famcandance2

Thanks for all the input, it is appreciated. Dd is much happier at her new academic school than she was at the old one, however she gets frustrated when, for instance, in drama, the other kids mess about and don't want to work. They see it as another subject, she sees it as a part of her career plan. She feels she wants to be with like minded others who are working towards the same goal as her. Unfortunately we live in a difficult part of Scotland and there are no good dance schools near us, so there is no opportunity for her to get good training at home. She hasn't danced since her summer school in August and is really missing it. The closest decent dance school would be between 75 and 100 miles away which is a lot when you have to do it more than once a week. Apart from the mileage and cost, it would be difficult to get her to the classes on time due to late school closing times. We haven't tried other schools because my ds is at Hammond and it would have meant trying to split ourselves in two when things clashed. Also, geographically Hammond is the only school that is realistic for us.

I am sure that after reading some of my posts most of you will know that although my daughter has a place at Hammond, she can't take it up because there are no boarding places and we have also not been able to secure enough funding for her. We have moved her schools in a bid to get her somewhere that focuses on the arts but the other kids are not of the same mindset as herself and muck about a lot. We are also battling to find a dance school for her to attend. She is desperately unhappy and it breaks my heart. What can we do to try and help her?

Thanks everyone. I have emailed the school post haste. I know the ex-cook used to board pupils but she is unwell so doesn't anymore. Don't know about any teachers. A name would be helpful. Thanks again.

Hi If anyone on the forum has privately boarded children for the Hammond school or knows of someone who has, could you please pm me ASAP. I am looking for a private boarding place for my dd who would attend the Hammond school. If anyone can help I would be grateful. Thanks

I know that I posted on the old ballet.co when I was looking for a dance school. Somebody on here gave me very helpful advice about dance schools in Carlisle. Could anyone with any insight to dance schools in Carlisle please pm me, I am desperate to find a decent one. Thanks.

I was mainly wondering about girls starting this september at hammond who might be waiting for a boarding place. I have spoken to the school but they wouldn't give me names of families and refused to become involved. This is awkward because we are so far away that its difficult for us to try and organise anything from where we are. I know there is always some movement with folk pulling out at the last minute, so just wondered.

Unfortunately my dd is only 13 and by law cannot find her own place. It would come down to private fostering with another family, and I feel it is a very large commitment to place on another family. Especially since we wouldn't be able to fetch her every weekend.

Hi Has anyone had the experience or know of anyone who has been offered a Hammond place only to be told that there are no places in the girls boarding house? I would be very interested to know if there are any out there. If you feel uncomfortable answering on the forum, please feel free to pm me. Thanks x

My dd did Hammond summer school. There were quite a lot of them and they were in 4 groups. Think they arranged them according to ability rather than age other than the very little ones. The teaching seemed good and the performance at the end was lovely. They got to go swimming one night and watched movies some other nights. I feel this course is good value for money coz the residential is only £350. Dd said the food was ok, but she is a fussy eater.They did ballet, contemporary, street and musical theatre. Ds went to Northern Manchester. Again the teaching seemed good, but he said it wasn't very challenging for him. There were two groups but this summer school is only for 13years up. The performance was adequate to show off what they'd learned but not stunning. They did ballet, jazz and theatre dance with an option to do tap. This course comes in fairly expensive at £650 for a residential place considering the students still had to buy their own lunch. They ate at nando's and pizza hut in the evenings and one evening they were allowed to go into town and were given money to purchase their own evening meal. Please note these are my own observations and others may or may not agree.

My dd was very slim up until she started her periods. I watched her doing ballet about a week ago after not seeing her for a while and was struck by how she had filled out. She is not fat but she seems to have a more solid look to her. I was always told by others she was close to anorexic, but as she was eating healthily I ignored them. I think it's just the way girls grow.

Would love to have my dd do this. Have been told in the past that she wouldn't survive the rigours of vocational training even though myself and her teachers think she's quite strong. Would love to know if they were right.

They tend to use black leo and pink tights for end of week ballet performance. Jazz performance tends to be black leo and black jazz pants. Don't know about tap, street and musical theatre as they've never had these before. I imagine street will be whatever trackie pants they have and either a loose top or hoodie. Street doesn't need to be uniform. I imagine tap will probably be same as jazz and musical theatre will just be whatever they have or is in costumes for whatever musical they are doing. If you don't have something you need for the performance, they will find something for you to borrow, so don't worry. As far as classes go, any dancewear basically goes. xx

It sounds like what you have is fine. All they want is a uniform look for the performance at the end of the week, hence black leo and pink ballet tights. Street wear is basically any loose clothing. Trackie pants and a loose tshirt and maybe a hooded fleece. Primark ones are cheap. Your jazz pants sound fine and any colour leo goes for jazz. I think my daughter just rolled up her ballet tights and did jazz in ballet leo last time. It's quite relaxed so don't stress too much. x

Usually anything goes. You don't have to have a unitard. Sometimes the girls just do jazz in their ballet stuff with convertible tights rolled up. Black tights are fine. As long as one of your leotards is black and you have black jazz pants for the performance you should be ok with whatever else you have. Pink ballet tights are just the ordinary tights you wear for ballet although convertible ones are good to have. Hope this helps.

Yea he does, lol. only keeps in contact with those who were his friends before. Now they try to talk to his younger sister but she's not having it either!

Hi Just wanted to say my son did ballet from the age of 3. He was the only boy in the class and I believe the only boy in the whole town at the time. He came in for a lot of flack but I put parents straight when I got comments and I taught him to overcome negative comments from the kids (mainly boys) by explaining to him that they were not aware of the facts, just echoing parents. He learned to ignore the comments because dance was what he really wanted to do and nobody was going to deflect him from his chosen path. I found also that the girls in his dance class who were at school with him protected and defended him quite a lot as they appreciated a "different" boy for a change. As he grew older, he also grew stronger and the boys didn't bother him anymore. We never broadcasted his successes but those who needed to know knew he had done well. He is now 15 years old, a pupil at the Hammond school and still dancing. All the people who were negative before now want to be his friend and are amazed he has done so well. So keep your chin up and let him do what he wants to do. No-one should have the power to take away anyone else's dreams, so tell him if this is what he wants to keep dreaming and keep working. At the end of the day, he will have the last laugh! Stick with ISTD as a lot of vocational schools seem to think it builds strength for boys more than RAD. Just my opinion though. Hope this helps.

Hi would anyone know where I could get a size 10.5/11 adult size pointe shoes from. Thanks

Congratulations. Wonderful news and a poke in the eye for all those who knocked her in the past!. You must be very proud.

Hi all. I was wondering what you guys are paying for summer schools across the country. Is £615 for 6 nights very expensive? I am used to paying a lot less than that, but maybe I've only tried the cheap ones. If you feel uncomfortable saying on the forum, please pm me. I would be very interested to know. I am mostly thinking about residential ones. Thanks

Thanks for all the help. She is 13 so is going to vocational school rather than a college. Other than a small bursary though, they don't do anything else.

Thank You. I will try phoning them, thanks for that.

Hi. Have decided to put both these questions in the same post even though they have nothing to do with each other. Please let me know if this is not right. Firstly, although not a strictly dancing question, I have decided to ask this here as I feel I know people on this forum and know I will get as much help as is available. My dd, although also a dancer, has secured a drama place at a vocational school. As far as I know there are no scholarships/awards for drama students and I was wondering if anyone on this site knew where I could look for funding. Secondly, I was wondering if anyone else's dd or ds was attending Northern Ballet Manchester's summer school. My ds wants to go and I sent in a form with the payment quoted on the web. I have since been asked for more money and am not sure why. Could anyone going pm me and tell me how much they are paying so I know what is going on. I have tried to email them, but have had no response. Thanks in advance for any helpful advice.

The younger students stay in dorms. The older ones usually have 2 in a room. Boys also usually have 2 in a room. They try to keep them with their age group and I know my dd had great fun, she was in a dorm of 6 and I don't know how much sleep they got! The bathrooms are shared although some rooms have their own. Ask away, I don't mind answering any queries.

Just like to add that my dd had to go to another summer school last year because of lack on interest and lack of numbers for the Hammond one. Although she had a good time, she really didn't learn much and after seeing the "performance" at the end of the week, I felt the teaching lacked a lot. I won't name the place as I might be contravening rules, but if you want to know, pm me. All I am saying is the I feel Hammond give great value for money and the children not only have a great time, but they also learn a lot.

My ds did Scottish Ballet associates for two years and absolutely loved it. The teaching was fantastic and without it he probably woulnd't be where he is now as local teaching wasn't great. He is now a student at the Hammond School in year 10 and doing extremely well. Hope your dd enjoys this time and both enjoys and learns a lot.