Belljul

Very kind offer . We already have then but just wanted to say how nice to pass them on :-)

Thanks for that. Lovely to read about a company I know nothing about. Sounds like a wonderful evening, and all for just £4!!!

This is a lovely topic, and as a non dancer I can only speak for my DS's current teacher who is a constant source of inspiration for my son. All the boys in the class strive to please him, and he is quick to communicate his pride in them when they have worked hard and achieved. I have seen him teach and he does so with such a wonderful mixture of energy, authority, affection and encouragement. I will be sad when they move up into the next year. The right teacher can make a HUGE difference.

Lildancer, I am so sorry to hear it hasn't worked out for Elmhurst. We are still nursing our bruises from the year 7 no. I think it takes a while to sort out these rejections in your head and move forward, but you have to and it gets easier! LB congratulations, and as a Scot I have to recommend Scottish Ballet as Glasgow is a great place to train! Let us know what you decide. Xx

Thanks for sharing your daughters journey celb. I am so pleased to hear it has worked out for now. I always said a "no" from finals would be an indication that it might be worth looking at a change of plan for my DS (just a personal thing) but he wants to keep training and try again next year. I have to support him and you have given me reason to shake off my doubts and keep going. I hope your daughter has a wonderful time at school. xx

Well done your daughter lala and also to evie and her son. Good to hear of the boys getting places although we are so sad it is not us. Wildflowers sending a huge hug to your daughter. It is so hard for the siblings who have been working towards that goal and it is not to be at the moment anyway. I think time will ease the disappointment but boy its hard. Xxx

Bad new in this house too. Disappointed boy, but onwards and upwards. Sorry for your sad news too Charlie4dancin

No post yet for us by the way

Well the letter is addressed to you as parents JA Dad so maybe you should open it and check then be able to talk to your daughter rather than have her open it. Just a thought. I did that with an RBS no letter and it felt better to have the news come from me rather than a piece of paper.

Oh that's going to be tricky sniffymum! There might be another A4 letter there upside down but from somewhere else! Or a small one and you will assume the worst!! I don't envy you. The Elmhurst letter will certainly have an Elmhurst frank mark so if your neighbour manages to see that then you will know!

Hi sniffymum. I know that yes letters are A4 with quite a few sheets in. So quite a hefty letter really. I am guessing a no would be a smaller thin letter. Good luck tomorrow. I have a feeling ours will be Monday as post usually quite slow :/

Looks like letter are to be posted first class tomorrow! So at least you can relax tomorrow and then mug the postie on Saturday. A friend was told this by the school. Good luck xx

I think those with a Hammond audition on Monday have good reason to phone and ask if the letters are likely to arrive in the next couple of days. I am close to ringing because I know Mrs Pitt is always friendly and helpful but have refrained! I even asked my older son to ask when the letters were going out and he said he would but then forgot!! Now he is away on a school trip until Fri night! Arghhhh!

Good luck for tomorrow for lildancer and littleballerina and anyone else at upper school finals. Big day. Letters might be here tomorrow for lower school although it was 10 days wait two years ago, so I'm trying not to expect the letter til Fri/sat. Hang in there everyone! Xx

Good luck to you both.

Thanks for this info Ian and so good to hear that Jack is making good progress.

Quite sad to hear that Mr Kelly was not on the panel, but I guess this is the start of him handing over the reins to Mr Parker, but he will be missed! We are in Birmingham ready for tomorrow. Early night.

I thought I would start a new thread about Finals at Elmhurst. I know a few of you are heading there this week. Best of luck and fingers crossed for a great day. xx

I think being cynical is a choice. Sometimes when you feel you have had a rough ride, and things have felt unfair you chose to become cynical as it directs some of your frustrations by feeling scornful about the situation or the people involved. But in my experience I become "stuck" and unable to move past the experience in a positive way. Bankruptmum, you and your DD have no doubt had your cynical moments but have chosen not to dwell on it and move forward and as a result you will have a happy daughter. Jellybeans I don't blame you for finding child Bs experience a tough and frustrating one. It is! Hope the experience encourages child B to go for any audition in the future. I find cynicism to be a very limiting emotion, in a similar vein to jealousy. And in the ballet world if we are not careful these two emotions can make life much harder than it needs to be!

I have been feeling especially cynical lately about a dance world where a dancer can spend a fortune getting to an audition overseas only to be "cut" after 10 mins. Sooo tough, but that's the way it is (doesn't make it "right" or decent but there we have it ). As you say Anjuli we can feel cynical one day, then accept all these tough things and battle on to find the positives again and when we see our children dance with joy and strength and confidence it makes it worthwhile.

Hi Jellybeans. I think, like anything there is much to be found in the ballet world to be cynical about and we all hear horror stories which may be true or may be exaggerated, or may be untrue. We, as parents are always looking to make sense of a world which we can neither influence or control. In my (limited) experience I will try to comment on your points: "Children are invited to school finals and no places are offered". Yes, this is true. Schools will only take the dancers they really want and will not fill spaces if they are not convinced by the dancers who attend their final auditions. Schools do have spaces available that sit empty if they do not find the right dancers. Children are told not to bother to apply to a school and then children in the same year that do apply are invited to finals? Told by whom? their teachers? No one can "tell" a child not to apply to a school. Even if a teacher advises that they don't audition, it is ultimately the choice of the parents and the child. Children who are in the schools can be asked to leave without even being given a reason" Yes, this is a very tough part of the ballet world. The children are aware of this when they start at the schools and they are given some form of reason, but sometimes not in very much detail. This is very distressing for the child and the parent and I do wish the schools would handle this issue more sensitively. Maybe it will change over time. Children that consistently fail to get a vocational place still go on to successful professional careers? I don't know about "consistently" failing to get a place, as you do need to train somewhere, but certainly there are successful dancers who did not gain a place until 16, who have gone on to dance as a career. Do the schools genuinely take who they think are the best dancers at the time or are their other forces at play? My feeling is that the schools do aim to take the best dancers, or those with the most potential. They do make mistakes though. It is not an exact science (sorry bad analogy as it is not anywhere near a science at all!!) but you know what I mean. If your daughter wants to dance, I would say to go into it with your eyes open but do not be too discouraged by the rumour mill and the panic states we all get into when our children audition (me included!). My experience of vocational school for my son has been positive and enriching and he is a happy and well balanced child. It's stressful, challenging and expensive but I wouldn't change it. Hope some of this helps. xx

That's great you manage to find a solution famcandance. I have been so impressed with Lisa Howell's approach to flexibility that I have just ordered her flexibility program, for both myself and for my dancing kids (and it's not cheap!). Thanks for drawing my attention to her work.

Kathy you and your son have had a stressful time and thank you for sharing your experience of this tough process. It worries me that this may be ahead but I am now more aware of what happens by hearing your stories. I am disappointed to hear that there was not much support from WL to help your son find another school. I wish the schools took more responsibility for the emotional impact this process has on the children and parents. I hope your son is now doing well and is happy.

Sorry to hear of your no letters mums taxi and afab It's a big disappointment. Hope your dancing children bounce back soon. xx

Sorry to hear of your no letters mums taxi and afab It's a big disappointment. Hope your dancing children bounce back soon. xx