Peanut68

Hi BalletBoysDad & thank you for your response....& for not taking any offence in words I proffered from a distance! Its great that your son loves ballet & has found a ‘happy place’ - especially important for our youngsters of whom so many just do not find that (& worse) in day to day school situations....And the many activities & disciplines he leans through ballet & dance - physical & mental & relationship building - will help him build a lifelong foundation of multi transferable skills plus the immense joy of dance, music & artistry! He is lucky to have supportive family (& teachers too it sounds like) so I wish you all well! But remember to maintain life/ballet balance as it can start to be a bit like a chore dictating everyone in a family’s timetables/finances etc.... (I did also forget that often not all associate schemes are weekly but may well be fortnightly or even just once a month) Explore all avenues & be guided by where your son feels happiest....& of course getting 👍🏻👍🏻 up & feedback from those on this forum with first hand experience will be useful too! (My DD had happy experience of Tring CBA back in the day....many years ago now....but I do recall it caused family agro with the costs of the course & travel & time away with resultant impact on rest of family life....& pretty sure it was just once a month then!) We parents can just source & research & try put opportunities their way to nurture & support our offspring as best we can! The future is theirs..... Good luck all!

Two associate schemes? And on one day? And at such young ages? I know excellent training is one in a series of keys helpful to unlock future porontial but so is a happy childhood & family life. Best focus surely should be in finding an excellent local teacher to work with as close to home as possible (I think one mentioned moving to Midlands so am sure lots on forum can recommend teachers) I write this with no intention to criticise anyone, merely I know that sometimes it’s easy to get swept along on a magical carpet ride where it feels as if the mantra is a constant must do more/must do better/must belong to prestige schemes/ must do what X child does/ must also do what Y child does etc etc Just my own very humble musings.....

Oh am loving this Chuckers story.... though picturing a top ballerina being faced with a dozen chickens, I’m wondering if they wouid be alive or pot ready?? And then imagining rather pot bellied dancers on stage as all full of chicken the day after a sell out show 🤣

Thanks Pas de Quatre.... though almost wishing I’d not asked as the spitting analogy sounds a bit yuck! Mind you, guess it’s like the acting world with ‘break a leg’..... wish a bad deed to hopefully guard against it as a sort of reverse psychology? I naively thought the Toi thing was more a post performance accalade along the lines of ‘get you!’ So is it more a pre performance saying not post? Have heard lots of Bravos (on my rare ROH visits & at cinema viewings there often seems to be one gentlemen shouting Bravo with gusto!!) but guess I’ve not heard the triple Toi shouted in the auditorium now I come to think about it 🤔 So, the Chuckers (chucked?) that ENB Dancers (others too?) day ore performance.... does that have an equally unpleasant meaning used as an omen for good luck? so much to learn!

You are en route to being a true artist Tango Dancer! Toi toi toi! Btw....Confession.... I’ve no idea what the Toi thing actually means; please someone enlighten me, thank you! 😁

Gosh DDDriver, I would never have thought about these things.... but actually wish someone had pointed these out to me in the ‘early’ days prepping for training. We did follow the vocational boarding route from a young age. It worked mostly as the logistics of accessing good training were impossible We are rural, far from London with rubbish transport routes. Local training at more recreation (albeit excellent) focussed school not offering enough extras or any private lessons or enough serious peers to help spur one another on. Yes, training was out there but the family dynamic was not helpful; the hubbie would’ve balked at majority of attention focussed on just one child plus the travel/costant fees etc & wouid not have been acceptable. Nor would he have understood getting the suggested extras DD driver cleverly suggests at a young age....he’d get it for a 16 year old aiming at a rugby career....just not age 10 dancer! And we all see how it’s thd early years really that are so pivotal in so many things. A funded place at vocational was really only hope to access & afford what I hoped would provide all that plus sound academic education, a happy peer group & more settled existence for all the family. And yes, in the main it has. However, I think the almost weakest element is possibly all those DDDriver mentions as necessary.... and I saw often day pupils who still accessed ‘extras’ were getting better all round & often those who had family able to juggle ‘normal’ school with the regime you suggest also seem more advanced & are successful at Upper School auditions. And of course look to the Internationals.....but remember that sadly finances play a big part too.... generally those trained like the Inters & the Inter families tend to be from the highest earning demographics on the whole..... Hindsight is a wonderful thing.... A Cost v Benefit analysis wouid possibly have been a useful thing to have done back in the day 😂 Whi knows if decisions/finances would’ve been made/used thevsame way? i think I do view Upper School as a whole new beginning not really a continuation of training - even I think if they stay st same establishment. Will be interesting to follow journeys & compare outcomes down the line from the different ‘paths’ they took..... god luck to all!

Below I copy the text I last posted in the other thread with link about the floor we bought...possibly is same one from Lemark (& possibly was around £20 more sort delivery charge?) but ours did arrive quicker than a week from order.... ‘We are using over carpet.... I called & discussed at length with supplier ‘Dance and Stage Flooring’. No flooring product other than like a spring wood panel system would be recommended over carpet (this company soon doing, Harlequin already do -but hugely expensive) I felt after discussing it was worth buying something to try as better than current dire surface! We got the thicker (it’s quite solid & heavy, not squishy) ‘premium ballet mat’ (2m x2m size c£124 with delivery) Our ‘carpet’ is very thin, no pile, without underlay so more like a carpet tile straight into concrete floor. If I had thick pile carpet with lush Cloud 9 underlay I’d be less sure placing over this would be a good/safe solution....rather would be tempted to try roll up carpet from an area large enough to provide at least a barre work area (2mx1m minimum is think needed) Wouid still then but this shock absorbing floor rather than the thinner if it’s into concrete. If wood underneath then the cheaper thinner options probably fine. DD likes the surface. Huge improvement to her working environment; able to do turns & pointe again now. Wish I’d got 3m x 2m....live & learn! Good luck! https://www.danceandstage.co.uk/premium-practice-ballet-mat (It or similar might be available from other stockists too - see back in this thread - hso could shop around...but I felt happy buying from a firm specialising in dance floors as I’d expect more ‘support’ if there are any future problems) Good luck!’ Hope the above helps!

Totally agree with you Jan! It takes ballet away from artistry & pushes it into the realms of acrobatics.... If I want to see extreme body stretches & contortions than I’ll go to the circus, not the ballet!

I’m definitely going to remember the Ballerina roses! Maybe even as gifts to myself 😉

On another recent thread in this section.about gifts (I think it was about gifts for male dancers) there was a lovely candle company with some dance themed labels scented candles that look lovely! Based on Eakring in Nottinghamshire I recall....

I can see both sides to this one! Fairness is what’s needed & actually I do think that video exams cannot be judged exactly the same as a ‘live’ exam. I think - just as with GCSE & A’s - that there ought perhaps to be an element of teacher assessment/mock exam results (as in my experience most schools do hold a ‘mock’ ballet exam with a stand in ‘examiner’) with predicted grades & teacher expectations taken into account to help.

I think we are all becoming too familiar with the word ‘meltdown’....if it’s not the the kids it’s me in my household 🤪 To be serious though....this is just such an impossible to predict situation & I wish all well navigating the challenging times ahead xx

Well, in theory..... but if you add up all those fees????? Plus the fact that ALL eligible UK resident students (so could include many Euro students? Happy to to be corrected...) will be offered NDS government funding which is means tested & very generous. Much associate scheme funding comes from again extremely generous support from well known arts supporting foundations - it is on the website. Bursaries you mention are quite possibly going to those outside this criteria....overseas students? Those super talented with multiple offers where an ‘attractive’ offer may secure the student fir the school? Of course this is only supposition in my part....more transparency from all government funded schools I think would be a good idea!!! My sympathies to all arts organisations who have quite simply had the rug pulled from under them. I suspect some will be more robust than others....and RBS I am sure will be in less danger of closure/reduced services etc than the vast majority out there. Just my own musing OPINIONS expressed here....

Fantastic to see the world of ballet has such an elequont & proactive spokesperson in Baroness Deborah Bull!

Possibly a contentious comment here....but with RBS Soring cancelled & Summer possibly in the balance... should applicants get the £36 each course application fee refunded? TBH, pretty much any other course/institution I would’ve dream of considering this but the Royal a) no doubtedly get more public subsidy than any other dance training institution & b) year on year thousands of us parents fill their coffers with these extortionate fees for them to merely look at photographs.... The return of those £36 fees I’m sure would be very welcome in these difficult times where to maintain dance many are having to invest in flooring/barre/online classes/tech to view these on etc. I do think it wrong frankly to pay merely to apply to any course, though I do appreciate there is a certain amount of admin required. The course fees charged to attendees I am sure could subsume these costs. I’m equally quite sure that for the £36 application fee, actual auditions for those that prefer could be budgeted & surely provide a better & fairer way to select attendees? Plus give many more the opportunity to experience the Royal in some small way..... Just a thought!

Are you talking about all exams - academic & dance & other’s? The year 11 cohort of which I have experience with are so extremely disappointed (& stressed) about not having the usual ‘right of passage’ revising for, sitting the exams, the coming out & chat chat & emotion after, then the waiting & finally receiving results! They feel cheated out if a very important aspect if ‘maturing’ into adulthood. I hadn’t even thought about what else they might be missing in completing beyond GCSE’s...& for many year 11/13’s vocational exams be they in dance, music, plumbing or hairdressing could similarly of importance for their next educational or career steps...I presume all these will have been cancelled or moved to either an online assessment/exam or awards given graded by current tutors based on previous exams/work? The long term implications of so much is great & we have to hope that it does not hinder this cohorts opportunities in whichever field they are striving to compete in. Similarly the following ‘exam’ years who are getting very mixed educational opportunities it seems - both in provision & of course what can actually be achieved based on their home environments. We are sadly going to see higher inequality going into the near future. To bring this specifically to ballet.... where many need say Intermediate ballet to commence a teacher training course but their exam was cancelled, will this be waived as an entry condition? Will we see a predominance if future vocational training places going to the lucky few such as those with ballet teaching parents & thus with access to ‘in the flesh’ teaching & possibly studios? And a greater disparity between achievement levels of rich & poor (which we know sadly already prevails in most elite activities)? The wealthier families are more likely to have the chance to create home opportunities to dance providing space /specialist equipment/pay for online tutors etc (this will of course be similar in whichever the now missing activity is, be it sport/music whatever). Will schools/bodies/government remotely be able to identify any of this and support accordingly to try ensure equality? It makes me desperately sad to think on this....though at the same time we must remain positive for & hugely admiring of our youngsters thrown into this situation. They I am sure will be ever more resourceful & empathetic young adults as a result. Bravo to them!

Quick W.... was that £12.50 each or for both? I can actually see ‘names’ keeping on with this after lockdown as could be a nice little extra earner & way to establish themselves in teaching for a post dance career....

Got totally sucked in to the point I found myself saying ‘use your turnout more!’ 😁

That roll up bamboo sounds great...wonder why no longer sold?

They (Harlequin) do a sprung floor system in various sizes which sounds similar; interlocking sprung wood base pieces in 1m x1m & 2m x1 m size so you buy to suit space then have a roll of the cascade or the cheaper option floor cut to size of total board area....but It’s pretty heavy (so perhaps not an ideal option for a multi use room as so many of us are now living!) & expensive...I was looking at a 2m x 2m option & I think with VAT & delivery (to doorstep) it was going to be well over £400

Not heard the word ‘Marley’.....yet! Hoping not to as whenever the pros talk about something or are seen in certain leotards etc it tends to mean more requests from Bank of Mum!

I bought the ‘professional’ or premium mat - paid c. £124 incl vat & delivery for size 2m x2m As said earlier a thin ‘top floor’ layer only wouid definately not work in our situation as I think - even if taped - could slide/raise etc. I don’t think I’d be placing even this thicker floor over a high pile with thick cushioned underlay carpet for serious dance practise.. I would instead be looking to carefully roll up some or all of the carpet & underlay temporarily. Am happy with the flooring - even if we’d had fairly even floorboards or Lino or similar I think I would have bought the premium more expensive product....

We are using over carpet.... I called & discussed at length with supplier Dance and astage Flooring. No flooring product other than like a spring wood panel system would be recommended over carpet (this company soon doing, Harlequin already do -but hugely expensive) I felt after discussing it was worth buying to try as better than current dire surface the thicker (it’s quite solid & heavy, not squishy) the ‘premium ballet mat’ (2m x2m size c£124 with delivery) Our ‘carpet’ is very thin, no pile, without underlay so more like a carpet tile straight into concrete floor. If I had thick pile carpet with lush Cloud 9 underlay I’d be less sure placing over this would be a good/safe solution....rather would be tempted to try roll up carpet from an area large enough to provide at least a barre work area (2mx1m minimum is think needed) Wouid still then but this shock absorbing floor rather than the thinner if it’s into concrete. If wood underneath then the cheaper thinner options probably fine. DD likes the surface. Huge improvement to her working environment; able to do turns & pointe again now. Wish I’d got 3m x 2m....live & learn! Good luck! https://www.danceandstage.co.uk/premium-practice-ballet-mat (It or similar might be available from other stockists too - see back in this thread - hso could shop around...but I felt happy buying from a firm specialising in dance floors as I’d expect more ‘support’ if there are any future problems) Good luck!

Huge congratulations to your DD Lemongirl & uplifting to many of us I’m sure to hear of someone’s good news in these challenging times! Thank you for sharing it xx

Will do! I did the same & saw Lemark too but guess I was a sucker for seeing word ‘Dance’ in company name so only looked at products there & on the well known make Harlequin! Guess it’s only a small saving I’d have made...a rounding error in context of the huge grocery bill increase having all at home all the time & mostly using just the (very well stocked but yes, dearer....) village shop!