MumToTu

Yes, I dd has Tendu gel toe caps in XL you can buy online, but our local dance shop stocks them. Great for her she can't dance without them apparently, I know as she recently lost one and I painstakingly had to cut the one she had left in 2 and sew it at the top, which didn't work btw, until we could locate new ones, so it's wise to stock up as they are easily misplaced ????

Hi congrats on all the yeses ???? And comiserations to all the no's. Re Mids, my dd did not get finals last year, and then got an offer of SWL for Mids and a WL summer school place, 2 weeks later she got an offer of a Mids place off the list after the 2 JAs who got offers WL accepted and I was told a girl who just ticked WL and got finals, got a Mids offer too and turned it down, so don't give up places become available for all kinds of reasons. I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you all. While it is a stressful time, after receiving her no last year, it was a bad time for dd as she also had entrance exams for secondary clashing very stressful. So she also had to make the hard choice between her gymnastics, she was also a national level artistic gymnast at the time and leave the club and team mates she had grown up with to focus rate more on her ballet to improve. Then finding her lovely local ballet school could only offer a couple of classes a week, sadly leave that behind too. A year of total transition. And almost burn out for her. Plus after leaving gymnastics too a huge growth spurt of maybe 4 inches on top of that lol. But a year on she is very happy, she was awarded a dance and sport double scholarship to a beautiful school. She adores her new dance school and is happy to be dancing every night now practically after school and I love having her at home. She applied again for y8 this year and again got a no, of course there were tears, but the next day it was forgotten about, it's better to have tried then to look back and think what if! Good luck everyone don't worry if it's meant to be it is I knew it's hard year all round for parents and children alike Xxx

Hi, yes, my dd did it last year and loved it. My tip would be on choosing week factor in for end of term tiredness. My dd did week 1, but on hindsight I would of picked week 2 as she hadn't broken up from school yet and the week before at school was up til 10 at night 3 nights in her year 6 leavers school show. To make the most of this amazing opportunity pick a week if possible she won't be doing loads at school the week before, stuff like shows you may not have thought about, but can be tiring. My dd will never forget her week there, she loved every second! This year thankfully my dd breaks up the first week of July. So we've applied for the 1st week, as she'll have a week and a half break before to recharge her batteries. She is also 12. Wishing you the best of luck.

At age 10 I would let her try the classes. Is level 1 simular to grade 1 RAD? Assuming it it maybe you could ask if she could be put in a little higher grade? Or be moved up quickly? If not I would look around for a really good ballet school and do some careful research online. I can fully sympathize my dd is a very physical child too who has to be challenging herself and being active. She had to make the choice between gymnastics and ballet last year when she went into year 7 and it became clear to it was impossible to master both gymnastics required a 20 hour a week commitment at her level, adding in the fact she also became old enough to be allowed to do interfoundation at her ballet school in year 7 and start pointe work, which was a bit more challenging and exciting for her, but also meant more commitment, this was a turning point for her, she loved point work and that was it, all she wanted to do was ballet! Also factoring a very academic grammer school an hour and a half homework a night, assessments every term to revise for. She was awarded a double scholarship to her school for her dance and sport, so she is lucky the school are supportive. I know it's not always possible, but I made sure I factored in commute time to secondary school, when looking for a secondary school for her last year making sure it wasn't too far away, knowing she would be also busy dancing after school. At the stage your dd is I would let her try everything she wants and see which activity she falls in love with the most especially while she has less commitments at school as she's still in primary. It would be a shame if she didn't try, but I can understand your concerns that she maybe put off by being it level 1, if she's anything like my dd, she wouldn't like that either !

You are so lucky my dd's first pair of pointe shoes Grishko Pro Flexes lasted 4 weeks before being broken in. She is nearly 12 and only wears them 30 minutes a week!! Her second pair are Grishko 2007 medium shank. Which she has worn 3 times now and don't look to be wearing out as fast. But 2 pairs this term! Hoping this second pair last longer as she I assume going to be dancing En Pointe a lot more as she progresses...

Grimas glitter gel is lovely. In a white. And Grimas white shimmer pearlescent Facepaint. All water based so kind to skin. You can buy on eBay. I work in make up X

My dd is very fair skinned like yours and I've used Rimmel Stay Matt Foundation in Ivory on her. This was the only budget priced one I found fair enough, it isn't orangey cheap looking at at all. As she will only wear it 3 to 4 times a year and it has a shelf life, I didnt want to spend a lot of money. I use rimmel medium Brown eye brow pencil for completely her blonde brows, and apply it very lightly. I don't like the blonde shades, I find them ashy/wishy washy for her colour hair which is auburn. For her completely transparent blonde eyelashes I use the only Brown mascara I could find which wasn't black/Brown from boots collection 2000. Budget priced also. For blush I use a coral cream one in a tube from collection 2000. And benefit blush lipstain for lip colour. We have yet to get the eye shadow right as she wants gold now, previously she had to wear blue or a natural cream colour. She is 12 and likes a very subtle look. We use kohl brown on the eye. For the winged eyeliner maybe if you use a Brown/black liquid fine eyeliner instead of black? Although if you have to use true black I think this look can work really well with fair brows anyway, so I wouldn't worry I am sure she'll look fab good luck X

Move Dance Wear is right in the centre of Manchester. Fouette in Urmston Manchester is close ish to the Intru Trafford Centre if he's in a car and is a beautiful shop. I've bought so many beautiful gifts for my dd at Centre Pointe in Denton (Manchester) for birthdays/xmas Manchester, they have bags, jewelry boxes. As well as beautiful leotards, shoes. Not sure about Crewe or Liverpool. Have fun! Hope he enjoys his visit X

Yes, i agree that does sound expensive Balletbean. We paid 30ish for Dd s grishko demi pointes and 45 ish for her 2007 Pro Grishko pointe shoes. What with the ribbons to purchase as well, it is an expensive business. Good luck finding a cheaper reputable fitter, but like orchidblue says if the fitter has a good reputation it might be worth paying extra for the piece of mind X

We paid 45ish too for dds, how much did you pay Balletbean? X

Hi, do you still have the Katz character shoes available in a size 5? Thank you.

Nesquik, I know it's probably quite sweet, but my children have it at breakfast to drink and it has vitamin D added, my children love it and I have always given it to them for this reason.

Good luck, like you say he may find it boring depending on the age of the other children there and if it is advanced enough for him. Hopefully they will have a more advanced group of older children there who are ready to progress also. If he doesnt like it and there are no other clubs nearby maybe a trampoline club? I would look for a club that is well equipped with a bouncy floor has a tumble tracks, trampolines and pits. The one my ds is at is amazing, they are so strict with the recreational gymnasts though they wouldn't teach them anything more than a flick and that is only when you reach the very highest level which takes forever but my Ds is not a daredevil so he is more than happy with that, a few straddle jumps on a trampoline are more than enough for him

Grimas stage face paint make up is very good, it's water based so perfect for children. When my Dd did a show at her dance school they required them to wear foundations blue eyeshadow, mascara, blusher and lipstick. I bought her a foundation from rimmel, set with consilk powder borrowed from myself, rimmel was the cheapest brand I could find pale enough for her skin. Had to search everywhere for a true Brown mascara, as Brown black looked very over the top on her found a really good cheap one in super drug (i think collection) also a cheap blue eyeshadow. We didn't spend a lot as she really dislikes wearing make-up. She looks drastically different with it on as she's so fair,she looks very made up with mascara on she wouldn't wear lipstick so we settled for lip gloss, none of it came off on stage though I think you can buy a product to set make up. I don't think we spent more than 10 pounds, but the make up only was used once, I think if she liked make up I would have spent a little more maybe gone to the Mac counter and treated her, we have a fantastic shop near us that sells all the professional stage make up, but I think she's a bit young for that as it's very oily and she has sensitive skin excema also, I don't think it's recommended for children's skin, I love the idea of using facepaint as eyeliner, I don't like the kohl pencils and liquid eyeliner could look a bit harsh on a fair skinned child.

It would be a shame for him to miss his ballet class before auditions. my son loves karate nd he does an hour a week recreational gymnastics on top of this it really helps his conditioning and flexibility, he practises his splits there, hand stands, But at his club the recreational gymnasts wouldn't really learn to do flicks and tumbles until they are older if thats what your ds is hoping for as these are more advanced skills although my ds is only 8 and it coukd be different elsewhere plus your son is a little older. Have you tried looking at another gymnastics club that doesn't clash if you go on the British gymnastics website it list them? If it's a an recreational class most of the larger clubs run one or two every day? Bear in mind he coukd get drawn in begore you know it my Dd started at a rec class after school at 6, next thing she we knew she was there all the time she loved it so much

Hi Happymum, is it artistic gymnastics?, my Dd auditioned while training as a competitive artistic gymnast last year and also did only 1 grade 4 RAD ballet class per week, plus RBS Junior Associates, before auditioning. She built up a lot of upper body strength from her bars, and was very ripped, but for a boy this would be a good thing, maybe not a girl. Also, you have to bear in mind the possibility of an injury from a fall off bars beam etc ruining everything your child has worked for. Also dd got tight Achilles a bit from tumbling and growing, which plagued her during audition time. My dd wasn't successful in audition, I doubt it was down to her being a gymnast, she doesn't have a typical gymnast physique, tall and slim, but has lots of natural power and good strength to weight ratio, so good for gymnastics. In ballet physique seems to be important in auditions, also things like turnout, feet which are still a mystery to me. I am sure there may be bad habits for ballet picked up from gymnastics too though I am not sure what. I would let your ds decide, my Dd loved gymnastics more than anything in the world since she the age of 6, and made the county squad the last 3 years, had the time of her life, but the level she reached through regional ove up rules required 20 plus hours a week training and some pretty scary skills. And that leaves little time for anything else let alone ballet, family time and grammer school comute and homework in y7. I suppose you need to ask the gym what type of programme he would be committing to, a full on pre elite type programme or a low hour commitment week floor and vault squad, which maybe a fun safe environment for him to learn how to flick and tuck with a British Gymnastics qualified coach, or even a recreational class, if he likes street dance. And then decide, if he really wants to try it, maybe let him try an hour a week only until after his auditions? Or take him to a holiday camp over half term if the gym club run them to see if he really likes it. And then take it from there? Hope this helps.

Good luck finding a product, my Dd has simular hair, lots of short baby hair on her hair line, and thick course tectured red hair, only thing which will hold her hair is a lot of gel and washing after But her hair is straught not curly like your dds. Other products may hold it, but like your dd the wispy bits look messy and the other products we have tried i.e. hair spray and mouse, don't hold her hair as securely, dd used to do gymnastics and had to secure her hair so not in the eyes for acrobatics, also spending a lot of time upside down was a test of a secure bun. We also find 2 hair bands helped. The only way I could thing of getting round using gel would be lots of hair grips. But they can be a nuisance falling out or needing adjusting etc. My dds friend with curly hair straightens her hair to get it in a secure bun, maybe that may help ? And then lots of hair coloured invisible clips? You can buy them in boots to match hair colour, the larger snappy ones, not sure what they are called. They hold well. Good luck!

Thank you so much Anna C, they are very helpful articles and very informative. Don't worry Lisa O' Brien they are soft blocks, her first pair and she shouldn't have been en pointe on them we now realise. She most definitely won't be again and rest assured it was only once for a split second ????

They are only soft Pointes Anna C, wasn't quite aware they could injure her so badly. She's banned from doing this again don't worry! She goes right up on her tip toes holding onto something and trainers too (at home of course!) and I've often thought it looked dangerous ! Thanks for making us aware she would be devastated if she got an injury X

Hi ballet bean I hope your dds inter foundation exam went well ???? I am not sure if the soft pointes are for the actual inter foundation class or not ???? I am guessing it maybe so she can join in the pointe excercise, as a progression before moving onto proper pointe shoes? Not too sure really either ???? The Griskhos are lovely, Thank you for advice they can vary in box width, dd has one foot bigger than the other which doesn't help ????

Well she's finally got her shoes..., cue a new profile pic, I know she's not meant to go up en pointe in them, but she couldn't resist trying just the once ???? Thanking everyone for your helpful advice, she got Grishko ones in the end. First inter foundation RAD class on Monday after a summer off dancing She is very excited ! ????

Good luck to your dd on her first day as a mid hooe you found it okay, my Dd has her first lesson in Manchester this next Saturday and after a long break over summer she is very excited to be getting back to dancing

I agree ballet is so very expensive my husband is always moaning about the cost of dds expensive hobby, although worth every penny I believe ???? I can't afford for my dd to do another summer school, although she is privileged enough to have done one. There are many things I can't afford to take her too on top of her lessons ie actually to see the ballet. Just as a note my dd used to participate in a gymnastics squad and it is a lot cheaper, as if you get selected for any squad is is usually very subsidised by clubs recreational programme or county squad funds but you have to be talented to be selected so it's on merit only and plus no costumes or ballet shoes involved. I think we paid 50 pound a month, I dread to add up the cost of ballet ???? But I think i feel lucky to have a daughter who loves it x

Well done !!! Fantastic new and achievement xxxx

Thank you Peppoca, we will try this later, and then send her out on the trampoline and see if holds ???? She likes to use a tail comb to get rid of bumps. We've not tried pinning the bun as its twisted or twisting 2 strands round, we usually twist one strand round cover with gel, then bun net then flatten, not tried the hairbrush method her, then pin last. She's going to secondary school in September, so she won't want to have gel in her hair in the morning for school, she didn't mind as much previously but she now likes a smart French plait. She does have thick red hair though, so it has a lot Thicker texture than most hair it literally and loads of it too x