MrsMoo2

Could you get her some of those little stick on flowers or a very smooth crop top? Growing up eh? A year down the line they will all be the same, we had to contend with the dance belt which was a right drama. As a child of the 80’s we all started to wear t shirts under our leotards at that age to the teachers dismay! Lol! Was good enough for Fame! 😆😆

I did A Level Dance many moons ago! It covered solo and group choreography, (you both choreographed and danced in other students pieces). Dance notation, (solid!) then learning a set study, analysing a ballet in depth in a written exam, and anatomy and physiology. At the time my peers said it was one of the hardest A Levels going! 🤣🤣🤣

Thanks so much peeps, I’ve told him we will support him whatever he decides. I think for now he’s gonna finish his A levels so he’s got a back up then throw himself into finding his “thing!” I just want to hug you all. oh and for the ones who mentioned KS Dance, I was a student there in the late 90’s! Blast from the past! 🤣 xxx

Hi guys, long time lurker here! DS used to dance a lot, he auditioned at 11 for Hammond and Elmhurst and unfortunately didn’t get in. He was a Phoenix Boy for a few years and this did help. He started at his local, very small High School tho and was bullied for 18 months for dancing. This led to him developing a hatred for all things creative. He was very angry with the bullies and blamed dance for this. Anyhow, fast forward and he’s now 16, he left High School (and bullies) in July last year with a full set of GCSE’s at high grades and started his A Levels, in History, English and Chemistry but he’s a performer. As soon as he hears music he’s dancing again, he’ll dance in the aisle in Tesco, with the dog, wherever he sees open space, unusually for a teenager, he does not care who sees him and he enjoys the reactions. The joy on his face is lovely to see. Question is, what if any type of dance could he get into at 17 or 18? He’s always maintained his ballet figure, although is now over 6ft, and I believe he’s been doing barre secretly for a while. (Still has one in his bedroom). He’s obsessed with musical theatre and has a decent voice (in the shower!) Anyone else a late starter? xx

We stayed at the Travelodge King’s Cross a few times and that was good. The reception ladies were really helpful and it’s close to everything. Just ask for a higher floor due to train rumbles…👍👍

We looked at LIPA sixth form (Liverpool) this morning. Good potential links with the Brit School and free till 19, but depends on where you are I guess. Can then progress in to HE. 😁😁😁

My son auditioned a few years back the parts that were more difficult were the solo and the singing! DS was completely unprepared for the singing so they told him to sing Happy Birthday, and we lost sleep over the solo! 🤣 If she hasn’t been to one before just tell her not to be put off by the competitive stretching in the corridors and the ones who turn up with sheet music for their singing! If you can beforehand, see if her teacher will look over her solo, and to enjoy the classes. My son enjoyed the day, meeting new friends and seeing more boys. They do quite a lot of auditions, think it was one a month from November-May and see about 50 kids at each one. One final point, look at the finance before your daughter sets her mind on it. There are bursaries, scholarships and things but ultimately it’s not a cheap way to get an education. The uniform costs around £500 with shoes and everything. Lots of luck to your daughter! xxx

DS at that age was just starting to take it more seriously he did one syllabus class, one advanced ballet class, acro, tap, and PBT, so about 5 hours in total then he had homework with things like basic anatomy, foot strengthening exercises, and stretching most days. It does depend where you are, we are lucky as all DS classes apart from associates were in the same place. I had a loyalty card for the coffee shop nearby! 🤣🤣🤣

I went to KS Dance but it was some 20 years ago! When I went there was no accommodation and I had to stay with a sympathetic Aunt for a few years! I believe now they have shared houses the students live in but they are not all that close to the school. I do have friends who went on to dance on cruise ships and the like but not many, if any secured west end contracts. It really depends on what you want to aim for. Have you considered Urdang? We were impressed with that for DS. Sorry no experience of Morea. Good luck! 👍😊👍

I have a friend with Downs who went off to residential college and danced for Kaleidoscope, who are a LD company. He had previously taken part in dance classes with his age group and had a helper just for him. There are quite a few companies out there. Candoco being the obvious one. There are more opportunities now than when I danced 20 years back…👍👍

I went down the contemporary route and started with a GCSE in dance at my school, then an A Level in Dance and Performing Arts. Followed by a dance degree. Out of school, I kept up my ballet and stretch classes but dropped tap and Greek. There are lots of routes in for dancers not just traditional vocational routes. If anything contemporary is more accessible than ballet. Some fab companies around too! 😁😁😁

My teen son has taken class at Vale in Stockport and Centre Pointe, both of which were very good schools. Depends how serious you want it to get. I danced till I was 19 but wouldn’t be able to throw myself back in without some warm up classes, maybe try a few online?? x

From another perspective I danced till I was 19, it was my life and I thought I knew exactly where I wanted to be. Sadly my own mental health took a turn and I became ill with bipolar disorder. I’m 40 odd and in my day it wasn’t unusual for the ballet mistress to hit you on the stomach with a stick if you didn’t pull up enough in your barre work! One poor friend was repeatedly told she was too fat, she wasn’t, but she was ground down by this particular teacher every day. Many of us ended up with mental health issues. That was where I had my idea for my career. I have pursued a career over the years as a mental health nurse, DBT counsellor and approved mental health practitioner. I help the dancers who don’t make it to the west end. I listen to the way in which people have been treated both at vocational and non vocational schools. I have no doubt in my mind that there are good things dancing teaches you but also it has an awful lot to answer for with regards to mental health. I’ve ended up with 2 degrees, masters and lots of other qualifications which I never would have studied for had I not felt passionate about helping dancers and other young people from the industry. My son has followed in my dancing shoes and I find it interesting to see how much has changed but so much still has to change. He has had to face different criticism from his non dancing peers. Good luck to your daughter, I hope she had the best experiences in uni, and continues to have a joy of movement…😁😁😁😁

Just a word of warning, my DS had choreographed his own solo, he was 10, and although he felt comfortable in it he said some of the others had been choreographed and rehearsed by their teachers for weeks leading up to it. Worth bearing in mind. DS said if he were doing it again he’d get someone else to choreograph it for him, and practise, practise, practise!!!! 👍👍

Just reminded me if the time my DS auditioned for WL and they all had to take their shoes and socks off! I was mortified after when he told me, he hadn’t cut his toe nails! 😂😂

In the olden days, (80’s) Contemporary was always 14+ In my day as our teacher said it was too emotional for children and if they hadn’t experienced the emotion they couldn’t dance it! 😂

I went to KS Dance before it was KS Dance in the early 90’s. I enjoyed it but felt I missed out on the whole city living thing. (I later went on to Manchester Uni) It depends what you are after and as I was very contemporary focused. It felt like we spent a lot of time on classes like Flamenco, and character modern that seemed a bit odd and everyone is expected to join in with everything! 😆😆 Also they were pretty unhelpful with a friend with an eating disorder but this may have changed. Good luck!!

I think we have to be proud that we have raised kids who have such determination, confidence and tenacity from being young. I have a DS dancer (13) and my other DD is a tennis freak! We spend most weekends split between the dance studio and the tennis court! Quite often we draw straws for who goes to which. (The tennis club having a nice warm clubhouse with coffee!) 😆 Both children are pursuing their hobbies fervently and as long as they’re keen, so am I. (Maybe not the bank manager though!) 😆😆😆 We are under no illusions that they will be the next Graf or Nureyev but, they’re having fun trying! 💕

Just as a side interest my DS was horribly bullied when he started HS at 11 for his love of ballet dancing. We sat down and set him up on Instagram so he could find other boys and feel less isolated. It works brilliantly for us. We both manage it, and he will quite happily say, “put this on my page” when he has something he wants to share. We’ve met lots of other dancing boys, found out about Phoenix Boys, LBBC, and other boy opportunities we would never know about living in rural Wales. So although you have to take some content with a pinch of salt, it’s given him people to aspire to, people who understand him and access to the dance world in a way that would have been impossible a few years back. Ideally he would have gone to vocational school but it wasn’t meant to be. Finances stopped us from having private lessons every week. Thankfully though, he’s found his tribe, and that has done wonders for his self esteem and confidence. He’s almost 14 now and still dancing!

Going back a few years I was rejected from vocational training, I went to do A levels in Dance and Performing Arts then moved onto a degree in Dance. Contemporary was my focus so it may be different if she’s after a more classical focus. Tell her there are many ways to crack an egg, lots of different ways of being involved in a creative career without actually being the artist. I found I adored reviewing dance pieces and writing about it. I loved stage management and the process of creating. My own kids have had different types of disappointment, my 13 yr old DS was turned down by vocational schools at 11 for not having upper body strength! He was 11! If only they could see him now. Tell her there will be lots of opportunities, she’ll get there and appreciate it all the more...xxx

Seem to remember mine was about £800 per term and covered my full board halls and a fair bit of partying! The food was lush! Lol! 😆😆 I did once get a National Express coach hone one weekend to save money and it stopped about 15 times en route!! xx

Yep, there wasn’t much variation, a leotard was a leotard! Lol! I had a black one and a raspberry one, and was chuffed because the mulberry one had a RAD logo on it! 😆😆

Just thought I’d start a thread for us oldies to reminisce about where WE studied dance when we were younger! I started out at the Jean Borgeson School of Dance and danced there till I was 13. Then Kate Simmons SOD, now KS Dance. I was a RBS JA, although I think it was called something different in the 80’s before doing A levels in Dance, and Performing Arts, the best time of my life! Eventually I went on to a Dance Degree in Leicester at DMU. I auditioned for RBS Upper, Rambert, LIPA,( Paul Mc was in on my audition). Lancaster St Martins, Roehampton and Nottingham Trent. Back in the day uni education was free and I even got a maintenance grant! I can remember the excitement of getting the train by myself to Nottingham, then finding a phone box to let my Mum know I had got there!! My black ballet slippers had to be darned many times as my family could not afford new ones. I had two leotards, and one pair of tights!! my kids now laugh at me, I tell them, make sure you work hard or I’ll send you down the mines! 😆😆 Doing the audition rounds was disheartening but you got used to it, and I had no expectation. Friends got cruise contracts but that wasn’t for me as I met my DH. I went back to Uni at 36 to study Mental Health Nursing, after a good friend of mine had issues following a stint a WL. I now help dancers to reconcile their bodies with themselves, and work to achieve a happy state in their lives. I thought my dance journey was over and then I had twins! It’s in the blood obvs...😆😆😆

My DS likes using music from films. He did one of his best ballet solos to the theme from The Hobbit - concerning hobbits... 😂 (minus the furry feet!) 😂😂

Bear in mind there’s no dada at Moorland, we looked at it for DS but the fees are astronomical without any sort of bursary. Great if you have a lotto win in! 😂😂