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joyofdance

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Everything posted by joyofdance

  1. Anyone as excited as I am for their dd or d,s first rehearsal today? My DD is both nervous and excited. I am really looking forward to the performance at the end of it all, first time for us so all very new and exciting.
  2. Could you post a link or details please Tutu girl.
  3. Ive looked at Opes Mae989 and heard good things about it. I may look in to it some more and try to encourage her. Failing that we might just enroll her in to some good workshops.
  4. We got a flat no unfortunately. DD is a bit disappointed but she had pretty much expected it. I do struggle to understand what they can tell from a few photographs but clearly there is something. Well done to all those with yes's. We will look around for something else for her to do in the summer. Any suggestions on something residential and ballet related that we could apply for. She doesn't want to do an all round dance/musical theatre summer school which is a shame because that is where her strength lies. I might just try and persuade her though..Bad Mummy Lol.
  5. You have every right to be a proud parent. Congrats to your DD, I would be bursting at the seams if it were my DD. XXX
  6. Well done to the seniors that got a yes. Anyone had any news about the junior school summer school yet or know when we are likely to get news? We haven't had an email so was wondering if the yes results were sent first.
  7. Thank you all, gives me a few to look at x
  8. Thanks bluebird I will have a look at that.
  9. While you have your creative brains buzzing, can I ask for suggestions for a song and dance. Something upbeat, maybe Jazzy for a 13 yr old with a strong singing voice. I will have a think about character dances pointe less and see if I can think of anything.
  10. Lol Annaliesey, We did see some shameful competitive behaviour at All England but then again I've seen that at very small local festivals.
  11. Hi Shygirlsmum I think that if your daughter wants to do it then why not, I am sure you will have a great experience. I am like you, I love to watch my DD dance so we get involved with various festivals. We have experience with a dance school of attending All England finals a few times. We enjoyed our time, came away with some medals and made the most of being in London by exploring the city and having a lovely break as well as enjoying the dancing. It can be expensive with accommodation but you can get some great places to stay at a reasonable price if you look around. The standard of dancing is good but like most festivals it varies so don't let your daughter be put off. Why not let her do the regionals, see if she qualifies and then make your decision from there. Where are you doing your regionals?
  12. I love festivals simply because it gives me an opportunity to watch my daughter dance. I love sourcing the costumes, choosing the music, helping with make up etc.It helps satisfy my creative urges lol. At the minute we enter festivals independently and my DD does five to seven solo's. At a previous dance school we would enter a festival and my daughter would have to dance in as many as 29 dances at age 10/11. If you tried to refuse or reduce the amount of dances, you and your child were treated badly by the dance school. This was a mixture of solo's, duets, trio's groups etc. To be honest it took all of the joy away from the experience and just became a marathon of quick changes and tears. Also the cost was ridiculous and it was all about the schools desire to collect trophy's. My advice, start with a few and enjoy the process. Dont take it seriously, as lovely as it is to see your child come first, in the long run it really doesnt mean anything. The important thing is that its a positive experience.
  13. My DD wanted to send in an audition tape but I thought we had missed the closing date. Any idea when it is Happymum?
  14. Of course TooTu I wasnt thinking of the difference in days. My DD is 12 and I think a week would be too much away from home.. We don.t have time to arrange for her teachers help with the positioning. Im a bit worried as a non dancing Mum that I cant advise her on the positioning. The drawings are not great so we will just have to muddle on.The drawings don't really show what they are looking for or can I just not see it? Any idea what they are looking for so that I can advise her re positioning. The closing date is 10th March Toomuch so i assume a few weeks after that.
  15. Thanks everyone, bare feet etc did seem to make sense. She has a few leotards so sticking with a simple black one. I did look at OPES Sarah but its about £200 more than Elmhurst. I will look for the thread. Did you take the photographs yourself TooTu. Also do you have to print the photographs off and send them in? Unless Im missing some text there isnt much information.
  16. Hi. Could any of you advise please. My DD would like to apply for Elmhurst's lower summer school. We have the application form with the details about the photographs but I cant tell if the drawings are showing girls wearing tights and ballet shoes or bare legs and no shoes. Also any general advice you could give would be very much appreciated. She doesn't have a classic ballet body shape but she is hoping that the summer school wont be as strict and so wants the photographs to show her in her best light. We are doing the photographs ourselves as it isn't a major issue if she doesn't get in as She doesn't hold out much hope but wants to give it a try. Also are there any other residential summer schools that you would recommend not too far from Birmingham. She really wants to have the residential experience. Thank you in advance. Admin sorry if this subject is already covered (I couldn't find it)
  17. Ha ha Newdancermum. Nothing like a bit of exaggeration to wow the fans.
  18. I have no idea what she said and I doubt very much that she was singled out for having a northern accent however the issue around fee paying schools, vocational schools is not so much about class but I do feel is certainly affected by money. Generally a child that lives in a more affluent family situation gets an advantage from the get go, which then does give them greater advantages later on. A struggling family is less likey to be able to afford to send their children to dance classes. Children from more affluent back grounds are more likely to get "good quality" dance training on a more regular basis so regardless of any natural ability will have more opportunity to have the training needed to achieve a higher standard than their less well off peers, less well off families are not as likely to encourage their children to audition at vocational school because of the cost as well as because this may not be something that they feel, rightly or wrongly, is open to them. The dance school my DD attends is very good but you pay higher rates than other dance schools. Private lessons are incredibly expensive regardless of how excellent the teaching is. Since my daughter has been dancing Ive watched several children go down the vocational route, not one of them came from a low income family, all of them had several scheduled ballet lessons a week and in some cases two or three hours of private lessons. I know there are exceptions to this and occasionally you will get a child that has amazing natural ability and will be offered bursary's etc but this is not the majority experience. I dont agree with Cherly (even though I havent actually read what she has said verbatim) and i know there are always exceptions to the rule but I do think that much of the arts, ballet especially, is an elitist activity and by definition excludes certain groups in society. Take for example the recent EYB Cindarella dreams, the advert said, "open to children of all abilitys from around the midlands" or something like that, the reality was, it was open to all children from around the midlands who's parents could afford the £500 plus fee. To me that clearly says that on the whole ballet is more of a middle class vocation. Anyway, sorry for going off topic and I might sound like it but Im not ranting I would be really interested in your views on this as I do sometimes think (not necessarily on this forum) but as a topic this can sometimes be a bit of an Elephant in the corner.
  19. I love these posts and the responses as there is always something that resonates and they are so helpful and encouraging. My DD has been told that she has a natural turnout but that she doesnt maintain it. She has very flexible legs but is not so flexible in her back. She is slim and has long slim legs but she isnt the classic ballet shape. She loves ballet but has resigned herself to never being a "serious" ballet dancer and enjoys other dance styles. On the plus side she has been told that she has a beautiful presence on stage and has won musicality trophy's in several genre's of dancing so I encourage her to keep going. You never know, there may be a place for her somewhere in the dance world should she want that in the future. As a non dancing Mum I can not critique any dancer including my own DD, but I do know the difference between a dancer that is a joy to watch and a dancer that is pleasant but that doesnt quite move you. I also feel that so many things change with a developing body that you never know what the future holds and the comments about the journey being as important are so true so I will keep encouraging my daughter no matter what particular natural attribute she doesnt have.
  20. Ive just tried to PM you but it says you cant receive more messages.
  21. Sorry I havent responded. I didnt get a notification so thought you hadnt replied. I will pm my details to you. Thanks
  22. I am so glad that my daughter no longer does national dancing. It felt like torture having to sit through the classes at festivals. My worst national experience was a whole day/competition specifically for national dancing. I still have flashbacks..
  23. Definitely agree with all of the above. Every adjudicator is different and looks for different things and that can vary on the day.. I don;t think you can second guess it. I know a few Mums who research adjudicators and say things like, so and so really like technique but so and so likes tricks etc and they then push their child to work on a particular area and it doesn't always work in their favour. Sounds like your daughter is doing very well with her marks.
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