Peanut68

The £25 fee is at least waived for applications from WL children.

But to be honest, WL children already benefit from RBS training......surely the whole point of a SS should be to reach out to others & give as many the chance to experience it as is possible? I think by encouraging their own students to apply they are alienating others & surely many will come to the conclusion that if your child has already been rejected for WL full time to then have the rejection yet again & possibly for the same lucky talented WL kids they auditioned alongside before to get the places.....My conclusion is really I should save the money & avoid the (inevitable?) disappointment fro my DC...but you know I'll still be filling in that form & paying the £25 for that golden chance - however slim - to see the joy on my child's face if the chance to live out their long held RBS dream came true just once in their life!

What the very chuff is going on?  

had meant to say before how that phrase made me smile as it took me way back to schooldays - not heard it in ages!......am wondering if we come from same neck of the wood Originally?? I love the posts that make me smile & laugh out loud  

i agree about the Lion brand ones....really old fashioned looking packaging (yes - I remember them from my youth  ) They are 'tighter' so good for the

folically challenged (oh God....please do not let a certain Presidential candidate go for a 'footballer' bun look ever or he'll commandeer these vital supplies too!!!.....oh, I now have made myself ill at the picture that has conjured up in my head first thing on a Sunday morning.....yuck, yuck, aghhHHHH!!!  )

Peanut and hairBelles hope this year is the year for your dds- my dd applied last year for first time and was wait list as well.

Thanks Amos73.....fingers crossed for all us wait list old hands!!

Really hope that these longer dates whereby it looks like there will be double the overall spaces for each age group does indeed give more UK kids the chance to attend.....2 years running DD has been on the wait list with no place materializing....maybe this year could be her year  Fingers crossed!

I agree with Bloch warm up booties - my DD loves her funky paint splodge design ones whioch were an Xmas present last year. If fi=unds will stretch, what about saying she can book for a weeks Summer School course (either day/residential courses are run all over the country) as a birthday present she can look fowrad too!

One year I booked DD onto a morning ENB Romeo & Juliet workshop followed by tickets to watch the matinee at our nearest regional theatre.....we even had lunch in between at lovely theatre restaurant so it was a very special mother/Daughter day.....a cherished memory as she is now boarding at vocational school!

The Hammond offer a degree course....not so far geographically from Scotland which might help financially! Currently appears to be MT focussed but there may be options to tailor course to suit a dancer...worth asking them anyhow!

www.thehammondschool.co.uk

I am a little confused...there seem to be 2 York Summer Schools...Is YBSS a different one to the York one talked about here?

Anyone experience of both to compare? Thanks in advance.....

Personally have found Gaynor Mindons last my DD pretty well...better than Bloch have. I do drill into her good tight etiquette alongside lectures about not wasting money.....

Ensure toe nails trimmed & filed smooth - finger nails too!

When in transit....roll tights into balls so less likely to snag on bag zips/other stuff in dance bag

Just be careful putting on & off...place toes in & 'shimmey' (!) an inch at a time up the leg &remove slowly in reverse (do not pull from toes til they pop off!!)

If they are getting damaged in wash, then place tights into a named net bag before adding to wash. 

Also agree with Pictures about going for a size larger than the size guide suggests....means a little less stretch so they are likely to retain more strength & be less susceptible to snags.

Good luck!

I'm sure you are right! Likewise my cycling son is somewhat irritated by well meaning people asking him if he's "the next Bradley Wiggins", particularly as Sir Brad doesn't even feature on his list of heroes. But most of the population have probably never even heard of the people that he does aspire to emulate, in the same way as Darcey Bussell is the only dancer that most people can name I suppose. Basically, whatever the field, if you aren't part of the "tribe" you probably don't fully understand. Thank goodness for forums like this! I do wonder how people managed before the internet. I would have been totally clueless about any of my children's interests if it wasn't for websites and forums full of people who DO get it!

Uh oh.....looks like I may need to join forums for Rugby, Rock Drumming & Quantum Physics (yes, really....!!!) if I am to have a clue about my 10 year son's life!!

We land at 1.00am on Wed morning and after a night in the airport hotel take Dd back to school later that day. Just hope the car with all her stuff in is still at the airport...!!

Wow - I thought we were cutting it fine arriving home on the Saturday night with son starting new localish school & DD returning Wed! Hope all went well for you all & am sure the excitement of being back at school will have kicked in to overcome the tiredness!!

Hi - thanks fpr info...prob does sound best suited for 14+ so good luck to those that attend & enjoy!

She'll be year 8....

SS are a struggle to do as finances stretched & also lots of family pressures which make travel/residential difficult. There seem to be lots if Midlands & Northern based SS but very few in the South West....in the past RAD did day SS at Pavillion Dance in Bournemouth - great studios, great location & pretty local for us :-) I do feel our area is lacking....I even think that it could sustain a full time vocational school! We have beaches & nice weather much of the time......could DrDance or TutuGitl or others be tempted to consider a trip down here? We'd make you very welcome & kids & parents would be so grateful!

"On exeat weekends you collect from school. The children just take a small weekend bag into school with them that day"

Ha - Wishful thinking.....my DD seems to have so much stuff....dance bag, school bag (+ loads of homework which does seem harsh for boarders on exeat weekends when much if it can be spent in the car...) as well as washing & usual clothes!!! Reckon most not needed so hope in time she learns to cut down!!

Usually you can collect stuff from boarding house (left on bed by my DD) then go get them from school....in my experience best to check via email with houseparents rather than relying on accurate timings from my DD!!!

Last year I was so grateful for the advice & help from a current Hammond parent - it really made making the decision fior DD to go easier & that decision has proved excellent! Good luck to the newbies & ask away! Must also add how fantastic houseparents have been & also help from other parents when the curse of the M6 has made my timing for pick up less than perfect.....A cup of tea put in my shaking hand by houseparent after a really stressful 8 hour drive was just wonderful - esp as I felt so guilty being almost an hour after collection time & so making them late.....& parents have helped with bringing DDs bags to school to save me being late twice - thank you all & look fwd to seeing more of everyone as the years progress!

Do you think any younger Hammond students could go? If perhaps there were a few boarders together would they arrange a chaperone - do you know if this dirt if thing happens? My DD would love it!

With you on the turned over skirt waist band & scrunched down socks - aghhHH!!

Also horrified by how uniform gets stuffed into dance bag after academics to wear again later or next day.....yet I must say overall all look very smart whenever I visit school! I think all down to modern easy care non-iron materials :-)

Just lovely! So inspiring - congratulations Dormouse & thank you Janet for posting link to TV news item.

Am creeping up towards 50 & secretly want to take an exam but never had confidence to ask teacher to actually talk the logistics through.....did you do regular class with teens etc or private lessons? I love my adult ballet class where we range in age from 18 - 80+!!

Have sent you a pm....

Just wish funds were unlimited

Also that other family members got the whole thing about continuing to dance during hols......

Thank you Janet!

My DD took part in Ballet Boost summer course at Pineapple two weeks ago. This week was fantastic. 11-5.30 every day, with ballet class, followed by rep or pointe in the morning, then a workshop in afternoon, (West Side Story, Fosse style class, contemporary, Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty) plus pilates (most days) and yoga every day. Guest teachers for her group, lower seniors, included Sarah Wildor, Peter Parker and Wayne Sleep. 

She came home every day buzzing and exhausted, having felt she was challenged and had learned loads, plus made lots of friends. The standard was very high, (lots of vocational students attended), and the whole course was extremely well run.

It isn't residential, but is in the heart of London, so for anyone with access to London it is definitely worth looking at.

Hi Amos, would be interested to know what fees are for these days & how far in advance they need to be booked. Also if just one can be done as opposed to a week (we are quite a distance & expensive early am trainfare away) Thanks in advance....

Ah - remember looking on there years ago when DC asked how you got to audition for shows.....I thought there was this one kid called DD (like the USA name Didi) who was just constantly out there.....& then that it was the most popular show biz name ever as there were lots of them!!!!! Only years later finding this forum did it realise what DD stood for - ha ha!!!!

I do think summer schools great & necessary (for some (& I also appreciate ideal for DC of working parents) but I do also think down time & chance to be kids is needed....4 weeks if SS seems excessive.....& expensive!!! Mind you, at times of sibling battles it does become a whimsical wish!!