OnlyDance

I've sent you a pm @Tiptoet

11 hours ago, Tiny13 said:

Just a thought but could they be working through age ranges? For those of you whose children did get in, would you mind sharing their ages? 

mine's 14

1 hour ago, Sugarplum21 said:

Hello. My daughter will also be starting on the 25th.  Good luck to everyone still waiting. Xxx

Congrats to your DD @Sugarplum21 🎉

1 hour ago, Medora said:

Congratulations to all those who’ve had good news! To those of you who got a yes, just out of interest did they watch the entire audition video? 

Youtube is showing a watch time of 12 mins across 4 views. Though not sure what that relates to in terms of video watch time

1 hour ago, Tiptoet said:

Congratulations 🎉

Thank you. Sorry you're being kept on tenterhooks 😟

49 minutes ago, Dancedreamer said:

Congratulations!! is she excited ? my DS is over the moon.

Thank you. Yes very, she did that shriek that only teenagers do 😂 bless her 

Fingers crossed 🤞 for those still waiting!

Dd's email has arrived too and it's a yes to start 25th April!

12 minutes ago, Dancedreamer said:

its a yes for my DS we are  beyond excited!!! he has been dancing less than a year, mostly all of which has been on zoom, but has worked really hard!! 

 

Good luck to everyone else!!

Congrats to your DS!!

20 hours ago, Ballet Power said:

I believe so. Someone has viewed over the weekend and I think that’s a 2 be viewing. You? 

yes same here, hopefully not too long to wait now 🤞

Having never uploaded or submitted anything to youtube or such like before I wasn't taking any chances 😂 

49 minutes ago, Dancemomdot said:

Has anyone had a confirmation email to say that their video has been received for the CBA audition?

For peace of mind I emailed a week or so after submission as I'd been expecting a confirmation email lol! CBA then responded to say they had received it. They also checked the video link worked by viewing for a few seconds! 

13 hours ago, DD Driver said:

A goal of growing up is to be able to get a job that pays your rent & food!  

Hallelujah!!

My DD has a dance Instagram account which is logged onto both on her phone and on mine. Technically it's my account  - my email/dob at sign up lol! - but it's about her and she selects photos/videos to post and I vet them. The account itself is set to private and while she follows dance brands, various dance schools (including her own), other dancers she has met at classes etc, selected school friends etc she only accepts people she's actually met. I'm happy with that aspect - however I sometimes despair at the amount of time she spends viewing the numerous Instagram accounts out there! 

23 hours ago, Dancedreamer said:

Has anyone else submitted theirs?

Hi, I submitted my DDs a couple weeks ago. She's year 9.  

I bought the Katz barre for my DD at the beginning of the last lockdown so it has been used well. It's quite expensive but very sturdy, it's about 2m long (fits on a 2m width dance mat) and the height is adjustable. The barre bit comes in 3 pieces and you can use 2 or 3 depending how long. It is quite heavy though - I think the leg stands are weighted - and it takes two of us to move it.  I like the look of the Zelus one @Bunny mentioned above but I didn't come across this on Amazon back in March, otherwise I probably would have bought it!

My daughter attends two local dance schools. The ballet school closed today until further notice but the modern/tap/contemporary school is currently still open. 

Hi TKT, I have experience of this scheme as my DD was one of the first batch of associates. She thoroughly enjoyed her year there but I would say (having read one of your other posts) she was in a completely different situation to your daughter in terms of opportunities at home ballet school. My DD started at TLBC having only ever done 1 hour ballet class per week. No competitions, no festivals. 

The TLBC style of dancing if very creative and contemporary-like if your DD likes that.  I would enquire as to the class sizes as I know the year after my DD left the size increased significantly (over 20). Picking up on Anna C's comment about teacher qualifications, I never did find out what formal teaching qualifications had been gained. 

My DD left after a year because it was too much of a commitment both financially (significant fee increase) and time-wise (often a 3-4 hour journey each way due to rail engineering works). Perhaps had we lived nearer, and were able to attend the non-residential Easter Intensive that's now included in the new fee, she may have continued as an associate.

2 hours ago, The_Red_Shoes said:

From Grade 3 onwards there is usually an age spread of several years within a class. Grade 3 is the level at which many late starters begin taking exams -so those 14 year olds may well have been dancing only for a year or two. 

This was certainly the case in my dd's grade 3 class. A mixture of 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 year olds. My dd did her Grade 3 exam with a 14 year old girl who had been learning ballet for almost 2 years (she started in grade 2 before moving up to the grade 3 class without ever taking the grade 2 exam). Two of her year 8 friends started ballet this September in grade 3 (ISTD), and I know of another girl who started learning ballet in grade 4 (RAD) whilst also in year 8. 

1 hour ago, taxi4ballet said:

14 and grade 3?! That's ridiculous, and quite frankly absurd. If the teacher can't get them to a sensible grade by that age then he/she is an appalling teacher.

 

In my view you need to get your dd out of there as soon as possible.

This.

I understand your fear about putting her forward for an associate scheme. But do remember that at your daughter's young age they will be looking at potential and many schemes only start at age 8 anyway. If distance is an issue, depending where you are, could a monthly or fortnightly scheme be an option? My dd's first associate was monthly, and it was just what she needed at the time to improve her confidence. She now attends a different fortnightly one which works well for us. Glad you're looking into alternative local schools and I hope you'll reach a decision that works well for all the family.

I don't post often Moonbeam but I had to reply. In your shoes I would definitely seriously consider a change of school. My dd was in similar situation to Streetdancer and we moved schools 3 years ago and haven't looked back. Initially my dd didn't want to leave her original school but trialling some classes elsewhere helped her change her mind! She moved from a RAD school to an ISTD one after learning RAD Grade 2 for more than a year.  With no exam date in sight she started losing interest because she just wanted to do more ballet (which wasn't possible at her original school) and felt she knew the syllabus better than children who were scheduled to take the exam!  She moved age 9 and although she spent more than a year in Grade 2 she felt stretched because of the new exercises she had to cover in ISTD that she didn't do in RAD and also due to the un-set work. Most importantly she has been allowed to attend more than one grade at a time to help her 'catch-up'. (She started ballet at age 5 , took primary exam at age 7 and grade 1 at age 8.)

It doesn't sound like your dd's school is working for her right now. I wish you the best of luck in deciding next steps. Is an associate scheme an option?

Chelmsford Ballet Company do monthly company classes that non-members can attend. My daughter has attended a couple and she has thoroughly enjoyed them - though found them quite difficult as she is at the lower ability end of the range. South East Ballet Scholars offers weekly training but may be too far south? They're based in Essex near Brentwood. It's a real shame DanceEast in Ipswich doesn't have a significant ballet content.

Oh and EYB is in Norwich every couple of years. Not an associate scheme I know but still an opportunity for some extra ballet training.

On 7/18/2017 at 11:03, Canary said:

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ilsa on behalf of ALL the children (and their parents) who have benefitted from her devotion and determination. Ilsa has provided support for their ballet lessons and careers over the last 35 years and I wish her a speedy recovery and much love xx

I'm a parent whose daughter benefitted last summer from her summer school. My daughter is gutted that this years is cancelled (due to sickness) but I hadn't known until reading here that it's Ilsa that's poorly . Wishing her well too.

I also think you need to rest and give your body a chance to recover. Both at work and my daughter's schools there is much sickness around. If you're also feeling stressed it will sap your energy, vitamins and minerals. If you haven't had blood tests recently it may be worth discussing with a sympathetic doctor. When I've been anaemic and vitamin D deficient in the past I've had aches, pains, tiredness...the list goes on and I don't even dance! If you were my daughter I'd be telling you to rest  Hope you feel better soon

Hi anon, good luck with the blog (and the course!). I'm impressed you have so much contact time 

Hi junedancer, I've gained much inspiration from reading your thread as this is something I'd wondered about myself. You are doing the right thing. Her teacher has suggested it without you asking, and as you've seen from on here it is common! The teacher wouldn't have suggested it if didn't feel it was appropriate for your dd. Could other dance mum be jealous?