bethany

Thank you both x 

Does anybody know when the Dada income scales are likely to be available for next year? At the moment it says 2018-2019. Does it often change? 

Also is it correct that child benefit would stop? 

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing your experiences.  I'm 'happy' (not quite the right word!) to hear both sides to the story, the negatives as well as the positives. 

I do feel worried about it. 

In terms of independence she's able to cook, knows how to make a very quick meal when she's tired, do her own washing, sew her own pointe shoes etc (not that she always does these things but she knows how to!)

But I worry more about being isolated, what she would do if she was ill, who she would talk to when she's had a bad day. 

Lots to think about over the next few months! 

Thank you for the links Alison - just having a read through them now 

10 hours ago, Clarkd3 said:

My 19yr old DD shares private halls accommodation with a mixture of ages from 16 upwards. It’s very noticeable how much the 16yr olds struggle with the practicalities of life away from home plus dealing with illness and home sickness! Luckily most of the younger dancers head home each weekend which my DD feels is their salvation. As a parent I’d be very wary of sending my 16yr old off to full time dance training without onsite support, it just seems a step too far on top of long hard days in the studio. 

This is exactly my concern. Thank you for your honesty. 

12 hours ago, taxi4ballet said:

One thing to bear in mind is that, unlike 6th-form at schools, some establishments (particularly those offering a degree programme with entry at 16), will not speak to or engage with parents. So students under 18 have to be very independent and self-reliant, as they cannot rely on parental backup if they need it for any reason.

This is something I hadn't thought of so thank you for raising it. 

Do you think this is particularly dance related? Even if she suddenly had a change of heart and decided to do A levels she would go to a local college as her school doesn't have a 6th form. 

Thanks everyone for the replies and private messages. You’ve been a big help 

I would be interested in hearing experiences in training (particularly away from home) at age 16. I am especially looking for information that is not always easy to find on the website such as

- accommodation options

-accommodation costs

-hidden costs

-how did your child adapt to moving away 

-any concerns about safety

-if the course was mixed age groups (eg some starting at 16 and some at 18) how did this work? 

At the moment we are trying to narrow down options and get a general feel for how things work so I'm not asking about any particular schools, all information would be welcome. 

Thanks in advance 🙂 

I’m not sure if they take children as young as 7 but northern ballet in Leeds have a free open day every year before the auditions. Parents can sit and watch. It’s friendly and your daughter will feel like she’s just taking a class but you would be able to see what sort of standard it is. 

http://www.peakphysiotherapy.com/conditions-we-treat/dance-injuries/

Hi this isn't a personal recommendation but I do know of someone from my daughter's school who has seen this lady and been happy with her advice 

8 hours ago, Balletina said:

Thank you bethany. That sounds great. Are there any classes you would recommend?

We live in the north so we usually book train tickets a few months ahead. Because of this she can’t decide on a class in advance but there’s usually one she can do while we’re in London.

She’s done jazz / lyrical style classes, I don’t think she’s done ballet as we don’t go often.

Last summer she did an adult class and she was one of 4 teenagers in it. The adults were definitely more advanced but they had no issues with the teenagers being there. They all just got on with the class x 

1 hour ago, w445403 said:

I recommend looking at Stageworks, their Audition Preparation course prepares students for auditions at 18 and has a 100% record for placing students at all the major schools. It has ballet, jazz, commercial , contemporary etc as well as singing and acting. It's a BTec Advanced course so is funded. The students are housed in shared houses/flats and the pastoral care is good. 

Thank you. We’ve not heard of this but will have a look 

When my daughter has done an occasional class at pineapple they haven’t had any problem letting her join in. They just check she’s happy with the level. There have always been some teenagers in the classes. Standard tends to vary in open classes anyway x 

13 hours ago, Picturesinthefirelight said:

With regards to the schools you asked about.

 

I’ve heard mixed about Northern ballet. I know a couple of their current teachers who are excellent but I have heard rumblings of discontent. The students I know of didn’t complete the course One because of injury the other transferred elsewhere so I know a sample of two isn’t representative. 

 

I dont know much about  KS general dance course. I only really hear of the classical course. 

 

There is definately a difference in the amoaunt of ballet the different colleges offer. For example even though it’s not a classical course a daily ballet class is at the core of Hammond’s training & I have heard ballet is featured heavily at Laine. By contrast colleges such as Performers & Bird offer less ballet classes from what students there have told me.  

Thanks for sharing your experiences. 

we hadn’t really looked properly at Laine, performers etc. Partly due to the cost and partly because of how hard they are to get a place. Laine and the Hammond both sound ideal for what she is looking for though. 

I don’t have any background in dance so it’s very hard to know what to do for the best! 

Anyway, thank you all of you for your help and suggestions. We both appreciate it 🙂 

22 minutes ago, 2dancersmum said:

Bethany,  the level 6 Trinity diploma is available for Professional Dance or for Musical Theatre - 2 separate qualifications. There are loads of colleges that offer professional dance - in this they are assessed on a minimum of 2 dance disciplines with another module being dance, singing or choreography based. The first link below gives you information on the qualification and colleges that provide it.  Your DD may well study ballet, jazz, contemporary and tap for example but in the end would be assessed on her strongest disciplines. Disciplines depend on the college. The 2nd link is for the council of dance , drama and mt training - quite a useful website.  They organise a careers conference each year that students and parents can attend (at cost). Colleges taking part vary each year as does location but it does give the parent the opportunity to talk direct to various colleges and get questions asked and answered.

 

Obviously neither of these include all options available for further training - nor does it mean that colleges not included are 'lesser' in any way. Dance training is a minefield with so many training options and different ways of funding with so many routes to becoming a professional dancer. Hope something I have said here helps and good luck

 

 

https://www.trinitycollege.com/site/?id=270

https://cdmt.org.uk/

 

Thank you so much for this. 

Yes, definitely a minefield! We did go to some open days in year 10 to try to reduce time off school in year 11 but there is still so much to organise and think about 

1 hour ago, Anna C said:

Does your daughter sing, bethany? Is she interested in Musical Theatre as a career, or purely dancing? 

 

If MT I would also look at Millenium (perhaps at the Foundation course for year 12, rather than the degree.  Tring Park offers A'Levels alongside the Dance course so that might be worth looking at too, as well as Urdang, Bird, SLP and London Studio Centre. 

Hi Anna, thanks for the suggestions 🙂 

She likes singing but has never had lessons  - she's happy to consider a dance course with singing but definitely wants it to be dance focused. 

She does like SLP, she took some children's classes there a while ago and said it had a nice atmosphere. 

Thank you Bluelou and Canary, very helpful. 

Such a lot to take in. I have a feeling year 11 is going to be very stressful! 

Hi everyone

I wondered if anyone could share any information about the following 3 courses please which are on my daughter's list of places to audition?

She is hoping to audition for a year 12 place starting sept 19. 

She loves ballet but is not of the standard to audition for a classical ballet course. Therefore, we are hoping for a college that is more general / jazz focused but where she can still take regular ballet classes. 

The difficulty is finding somewhere that is of a good standard but where she won't feel out of her depth with ballet. 

1)KS dance - I've read a lot of positives about this course but we aren't very familiar with it. 

2)Chantry dance - again, not familiar with this but someone on this forum kindly suggested we look at it.  Course content sounds ideal and the fees seem very reasonable. 

3)Northern ballet, Manchester. 

Any comments about the audition, expected standard for year 12 entry, accommodation and pastoral care for 16 year olds would be very helpful. Also, with regards to KS dance does anyone have any information about fees / bursaries?

Any other suggestions gratefully received. 

I want to start narrowing things down a bit as it's becoming difficult to keep track! 

Thank you x

On 15/07/2018 at 19:24, meadowblythe said:

Bethany, 

 

Might be worth a look at Chantry Dance too, they offer a very wide syllabus.

Sorry only just seen this. Thanks very much for the suggestion x 

Thanks very much Sarah. It’s all so confusing! She has a list so I will see if those are on it (I think northern ballet is) - I’ve said we need to narrow it down over the summer holidays so we can make a plan x 

Hi apologies for going slightly off topic.

Can anyone tell me about the standard of year 11 ballet?

My daughter has this school on her list to audition for next year (for year 12 entry 2019). She's in a difficult situation because her strength is in jazz but her passion is in ballet so she wants a school / college to incorporate both. 

I'm wondering if the ballet might be a bit beyond her and it would be a waste of an audition. (she is still mainly dancing in flats and her basic technique is good. She does do pointe work but it is difficult for her). 

Thanks x

Thank you all for the suggestions. 

We will look into them all 🙂 

Hello again

My daughter and I are continuing our research for Sept 19 entry.

She is looking for a dance course which includes ballet but is not entirely ballet focused. 

One thing I don't think we've considered in enough detail is a btec / A level course locally with the aim of moving away at 18 rather than 16. 

Can anyone recommend any 6th form / colleges in the Leeds or Manchester area that offer a good dance course (possibly Liverpool but that maybe a bit far). Ideally with good transport links and close to a train station.

Thank you x

19 hours ago, HAIRBELLES said:

Hi Bethany

I haven't commented on the forum for a while as my knowledge isn't as current nowadays but I also have a dd currently at PCD.

It is well worth a look ,however on the 16-18 course although the DDE is financed it is only for one subject you can pay for the other two , vocational exams are taken care of as well , additionally you pay £1,250 a year for the performance package .

This includes classes and workshops from ex industry professionals some of whom work at "bigger" colleges 

If your daughter has to live away from home there is the usual rent etc we are lucky that DD travels in every day.

So depending on income it can cost you more than if you were on dada funding elsewhere.

There is an annual Choreograph competition , Christmas showcase, Annual show trips to move It and New York.

Take a look at You Tube this years Move It pieces they were fabulous .

I've had a good look at the website and I think this type of training could suit my daughter. 

A good standard of dance training but with teacher training alongside. I think it's unlikely she will get any long term work as a dancer so my feeling at the moment is that she will go into some kind of teaching or other dance related work. 

Unfortunately although Manchester city centre is a feasible daily commute, anything outside might be a bit too far. I'm going to look into the travel options. 

8 hours ago, Clarkd3 said:

Hi my DD attends PCD ie Preston college Dance based in Preston. She is doing the 2yr foundation degree after achieving A levels in a mix of subjects including A level dance! The dance college is now able to offer a full Ba in dance, performance and education which my DD will complete with them! The dancers take classes in musical theatre as well as a large variety of dance genres and their days are full

Whilst the PCD course is challenging, A level Dance has stood her in good stead as the academic side of the course is far less daunting as a result!

The course is a mixture of furthering the students own dance levels via ISTD exams, performance and audition, academic modules plus DDE dance teaching qualifications! The college has lovely facilities, is supportive and nurturing and my DD is very happy there!

They also run a three year professional dance diploma for which it is mainly fully funded between 16/18 yrs old

Seemingly students can opt to switch to the degree course at 18 if they wish!

Past students seem to get contracts with cruise ships and touring shows plus work within dance teaching and via the annual shows the dancers look professional and well trained!

It would be well worth a look as it seems to bridge the gap between dance performance and teaching with an option of pathways and funding!

Good luck with finding the right course for your DD!

Thank you - this wasn't on our list so I will have a look