Ballet4Boyz

Hi danceintherain , I'm sure your DD will settle quickly. Glad you have found this thread has helped. This forum has saved my sanity on many occasion (being a relatively inexperienced dance mum) ranging from fantastic information & knowledge shared by other parents from all vocational schools, not to mention amazing support when things might not be going quite as well . We help each other through the ups & downs and that helps us in turn to support our talented and hard working children. It's not always an easy ride, but there are always people on the forum ready & willing to give help and advice !! Welcome to the Hammond family as Dancing Unicorn so nicely put it ...........and so the next part of your DD's journey begins !! Good luck to you and all the new families and DC joining the Hammond in September !! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😀

Hmmmm - that's a difficult dilemma . I was told a couple of years ago that if you attended with a bursary - it was then very unlikely you would be considered for an MDS later down the line. Things may have changed & Im happy to be corrected by other parents who may know differently. There is a lot of competition for vocational places every year - so I suppose it's whether you want to take a year out & gamble trying to audition again next year or take the financial hit . I feel for you and I'm sure there are many parents out there feeling the same . Congratulations to your DD on securing a place. What I can say is that it's a lovely happy school offering fantastic vocational training & academic teaching. Your money will be well spent !!😊

Has anyone heard anything back regarding Elmhurst Summer School yet ?? Thanks 😊

Trying to work out which Artistic Directors you're all referring to & which schools they are associated with . 🤔🤔 Baffled but also a bit worried!! No need to answer as realise that would be lacking in discretion & not permitted !! 😉 It is disappointing to hear however when you have a DS considering auditioning for one of these schools in the future. I had naively thought all AD's would be showing a lot of interest in their own students progression as well as helping them to make informed decisions about their future dance careers !!

There's always movement on the list. People decline places for lots of reasons & some still attend but decline an offer of an MDS in favour of a bursary. Movement can even occur as late as August ...... so don't lose all hope. 😊

The Hammond staff are always very helpful - if you call first thing on Monday and manage to get through to someone & explain you may have got your wires a little crossed - I'm sure they'll do everything to help 😊 .

Hmmm - everyone will have their own view on this. I wouldn't say it's essential especially if you're motivated to stretch & practise at home , but it can also be of benefit to be taught by different teachers - if you don't over-do it and the teachers understand your capabilities. For our DS who boards - they don't have any extra time or energy to take extra classes week to week, nor would it be allowed - for very good reason . We find he is exhausted just keeping up with timetabled dance classes, academic classes & homework. The little free time he gets - he tries to relax if he can. There is the real danger of over-doing it and becoming burnt out and injured...... especially if your body is developing or going through a growth spurt. There are many people on this forum far more qualified to advise you on this subject. I merely speak as a non dancing mum making observations of our son & how he copes with vocational training. We do however find Easter & Summer courses useful for keeping him moving and not seizing up too much over the longer breaks. He really enjoys them following a period of rest. The benefits are working with different teachers and different genre's. The school our DS attends are fine with this as long as they are happy that the courses & teachers are reputable. Very occasionally our DS has a couple of 'catch up ' lessons with his original teachers during the long Summer holidays - nice for him to show them how he's progressing & lovely for them to have him return 'home' once in a while. He's always made very welcome by his teachers & they take great interest in his development. At Exeat and shorter half term holidays all our DS wants to do is eat & sleep ....... mainly sleep to be honest !! In fact , a bomb could go off , the house fall down ....... and he'd still be sleeping !!! 😂😂😂

Congratulations to your DD pictures ............ wonderful news !! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

How very upsetting & worrying some of these posts are & I feel so sorry for the students & parents involved . Our DS is at vocational school and loves his training & the teachers - both dance & academic. He has had his difficulties though, more centred around the boarding aspect of things . Lack of privacy, constant noise & difficult characters to deal with on a 24hr basis. For boarders - there is simply no escape and our DS absolutely yearns for peace & quiet & privacy in the little time they get away from the pressures of vocational schooling. We often have the discussion with our DS regarding his well-being & his happiness etc including his physical & mental health. We have always tried to take the pressure off him by saying - at any stage , if you are not happy for whatever reason & you can't see a resolution - you can simply come home & re-evaluate everything with our help & support. I've learnt from the amazing advice on this forum from other parents whom have had to deal with problems - it has made us more aware & constantly watchful ..... we wouldn't hesitate to bring our son out of the system if we had to . I will add - our DS on the whole has had really good support from his school over non dancing related issues. He loves all of the teachers, has progressed so much both academically & with his vocational training - so we count ourselves very lucky listening to some other experiences. My advice to prospective parents of year 7's is to keep listening to your child....... realise from the start it is not an easy journey for them or yourselves ...... if their heart is in continuing to dance, then support them the best you can, but equally be prepared to remove them from the system if they become continually unhappy..... there are always other options in life !! Likewise - don't automatically be put off sending your child to a vocational school - they may love it & thrive. I suppose there are always going to be fantastic , good, bad & downright awful experiences to be considered. I'd like to thank all the parents for sharing their experiences & knowledge of vocational training . It is vital for prospective parents or even fairly inexperienced parents like ourselves (with regard to ballet training ) to gain advice & awareness regarding the ups & downs , so we can help to steer our children along this journey - if that's what they wish . 😊

Just the best news !! Xx

Praying that this beautiful & talented young lady is found safe very soon. Also thinking of her poor family and the nightmare & agony they must be going through !!

I have one ticket spare due to late unforeseen circumstances - good seat - free to a good home, but know it's short notice !!

I have one ticket spare due to late unforeseen circumstances - good seat - free to a good home, but know it's short notice !!

Harwel - I was just thinking the same, hmmm 🤔 Thanks everyone .......... it raises an interesting debate. If boys dance with a conventional short hairstyle ....... should girls be able to do the same ? Conversely from some of the comments - it seems that some male dancers sport longer hairstyles ie a man bun - perhaps without the same amount of angst from their teachers! Personally - I'm a bit of a traditionalist at heart, but recognise some students may feel differently. At my DS' school it stipulates no floppy fringes over the eyes & hair length cut above the collar . This can be achieved with a neat man bun at the crown with the sides & back cut to the required length. Will be interesting to see how his 'head of dance' will view it. Luckily DS is happy to follow whatever is suggested - he's just a bit bored with his style & fancies a change - without raising too many eyebrows 😆

Hi Meadowblythe ...He's thirteen going on 25 with an opinion to match sometimes 😆 !! and feels he wants to be a bit more individual but at the end of the day - he'll stick to being conventional if that's the 'done thing'. I must admit I like his style as it is - but can also see that it would probably suit him !!

My DS is presently at vocational lower school. He's just announced that he'd quite like to grow the top layers of his hair longer and into a man bun, whilst keeping the sides & back short, therefore maintaining an overall neat & tidy appearance. I'm just wondering how this would be perceived especially when later auditioning for upper schools ? He presently has a very neat , short conventional hairstyle which he's a bit bored with. I'd just like to hear what opinions other people have as to whether this hairstyle would be deemed appropriate . My feeling is that as long as it's neat & off his face, giving a clean line to his neck, I can't see why it would be an issue - but I'm interested to hear what everyone else thinks ...... especially from those of you who have older dancing sons in upper schools & companies . Thanks very much. i would hasten to add he plans to ask his 'head of dance' her opinion too ! 😊

Having spent years nursing our DS back to health with lots of time spent in hospital , followed by years taking him back & forth to dance lessons - he now attends vocational school. Our non dancing daughter who is three years younger, never once complained or showed any jealousy even though we would have understood if she had. We've always told her what an amazing and selfless daughter/sister she is but also worried that silently she may have felt in DS's shadow. Thankfully - she has found a passion for badminton & is currently training to represent our county. We now ferry her around constantly to coaching and although I was hoping for a bit of a rest from taxi duties - we are so pleased to see her gain in confidence at something & to devote more of our time to her ....... finally ! 😊

Gulp 😫😫

Thanks Balletjack ...... I know - it all looks so expensive !! I wonder how many students just can't afford to continue with their training post 16 due to this . 😟😟

So, have I got this right ..... if your DC starts a three year diploma course at 16 with a dada award. Parents are required to pay their contribution towards the course fees + entire living costs (if you don't qualify for any help from the dada) whilst losing child benefit if they aren't taking an A levels ?? Also - I take it if they study for a degree ie at Central - your DC can then access a tuition fee loan + maintenance loan ? Can anyone tell me if there are other ballet schools which offer the same course as Central with access to student loans ? Do many students at this age tend to find part-time work to help out financially or does the physical demands on them from the training tend to make this just too tiring .Thanks in advance .

Is Central planning to have their own student accommodation soon? If so - I wonder how the cost will compare ? Do they have the means to introduce prospective students to each other so that they can share accommodation slightly out of central London & travel in together - so reducing the rent a little ? maybe not an ideal situation for a 16yr old though. It just seems financially crippling !!

Truly blown away by the centenary gala production. I had high expectations but the exceptionally high standard of all the students totally surpassed them. Wow - amazing energy, choreography, costumes, music, staging & sheer talent !! Our DS loved every minute - a wonderful way to end his first year. Congratulations to everyone in the cast, crew & teaching staff . ??????

Sooooooo excited now - Saturday can't come quick enough, DS has been saying for weeks how good the show is.....(possibly a bit biased lol) Well done everyone ??????

Happy 100th Birthday to all past & present students and teachers of the Hammond - a truly wonderful school. Miss Irene Hammond would be so proud, I'm sure !!!

Sarah - we will no doubt reach that stage when our non DD is quite happy for DS to pirouette-off to boarding school !! ??? x