms of growing up with an enriching childhood hobby that could develop into something more when she's older if that's what she wants later on. Perhaps you should stop those lessons before her self esteem is damaged. She's losing concentration, getting criticised for it, instead of being inspired, as is partly discussed in the recent RAD topic and Dr Dances' thread on 'What makes a good teacher?'. Maybe find a good teacher who recognises her attributes and encourages them. Then maybe she can get back on track and be inspired to continue making up her own dances at home too.

It has just occurred to me to mention that my son recently decided to stop his bass guitar music lessons in protest of exercises and pieces from his graded book. He is now happily working away to the instruction of bass guitarists on you tube!

Maybe that's a weakness in music training that could be improved, or is that just something that one has or hasn't got? IMHO Elton John is one example of a high achieving classical pianist who could probably do without thinking what your husband finds that many people can't. And how about Jules Holland? I wonder what route he took as a child learning the piano? Probably best off pondering this on a different forum. Sorry! ; )

TFB - oh my word - what a nightmare that would be! Especially in a group lesson, and with people of varying levels of musicality - Hee Hee. I must run this thread past my dad. He's a musician. I'd love to get his view on all this, although he's now pretty much retired in terms of teaching. He also has quite strong views when it comes to teaching though. Yes I know that you can't really draw on the experiences of the music world's teaching practices to influence dance training, and vice versa, but I'm sure it would be great if you could.

Pictures, I did ask how the groups were decided and was told it was by date of birth. I also thought that the artistic director was brimming over with enthusiasm. Instantly recognisable as 'the smiley one'' IMO! Non dancing son was watching how the boys teacher directed them from the side of the stage and thought he was amazing. Not usually an easily impressed teenager!