Belljul

Hello balletmummy. Good advice from everyone. I just want to add (not in a negative way but a realistic way) that my 8 year old DD did struggle with the two hour classes and the travel involved. She found the classes too "serious" to begin with and was not very confident. We considered stopping. However my DD decided herself to continue and now really enjoys the classes. It is quite "serious" for 8 year olds (lots of exercises, no chatting, quick toilet breaks, missing out on social events at home at the weekends etc) and they need to really want to train. My DD would have been better starting in year 5 but that's hindsight for you. It's wonderful to be part of the Royal Ballet School but it is a huge commitment. Just thought I would share our experience. I will add that my little DD has improved immensely with the training Good luck.

I am under the impression that students continue with MDS into Royal Ballet Upper school. They are not DaDa funded. Please correct me if I am wrong...

I have a very exhausted older DS! He really needs to spend some time at home. I dont think a week will be enough to fully recharge his batteries but we will try. Wishing everyone a restful half term.

Best of luck to him skintmum!

That's a tough thing to hear veryskint. Has you ds decided to go in a different direction or is he going to give it his best shot?

My 15 year old ds is 5'11. He thinks it's great and wants to be taller! He is always told to remember to "dance his height". Love that phrase!

Sorry to hear of the no's. It is really tough. All I can say is that the disappointment passes in a day or two. It really does.

Congratulations to those with a yes. You have an exciting day to plan. As for those who were not so lucky, try not to think too hard about why. Its useful to have feedback but I have learned that you can drive yourself a bit bonkers trying to work out why or why not some children are chosen and others not. Our dance teacher asked for feedback for my DS and it was all good! So we still had no idea why he didnt get in lol! I have heard of some kids getting to Royal finals but not Elmhurst and vise versa.. Each school likes different things. Good luck to the London auditionees....last letters due I think.

Loving your articles Anjuli. I sat and read out bits to my two youngest children at the weekend (13 and 10) both who struggle a bit with their pirouettes and they practiced in the kitchen. They really made good progress and today my 10 year old came out of ballet class and said she tried what we had talked about and her turns were much better! Many thanks for teaching children far far away in Scotland! xx

Yes, huge luck for your DD celb and to all the dancers facing their assessments soon. Hope it goes really well. DS has his next week but he is safe for year 10 in terms of no assessing out. Still feeling the pressure though!

Great minds and all that JulieW! xx

I have looked into this before busymum, and it does become very expensive. Two years ago, the situation was that they reduced the amount you pay for each child and it worked out that the second child cost roughly half that of the first child. To make it easy to understand.....if the contribution for the first child was 10, 000 then two children would be 7, 500 each. 15, 000 for both. I have no idea if this is still the case however. Maybe someone else can be clearer on the policy at the moment.

Yay!!! Really pleased to hear your son has a final for Elmhurst MVOBE. Huge luck to him. A couple of years ago there were around 20 boys at the final but they tend to only take a few and boy classes have been pretty small of late. Its not like RBS where they will take a set of 12. Sometimes they only have 6/7. I think one of the current years only has about 4!! Good luck and thanks for sharing your journey so far x

Myveryownbillyelliot, please don't worry at this stage. It sounds as if your son has only been dancing for a short while, and although RBS say they are not looking for dance experience, but potential, I personally feel that the competition is so fierce that they DO look at those who are further on in their training. I say this because my eldest son was offered finals for year 7 and was not a JA and far behind most of the other boys. He was not offered a place. However he was taken on by Elmhurst, reauditioned for White Lodge in year 9 and was offered a year 10 place. So in my mind, he did have the potential but for some reason RBS were not prepared to take a chance on him at that early stage. They seem to like him now! Its a strange journey but keep going. Get as much feedback as you can. It could be something as "small" as his feet not good enough at this stage. or his upper body too "wooden" or his turnout not loose enough etc, and then you have things to work on, and he sounds like a hard worker. If it is his proportions then there is not much you can do but wait until he grows and see how he looks at 16....anyway I have said enough. Just feel for you x

Sorry to read of the no letters today. I found it takes a few days to stop feeling sad then you just move on. The kids can move on quicker than us sometimes.

Posted that last post before I heard it had all worked out in the end moneypenny. I guess you are living up to the word penny in your name now

Sad for you moneypenny. I'm sure it has happened to quite a few families! Especially with the changes to the Dada for upper school. But lets not go there on this thread lol.

Love it! Yes, you do get 'post' traumatic stress from hearing that others have their letter! The forum is a fab place for support and info but it can be tough when others get yes's and your dc has not. However, try telling me to stay away when we were waiting for a letter. It's totally addictive!!.... but pace yourselves! If you think this waiting is bad, wait until you are waiting for the letter after finals.......Wishing you all huge luck

Yes, it is really important to do your sums! I have memories of being offered a place then realising it was going to be such a huge financial strain on the family that we initially turned it down. Now that was really tough on my son! You can contact the school to find out just how much you will be paying. Try not to stick your head in the sand like we did!! Wishing you all good luck for your letters and really sorry to hear about the no's. It is tough. We have had to deal with that too, but things move on and another path becomes clear....x

I know what you mean Katymac. So much mess!! The shoe mountain; the full washing baskets; the spaghetti of phone charger cables!! But I just went into my boys shared room which has been a tip over the holidays and had to sit down with the force of their lack of presence

Sorry to hear that mad house. Sounds like your friend's daughter has a great attitude despite the disappointment.

Balleteacher, I would be interested in any tips you may have. I think the mindset has a huge impact on performance in an audition and should be given due consideration.

I'm the same taxi4ballet lol. Love to hear more about the night of dance at Lincoln Centre 1978 Anjuli......taking things right off track though! edited to remove repeated word

Sounds like a great day and well done to your daughter for getting to the finals. Fabulous performance experience!

I think it depends on whether the 9 year old has dreams to dance professionally or is just happy to dance as a hobby. My nine year DD (almost 10) old says she wants to dance professionally and she does two ballet classes, JAs on a Saturday, and a modern and tap class. Quality is definitely better than quantity and I'm not hugely bothered about grades (she is doing Grade 3 work). My son only did two ballet classes at 10/11 before going to vocational school (and only sat one exam). Think boys get away with that more than girls though. Hope that is of some use.