Medora

What a good question. I would assume they need the company to look good together so perhaps it would depend on the auditioning cohort? Or if they already have the costumes from the previous Snow White performance x years ago, then there is probably a height requirement related to that?

Hope your dd got a callback.

Just remembered this thread and thought I’d add that we ended up taking this year’s audition photos ourselves at home, as we are watching our ballet budget. We were short on time and did not do a perfect job… there was furniture in the background in two of the photos but we couldn’t change it. Dd ended up getting a yes from the summer intensives we applied to including WL. 
 

Anecdotal evidence that there is probably no need to stress too much about audition photos for associates (we took those photos ourselves too back in the day) and intensives. Hope this can help anyone who worries about not being able to arrange professional audition photos for their dancers.

Upper school audition photos are probably a different matter…

Very interesting, thank you for sharing the link, dancefanatic. It’s a bit like grishko/Nikolai in the US?

Very lightly used, in pristine condition.

Child size L, I would say this is equivalent to Degas 10-12 (DD outgrew all her Degas 10 before she outgrew this one, she still fits a Degas 12)

£25 including postage

Just thought I’d follow up. We didn’t get Russian Pointe, it was R Class - apparently it’s the same thing? Dd really likes them, she can easily get over the box in them.
 

This was after an underwhelming fitting at Dancia where the fitter didn’t really look at her feet, or engage very much. It ended up working out really well this time despite the lack of input from the fitter, and thanks to this thread we now have several other leads to follow up for the future.

Hi, I have a 9501 in lilac Meryl size 10 if you are still looking?

Interested in Rodo and Corail, are they still available?

Thanks Viv, we just got a pair of Russian Pointe, what you wrote sounds very promising. I will try to report back here once dd has tried them out.

Hi, we have just returned two £35 tickets to tonight’s 7pm performance of The Royal Ballet School summer show at Opera Holland Park so these are available to purchase via their website in case anyone is looking!

On 02/07/2022 at 16:21, NotadanceMa said:

I also notice that the RB have changed their admission policy re SEN. (Sept 21) This is of particular interest to me; they can now deselect on the basis of SEN.

Prior to the new training revamp this was not the case. 
I kept the old RB SEN report in my files, the new one is very different indeed.

 

Thanks for sharing, I had no idea 

2 hours ago, BisforBallet said:

We have a Wk5 place. Can someone tell me drop off and pick up times for residential please? Thank you 

Week 5 place too, our letter said 1.30pm registration on Sunday 14 August and parent arrival time 9.30am on Friday 19th, departure at 1.30pm. 

Ballerinamum did your dc get online associates? I heard that they were not going to offer that going forward but I guess they are keeping the program?

We know one girl who got an offer after a year of online associates, and equally we know one girl who did not 🤷‍♀️

Sounds like Capezio is well worth a visit, will definitely try them.
 

If anyone has any customisation tips I’d be so interested. Dd bends them a bit to soften the shank but nothing much beyond that, while some of her friend rip out the insoles and all sorts of things! Should she do more customisation of her shoes? I recall Freed saying absolutely not, the shoes were ready to dance in, but who knows.

Dancia give my DD grishko only to try on… and just the 2007 pro flex, saying it’s the softest shank. Freed said grishko would be entirely unsuitable to dd’s feet as they are super hard and heavy 😂 it’s clear dd needs a shoe which helps her to get over the box properly, that much I know. She is obviously working on her feet to strengthen them but in the meantime she needs some support.

back in my own (recreational) dancing days, Capezios saved me. Freed was no good. Maybe dd is the same, might go there next?

39 minutes ago, Pas de Quatre said:

If her teacher is not against them, have a look at Gaynor Mindens. I think it is something to do with the local gene pool where I live, but I have had a lot of pupils over the years with very narrow feet. Does she have shallow feet too? The box of a pointe shoe is like any box, there are three dimensions, width, length and depth.

Interesting, nice to have another brand which works for narrow feet. DD’s dance teacher hasn’t expressed any particular preference, or dislike for that matter. I should probably ask what she thinks of gaynors as I know they divide opinion 

32 minutes ago, valentina said:

Have you tried Merlet split sole?

Some very professional dance students wear these. Dancia Covent Garden should be able to offer a good fitting for these although we have had mixed fittings there in the past.

We were just there, they said Merlet  was not good for dancers who struggle to get over the box - the split soles sound interesting, they didn’t even mention this style to us? Will definitely have a look. Thanks!

I think some fitters at Dancia are great and others are a bit less… engaged?

Dd can’t seem to find the right shoe, so was hoping to hear some tips for how to make the most out of her next fitting.

She has narrow feet and often struggles to get over the box, any tips on a good shoe? So far she has tried

Grishko 2007 pro flex (fitters always gravitate towards this but Dd thinks it’s a bit too hard?)

Freed - did not like, fitting was very thorough but she found them hard to dance in

She is going to try R Class now, RC22, but they put her in a W3 which seems rather wide.

Any tips for our next purchase? Can someone point us in the right direction for narrow, not very strong/flexible feet? She has been in pointe for about 18 months now. 

18 hours ago, Siqiuk said:

First time audited the London centre got an offer on the waiting list. My DD just turned 8yrs and had a high hope but now a bid disappointed. Anyone knows what's the chance of getting in from the waiting list? It seems impossible for someone to drop out the London centre which is usually super popular. Tia

For what it’s worth the waitlist never moved for us, nor did it move for anyone we know. Perhaps you will have better luck. A waitlist place is better than a straight no so I hope your DC is not too disappointed 

1 hour ago, SplitSoul said:

@Ballet_dancer2020 we had floods of tears, and just incredulous cries of "but I really wanted to get in". She has gained a little perspective in the last hour or so, but the disappointment is huge. It's so hard when you are 8, next year seems way too far off. She knew the odds were against her and understands that, but she just couldn't believe they didn't understand how much she wanted it.  

A year is far off but perhaps you can try to fill the time with other challenges? Audition for the LCB in October, maybe that could be a new goal? 

A lot can happen in a year! My eldest did not get in on her first attempt but was eventually successful. Equally some JAs do not get to stay on as MAs, and new dancers end up taking their places at that stage, so you never know. 

For those of you who got a no, did your letter say the following;
 

We are unfortunately unable to offer you a place this year, but the panel felt you responded very well to the audition class and would be very interested in seeing you again at next year’s auditions, as they felt you could be a good fit for the programme in future.

London results out too

Just like the title says, has anyone ordered from fresh vibes dance dot com and did you have a positive experience? I’m looking for a repetto leotard which is sold out everywhere except here but they don’t offer PayPal which is my preferred option when ordering for the first time from places I don’t know anything about, so I’m hoping for some feedback. They don’t have a social media presence either so it’s hard to gauge.

thanks in advance 

Yes, avoid the ‘essential’ Silky rights. They grey and are not as comfortable.

DD is a size 12 in Degas and we buy size 11-13 Silky tights. 

Silky from Amazon.