Jellybeans

Dancing10, I do think that you will struggle to find many places teaching a full days worth of RAD classes during the week but you could contact RAD headquarters to ask. Is there any particular reason why you are seeking only syllabus classes? For open classes you could look at a combination I'd Pineapple, Danceworks and the Dance Attic in Fulham if you are prepad to go to London and move around a bit!

And how old is she?

Tulip, are you saying that six of the seven girls offered Dadas a leaving anyway? Do you know where they are going? Does anyone know about any of the other schools?

Dancerbabe said that people should not EXPECT to come out of Tring as a ballet dancer and from my experience i think that hat is realistic. That some people do come out as ballet dancers is a credit to them but two swallows do not a summer make!! There are no doubt some dancers that will be successful wherever they train!

Moving on from the thread about ranking, does anyone have any information about the number of students that move directly from lower school to upper school in the same institution? I would be interested to know what sort of numbers of existing pupils that are accepted into the 6th form at each of the four main schools and, out of those, how many choose to go.

Happymum, without seeing your dd's feet and knowing the precise anatomical situation, I don't think anyone can really tell you anything concrete! There will be people with all sorts of feet that are accepted and there may be some the same as your daughter's - and there may not!! The school physios will probably know what is deemed "perfect" and how much deviation from this is deemed suitable! It would seem thatfor now they are thought to be workable!!

I'm interested to know how toe spacers can help with curly toes? I thought they were used when the toes were too close together or at an angle, such as in bunions?

I would still think, on the basis that parents presumably pay for the private lessons, that it is up to them if they want to spend extra money!

I think that the best school from a dance point of view is the school that adds the the most value to the dancer as an individual and that the best school from all other perspectives in the school in which the child flourishes the most in all aspects of school life. The two are quite possibly interlinked. many factors will influence this but the problem lies in knowing which one is most likely to achieve this for your child. I agree with the ranking of RBS, Elmhurst, Hammond/ Tring but would suggest visiting all of the chills as many times as possible before a decision has be made - if indeed, you have a choice!!

I do suggest that a medical opinion is sought before asking for advice on any Internet forum. I am sure the advice given here is well meaning but it is no substituted for a professional opinion and in some circumstances it could be counter-indicative of best practice. I know that there have been other threads about injury as well and it has made me uncomfortable that people may rely on a virtual diagnosis/prognosis/course of action. In the case of your daughter's toe, spanner, perhaps you could take her to see a pharmacist for initial advice? they may advise whether it is necessary to seek a more urgent medical appointment or invest in a trip to a chiropodist and how best to proceed in the meantime.

This is true but a line has to be drawn somewhere and we have decided where to draw ours!!

Tulip, I understand what you are saying completely and I am sure that they do make mistakes and that the ability of dancers can go both up and down over time. I suppose that is why I always qualify what I say by adding "at that time". I do think that, generally speaking, things have settled down by 6th form and those considered worthy of funding then probably do have the most potential in the longer term. lildancer, I was talking for myself and know very well what my decision on this will be. My child knows, and has known all along, that being able to attend a vocational school at 16 is dependent on being recognised as having serious potential, which is generally acknowledged as being recognised by the offer of funding. In my view, and theirs, it would be more heartbreaking to give so much and still not fulfil the dream. Much better to divert to another dance style or related career and see light at he end of that tunnel. of course, there are no guarantees for anyone but I believe in being realistic. I also know that funding may change and perhaps everyone training will have to fund themselves, either directly or through some sort of student loan and in that case ai would be looking for some other guarantee that the place was offered on merit and not because they wanted the money.

I would actually not allow my child to go to a vocational school without funding regardless of if we could afford it or not as the funding goes to the students seen to have the most potential at the time. There are far, far too many people after too few jobs as it is and I think one of the reasons for this is because too many children are going into vocational training, especially at 16. I think if only the very very best could access the training an awful lot of heartache could be avoided!!

James Hobley has featured in various TV programmes and has overcome a lot to get where he is. he takes determination to a new level! Aside from that, isn't everyone at vocational school demonstrating that they are determined ro reach their dream?

That is a shame, Eloise, but I do think the it is quite rare for places to be offered for yr 4. Whilst I have often said that parents should be realistic about future expectations it does seem that at no letter from RBS for yr 4 does not necessarily mean that it is the end of the road!

Does that mean that if a student does not have a contract or agent within six months then the money awarded by the DaDa has to be paid back? I'm assuming that it is easy enough to get an agent but harder to get a job!!

Didn't she start dancing quite late as well? She seems to defy so many of the perceived norms of the industry, so good for her! I personally don't like the legs or the over splits but she is obviously very successful.

I think that the vocational training is probably looked at differently! It is my understanding that they will all be taught at the same level because there is little advantage in learning anything ahead of anyone else. At vocational school they go back to basics in everything when they start and build from there.

Maybe I just have a different view of profit! obviously money needs to be available for reinvestment, including the upgrade of facilities etc. If this reinvestment comes out of profit then that is good but to me, profit is what is left when there is nothing left to spend the money on and I can't see the vocational schools being in that position any time soon!! And by Business, I was thinking more corporately, as in companies with directors or shareholders that, traditionally, take a share in the profit. We are probably all being pedantic and I often feel that I have to explain myself on he forum but what I mean is that I would be surprised if any of the schools have a whole lot of surplus cash left over and the luxury to try and think of something to spend it on.

But spanner, they are not businesses!! I would have thought that ideally they should be aiming to break even, perhaps with some money in a contingency fund if they are lucky. expenditure on buildings etc is essential and would come out of income. Profit is what is left over after all necessary expenditure has taken place. I wonder if parents with children at vocational schools would like to see better facilities, better teaching etc etc or money sitting in a bank account while pleas are being made for more money? Edited as Julie and I were posting at the same time.

dancers dad, you make it sound as though the schools are making a profit and I would like to think that that isn't the case. surely, it costs a lot to provide the level of care and teaching that these schools offer?

Sounds like none of them are still at the school then! Is the turnover normally that high or is this just a coincidence?

Primrose, nowhere did I say that I would tell a child simply that they weren't good enough. In my last post I said that I would say that a child was not what they were looking for at that time. I don't think that that is so different from saying that it wasn't their turn this year and let's see how they develop. What I would NOT say is that the only reason that they didn't get in was because there weren't enough spaces. With reference to photos, certainly JA s and all other associate schemes that I know do not select who to audition on the basis of photos and everyone is invited to audition.

Which is exactly why I said that those that want it enough will try again nd may be successful on a subsequent attempt. my post was about managing expectations And I believe that it is wrong to mislead a child by telling them that the only reason they were not accepted is because there were not enough places. I have always said that the reason a child is not accepted is that they were not what the panel were looking for at that time. That does not always mean that they will not be accepted in the future, but, sadly, there are children that will NOT succeed, however many times they try and I personally think it is kinder to help them to understand all eventualities rather than to possibly mislead them. Edited to make more sense.

Does anyone know what has become of any of the children featured?