amum/Cathy

Not looking very promising so far site keeps crashing on me even though booking hasn't opened - not letting me refresh certain pages.....

Really good to hear from you, safely out from under the hands of those surgeons and anaethetists! Hope you get some fun from your new tablet. We'll have to thunk of some youtube clips to keep you entertained. How about looking for clips of the Disney musical Newsies, as it's rumoured to be coming to the West End in 2014? Looks fabulous for male dancing and tap dancing. They had "exploratory auditions" at the Pineapple studios a week ago but the rumour mill says they can't find enough male dancers of a high enough standard to think they can stage it, which would be a shame. Definitely a show worth planning a trip to London for! Get well soon Cathy

Thanks C4D Stockport in June is Swan Lake, which ds doesn't want to do again so no dilemma over GCSE clash. I'm guessing anything that might turn up for the North East will be autumn performances as the summer holiday ones always seem to be in the south Who else thinks they are changing their venues in order to use Swan Lake in as many places as possible? I should think it is proving very popular and successful....

Ooh thanks for pointing that out Lemongirl. Hope those are good for members on here, although not for us. Do people think I'm safe booking our Swan lake tickets for Feb 1/2 term now, on the basis that one of those 2 productions must be using Feb 1/2 term for rehearsals?

Interesting celb.....but Belfast isn't an English city so that's different! Maybe Scotland next?!

How did it go yesterday? Hope balletco members got places!

Ok Pups_mum is right that they didn't want an empty auditions page once yesterday's audition was over. It now says "Auditions for 2014 to be announced soon", so fingers crossed..... Just Ballet I'm just glad that EYB take students to 18 so that those not going to vocational training at 16 can still get high class training and experience. All the associate programmes seem to stop at 16. And you're right - it is such an enjoyable experience for them (and us).

What a brilliant opportunity for young people to be able to work with Akram Khan. That should bounce the application numbers up considerably. I just wish my ds was a year older!

Hi C4D. I know, she definitely said that - all the girls from our dance school who did it remember her saying it, and are gutted as well! Hope you're right Pups_mum about announcing 2014 auditions shortly after the last audition of 2013 has taken place...

Thanks for posting what you know everyone. I wonder if they are using new venues in order to put on Swan Lake a lot, which they obviously can't do in a venue where they performed it 2 years previously. Hoping that isn't the case - we want Nutcracker, Giselle or Sleeping Beauty, somewhere we can get to! Taximom glad to hear it worked out so well for your dd in her GCSE year. Ds is at a grammar school, with a head who doesn't really understand boys who do ballet, but there was a girl who did EYB in her GCSE year 3 years ago, so a precedent has been set that we could quote if needed. Any more ideas anyone? I am just wondering whether they will use Billingham in the North East again as it was 2008 last time they were there.

OK I am getting seriously agitated waiting for the next round of auditions and venues to be published. Has anyone picked up any tips or hints of where and when there might be performances? Or even of what?! I can reveal that they are NOT coming to Newcastle - despite those at Newcastle in 2012 being told by Miss Lewis that the theatre had been booked for 2014! We are keen to know where else in the North East, or the North West EYB might come: Ds doing his GCSEs next year, AND I want to get on and book tickets for Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, on in Glasgow in our Feb 1/2 term! So any speculation, or hard facts, or distinct hints, on this thread please!

Don't even know if there is such a thing as it doesn't appear on the RAD enterprises website but we're looking for a DVD for Advanced foundation for the old syllabus for a male. If there is no such thing then would like the one for female if anyone has a copy to sell? Thanks if you can help... Sorry edited to add I mean the current syllabus - but I realise a new one comes in at the end of the year/next year!

Thanks Legseleven. I love this thread. Dance*is*life, following on from your post, I've put a quote from an interview with Michael Nunn and Darcey Bussell that was in the Independent: John Mallinson has just posted the link to it in the Dance Links section... "One thing that defines ballet dancers is our sense of discipline. It drives us in everything we do, sometimes to our detriment. But that's why I like employing ballet dancers, even within an office environment: because of their discipline. They are never ill, never late." Edited just to say that it is Michael Nunn who says the above.

Thanks for posting that Janet. And for your comment Ian. I'm going to get my ds to read it - it could be very useful when planning his personal statement on his UCAS application...as a boy who will have devoted over a decade to his ballet training, with no intention of becoming a professional dancer, it is difficult to know how to "sell" his "hobby" (passion!) on degree applications.

Just to second Pups-mum's post. We had a Leeds midwifery student doing a summer holiday job with us (in a GP surgery) 2 summers running and she loved the course. She herself was very bright and had a great personality. She'd had a choice of offers and had gone for Leeds as her favourite - definitely a tough course to win a place on!

Sorry, just correcting myself - it doesn't say RAD but rather RADA!

Labour made a reference last week to starting centres of excellence for IT and engineering, modelled on the RBS scheme (and RAD - not sure they understood what they were talking about there!)Shame they're not the party in power now, but Gove would look very foolish dismantling something that his opponents are wanting to extend! http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/jun/04/labour-pledge-training-it-engineering?INTCMP=SRCH

Thinking of waiting for Glasgow now Janet, but it would have been nice to meet up again! Glasgow looks to be the Feb half term week next year, which is what it was this year for Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty. It worked really well this year when we took the train up for the midweek matinee. A lot cheaper. Also we got to see the new recruit - young Liam Mower dancing the Lilac Prince (or was it fairy?) at the matinee. We've been fans of his ever since watching one of his last performances as Billy, in Billy Elliot. I'm very cross that the Lowry are using the West End trick of having VIP seats!

I do, but I couldn't think of her name to mention it above, thank you Aileen! It took a while to evolve but there was a big stink about her writing about her son, wasn't there? I think even journalists had a go her for this.

I used to get the Times and enjoy Sarah Vine's writing but putting her to writing on Beauty was a waste of a very good brain. Maybe the Times did it because Gove became an MP and she couldn't speak out about many issues anymore. However I thought all good journalists these days were very wary about writing about their children. She has slipped up here. I wonder if her dd goes to a suitably elite dance school where they are all super slim etc. Maybe she should try the village hall type school where you can find all shapes and sizes. I have a very skinny semi seriously dancing ds, and a distinctly shapely ++ non seriously dancing 12 year old dd who takes after me. She's perfectly happy at her school. The only time I plan to worry how she feels about her shape is when she gets to Intermediate, but she plods along in lower grades perfectly happily. I made it to the old Elementary RAD grade with my shape!

Thanks for posting Janet. I'm looking at the Lowry fro Saturday night but have you seen the £80ish price for the central circle tickets. I'm disgusted - I usually get these for ballet but they are calling them VIP tickets - and they are £40 more than all other seats!!! SHOCKING!

Congratulations to your dd outofmydepth, lovely news! Also to your pupil Bluebird 22. I can still remember my ds getting his letter for a year 5 place - I did save it for him to open, not sure how. I've opened heaps of things for him since!

Oh thank you, I love Rumer Godden but don't think I have read either of these, AND one of them about a boy who does ballet! I thought I had tracked down all the books with boys doing ballet, for my son.

Just to let kindle fans know that they can get this for £1.29 today. Hope it doesn't count toooo much as advertising but I know there are fans of hers on here!

Thanks everyone. I think I am getting my head round this. Ds is likely to be applying for degree courses that make offers based on grades as Lottie as suggested (at least that is his thinking atm). I think he wanted to be able to tot up all his points though. He doesn't want to do RAD Intermediate especially so will concentrate on putting his dance (and music and musical theatre) into his personal statement. And it is just a bonus if the IDTA exam does actually top up his points to make him feel more accomplished!