Jellybeans

I realise that I am unwelcome here so I am sure that many of you will be relieved to hear that, after some thought, I have decided not to comment on the forum any more. I know that I have been seen to be controversial but the problem is that I am not afraid to say it how it is and a lot of people can be somewhat wary of the truth. I have also tried to ensure that the identity and safety of children are protected which has also met with dissent. The conclusion that i have drawn is that since the change in admin and the introduction of new moderators, the site has become more of a general chat room than a serious ballet forum which is fine but it is not something that I want to participate in. This will be my last public post but I will respond to private messages for a while if anyone wants to continue the discussion there. Thank you to those that have been supportive of my posts and good luck to all of you in your future endeavours in the dance world.

I suspect that many overseas students offered places at RBS and possibly other British schools see it as one of the best schools in the world and feel they have to take advantage of it.

I have said several times on this forum and by pm to the moderators that I really don't think that anyone on here should be handing out medical advice. I wonder if this could now become a policy of the forum?

Generally speaking, if they want to see you again they will ask you to finals. There is no limit to the number at finals and at prelim stage it is not about being better than other people that they may see it is about being good enought to be looked at again! It is only at the final audition stage that students start to compete for available spaces in the school!

180 seems quite unlikely, to be honest, and very precise! It is surely possible that they won't see 180 students who they feel have sufficient potential. It is my understanding that the invite all those that they want to see again to the final and that this number will vary from year to year. he year my dd auditioned there were about 70 girls at the final and we were told that this was unusually high.

I am so sorry that it didn't work out after all the heartache of getting your dd there in the first place. Time is a great healer and I'm sure you will all move on and be stronger for the experience. Good luck with the next stage of the journey.

Absolutely - if that is what you choose. My concern here is that people that appear not to be the students themselves or their parents are posting the information. I have made my point but will rest my case.

To me it is a matter of principle. We are all entitled to our own opinions on this!

If they are reading the board.......

Some of you will by now realise that I am a little pedantic but it is done with the best possible intentions! I have googled Molly Lake and the only mention of this years competition is the entry form and the postings on this site. The information is therefore not in the public domain. if details have already been published in an official capacity it is a little different and in some circumstances parents will have been asked if the agree to details being published.

I am not thinking about it from the perpective of the school or whether permission has been sought or not. If it were my child, I would not be happy that someone I didn't know had posted which school they went to without my permission.

47, according to petit jete's post, above. I am a little uncomfortable with the fact that the school of some of the students has been mentioned as it is perhaps without their permission. This is just like posting their address on the forum. Are the moderators OK with this?

This is certainly nothing like any RBS events my dd has been involved in, auditions or otherwise. It certainly isnt a very good advert for the school if that is what it is!

When my dd auditioned for a yr 7 place, she did them in reverse order of her preference and as offers came in this gave her confidence for the school that she thought she most wanted - ironic as she decided not to accept the place that she was offered there (or anywhere else) in the end! She heard within two weeks after both first and final auditions, sometimes sooner.

That is what many people think of, yes, but for 6th form more schools come into the mix!

Of course it does not matter which school the winner - or anyone else - attends but my personal view is that it is good to see schools other than the traditional top four classical schools having some success.

So pleased to see a winner that didn't come from one of the big four ballet schools! Did all the entrants get to do their solos again or was that just a one off?

Is it possible, by arrangement, to attend only the last few weeks of a course that are after UK schools finish?

Still doesn't mean they can dance, though!! Of course, many will be able to but not because they can do the splits! I would be interested to know if, in the absence of a physio exam, an audition panel would be able to tell a naturally flexible child from one who has worked hard to achieve the same result.

The thing is that being able to do the splits has nothing to do with commitment! Some may stretch every day for ever and still not get their splits and others who never actively stretch can get down flat with no effort at all! And surely, being able to do the splits or not when you are so young has no relationship at all with the ability or potential to dance?

I am intrigued that the Tring CBA pay so much attention to splits as I know that many students who are accepted into full time vocational schools in yr 7 are not able to do them.

You will see from my original post that I accepted that I may be wrong to be cynical. I stand by that and have not accused anyone of anything. I just think that it is odd.

I do not doubt Mr Fletcher's credentials at all although I have no personal experience and I have no problem with people making recommendations or being supportive of worthwhile people but am I the only one to think that it is just a bit odd that there were several extremely similar posts all in a very short time and that some of them were by people that have not posted before or since?

Advertising is no problem, I just thought some of the posts were overly gushy.......

Apologies for being cynical but is this a marketing campaign? Lots of first time posters here! This is just my view and I appreciate that i may be incorrect.