Mummy twinkle toes

No school guarantees a career. Try not to worry about what others do. You need to go where you think is the right choice for you and your Dd. Classical ballet jobs are hard to come by so Tring is a good option as it can provide training in lots of other genres. Their academics are good too.

Some dancers decline MDS because they decide they are too young to go away.

2 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

I bet they were not only thinking about your dancer but also about their statistics to quote to future cohorts…. I’d love to drill down deeper into the % quoted as working in the industry/going straight into jobs etc as to just what the ‘jobs’ & ‘destinations’ really are…. So many are just short term ‘freelance’ or again actually more paid for training under guise of being a job.

Congrats to your dancer Mummy Twinkle… I hope her current role is a springboard to where she wants to be x

Thank you. We keep looking for opportunities but for now at least she is able to earn a living at dancing. She can also pay for her own additional ballet classes in Paris so that is a bonus 🩰

It is tough and many company auditions want 3 years of professional experience. This is hard to gain when jobs are limited. Ballet dancers stay longer in companies too than years ago so this means less movement.

Dd is currently working in Paris and dancing but not ballet. She was told by her grad programme directors to take it as there are so few jobs at the moment and she can add to her CV.

Most GPs will do them but not many will do for free. Our GP charges around £25 for these.

My Dd went to LSC and had a very good time. Very good teachers and a friendly school. Everyone has an individual timetable and because there are four strands students support and encourage each other.

We know several that have gone onto classical companies, musicals and cruises. It provides good opportunities to branch out too as there are classes in jazz, tap, MT, contemporary and heels. 
Fees are higher but rent at Chester House is only 8-9K per year so a lot cheaper than other places. Chester House includes food too.

1 minute ago, Peanut68 said:

Out of interest, what had to be sent in to apply? 

A CV and photos

Just wondered if anyone has heard back yet and what dates have been given for actual audition.

On 15/01/2024 at 21:34, MrsMoo2 said:

Hi guys, long time lurker here! 
DS used to dance a lot, he auditioned at 11 for Hammond and Elmhurst and unfortunately didn’t get in. He was a Phoenix Boy for a few years and this did help. He started at his local, very small High School tho and was bullied for 18 months for dancing. This led to him developing a hatred for all things creative. He was very angry with the bullies and blamed dance for this.
Anyhow, fast forward and he’s now 16, he left High School (and bullies) in July last year with a full set of GCSE’s at high grades and started his A Levels, in History, English and Chemistry but he’s a performer. As soon as he hears music he’s dancing again, he’ll dance in the aisle in Tesco, with the dog, wherever he sees open space, unusually for a teenager, he does not care who sees him and he enjoys the reactions. The joy on his face is lovely to see. 
Question is, what if any type of dance could he get into at 17 or 18? He’s always maintained his ballet figure, although is now over 6ft, and I believe he’s been doing barre secretly for a while. (Still has one in his bedroom).

He’s obsessed with musical theatre and has a decent voice (in the shower!)

Anyone else a late starter? xx

If he is a good performer and can pick up choreography quickly then Disney may be an option. They are looking for character performers, vocalists and dancers. Auditions regularly held in U.K.

If he needs to train in MT first then LSC, Laines, Urdang are all great options. Good luck.

Tring and Hammond do a meet and greet session where they introduce the school. Elmhurst has a q and a with parents (or they used to. It has been a few years since we did lower school auditions). Good luck

7 hours ago, MCOS said:

DD is at LSC, and loving every minute of it.   Wilkes was her very close second choice.  We were so impressed with Wilkes.  And they are really really strong on Commercial.  And have a diploma course.

 

Check out their MoveIt videos on YouTube.  They are fabulous!!

 

DD is Jazz girl who also loved ballet, which is why she choose LSC.  
 

LSC is mostly for degree students.  I can very highly recommend it.  But that requires A Levels or BTEC.

 

 

LSC does 2 degree pathways- one at 18 which needs A levels and the other is for 16 yo- you do foundation degree for 2 years followed by top up. Dd did the latter from 16. My Dd did classical ballet but at LSC you can also choose to focus on contemporary, MT or jazz. Everyone at LSC has their own timetable.

23 hours ago, elizabeth.mp3 said:

This is helpful to know, thank you so much! I don’t do Russian-style classes specifically, but I’m sure they’re good.

The youth company train on a Sunday but ex members and pro dancers have joint in for the class part previously. That is on a Sunday. Yury is an excellent teacher and often coaches the professional Russian dancers when they perform at the Royal Opera. 

11 hours ago, So-not-a-Dancemom said:

Thanks @Mamaderuby I've just looked up that CDMT event in Feb and will look at booking that!  My daughter has auditions booked for LIPA, Liverpool Theatre School and The Hammond so far. I'd never heard of KS Dance and that's not far either.  NBS, well her least favourite discipline is ballet so I think that's a non starter, it's more commercial and contemporary that she is interested in.  A job on a cruise ship or the west end for her late teens early 20's would be amazing and what an amazing journey to be on.  I feel excited *for her* when I think about this and it makes me think that it's the right thing for her, rather than stuffy old A levels!!!

If West End is an aim then look at where most performers train. London Studio, Arts Ed, Laines, Urdang all have excellent dance courses and their jazz/commercial are very strong. Their dance alumni are all over the West End. Most offer diploma courses at 16 and degrees at 18. 
You can watch clips from Move It to see their dancers.

On 30/10/2023 at 10:03, Jan McNulty said:

Hello @martina and welcome to the Forum.

 

Correct me if I am wrong but does London Studio Centre take older students?

Yes, LSC do accept older students and could be a good option.

Here is another useful page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/553625416324093/permalink/921453432874621/ . This one is for parents of aspiring professional dancers.

There are some good groups on Facebook. They are mainly US based but do sometimes discuss opportunities in Europe and U.K. Marcy North is a very knowledgeable member in this group: https://m.facebook.com/groups/parentsatthebarre/?ref=share

She has a son who is a professional in the US. You can DM her for some useful information about auditions/companies. Her son runs his own platform called Ballet scout.

1 minute ago, BaffledBalletMum said:

Assuming it was an option. Did your DC pursue the BA top up from Middlesex University? Wondering how that is received.  

Posted at the same time 😉

For anyone who is doing the Trinity diploma, Italia Conti and Middlesex University are offering a 1 year top up degree. Funding available via Student Loans. It converts the diploma into a BA degree which Unis will accept if you want to go onto M level study:

https://www.italiaconti.com/courses/ba-hons-professional-arts-practice/

https://www.mdx.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/professional-practice-arts

Both are distance learning so no maintenance loan usually but fees paid via student finance.
 

1 minute ago, Ondine said:

A previous thread from @LukeJennings which I'll add here as it touches on similar / related  issues.   It's worth reading. I'm unsure what happened after this.

 

 

 

The investigation was closed early by Westminster so not much.

12 minutes ago, Doing Dance 1 said:

I’m glad you’ve brought this up. 
Pianists see everything in these schools and should be trained to recognise and indeed report if/ when problems arise. 

For us one of the pianists was the issue. My Dd was always taught to thank the pianist too but he may have misinterpreted that. He started to wait around for her and kept trying to talk to her and sit with her at break. Luckily, one of the teachers became aware and he was moved to a different class.

12 hours ago, Ballet Power said:

Alternative to lower schools - the academy of balletic arts in London have a vocational programme which runs afternoon/evenings after school. 
theres also CAT schemes although not many for ballet

A mix of private coaching and associates is a good option too 

They also offer a Saturday version which was good for us as we had to travel from Wales. We then did Balletboost on the Sunday. ABAS let my Dd continue the first year she was at LSC.

11 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

I too have often wondered at the qualifications/regulatory bodies that so called school nurses belong to…. My suspicion is that independent  schools can quite likely employ anyone in the capacity of school nurse much as they can employ anyone as a teacher. No qualifications are legally needed though of course one expects that they would necessarily have them & that schools would only employ suitably qualified/registered staff in any capacity. I certainly found at one school a great many nurses seem to be from overseas…. Do the qualifications match up I wonder? Would there be any redress/oversight available from UK nursing bodies for these staff? I’m told someone is a nurse & I believe that’s what they are…. Based on my child’s experiences I seriously question the suitability of sone of these staff & time again I think I would’ve asked a few more questions of the school on the suitability if these people in role. They wield much power (eg. could sign you off dance) & act under a veil of ‘student confidentiality’ (well - when it suits them…) & actually I felt there were sone slightly on a power trip to create drama/add to their own self importance/ ruin kids lives… It felt gossipy, totally inappropriate, no real ‘nurse’ care & no accountability save to the senior leadership team…. And therein lies ever more questionable behaviours & practises…. 

The term ‘school nurse’ can be deceiving as some schools employ unqualified people and give them that name. ‘Nurse’ unfortunately is not protected in law whereas registered nurse is. Elmhurst definitely advertised for Registered Mental Health nurses so yes they would need to be registered with the NMC. The pay was lower than NHS though so I did wonder who would apply.

15 hours ago, Thelittleswans said:

 One good thing that might come out of this is, less children going into vocational training at 11 sparing them the abuse/bullying/body shaming. I feel this programme has highlighted my fears for my own daughter and has seriously impacted our decision making. 

I appreciate it is very difficult if you are just at the start of the journey. Keep your eyes open when looking at potential schools. All that glitters is not gold. My eldest was due to go to lower school but then dh made redundant so she didn’t go. Maybe a blessing in disguise.

She had a very good Russian teacher at home as well as RAD. She was an associate with 3 schools and a’ member of Bristol Russian Youth co. The latter were amazing for technique, knowledge and performance skills.

She attended several SIs at ‘elite’ schools.

She had a very good time at LSC on their classical ballet course and now dances with dc that attended the schools discussed. It has not all been plain sailing but she feels lucky to have come out relatively unscathed. There was an incident at one where 2 other dancers were asked to stretch her as she is petite.

I would say if you have options such as associates & youth companies then seriously consider. Several of her friends who went to the 2 lower schools discussed are no longer dancing.

7 minutes ago, Ballet.Parent said:

Thank you. I should have done more at the time. I tried. I failed. I have to live with the guilt of the harm that was done to my child as I didn’t speak up in the beginning out of fear of repercussions on them. By the time I did raise it, the abuser had done too much damage. For those wanting to “parent blame”, there won’t be a parent amongst us here whose child has suffered harm that doesn’t wish we could have done things differently. But I echo what others have so wisely said. All abuse is wrong and is never the fault of the child. I knew one of the dancers in that documentary. I was part of a FB group of parents which I left after seeing the “turn a blind eye” approach of some who were frankly just relieved it wasn’t happening to their child. When you have a culture of fear that it could be your child next, it leads to victim shaming and blaming. I can tell you now, it would never have happened to one of the children of the very very rich and well-connected parents in the ballet world. Abusers aren’t stupid. If you’re a nobody like we were, you’re just more likely to come in the firing line. And that very sadly is my truth. 

Please try not to blame yourself. You are not to blame for other’s abusive practices. It is hard when your Dc begs you not to say anything in case it makes it worse. Hugs to you and your dc xx

1 hour ago, Ballet.Parent said:

My experience there was that a nurse was part of the problem 

I am sorry to hear that. If they are a registered nurse then they are accountable to the NMC. 

32 minutes ago, along for the ride mum said:

teachers ( by which I mean ballet teachers, football coaches, swim teachers, academic teachers, college lecturers etc etc etc ) have a LEGAL and MORAL obligation to protect and promote the welfare of their pupils/ students and to act in an appropriate professional manner!  
A term which I believe might come from the medical sector comes to mind - first do no harm!!

If a teacher at an academic state school were thought to have used inappropriate language to bully or shame a child or publicly humiliate them,  would anyone start to excuse or explain that behaviour by criticising the parents?!! 
Of course not! 
It is the professional adult’s responsibility to regulate their behaviour and to act in a lawful, moral and responsible manner full stop. No excuses! I like the saying quoted earlier ( I think it was from taxi 4 ballet?)  - the only acceptable level of abuse is zero - regardless of what anyone may think of the parenting! Please can we all be cautious that we do not heap parental guilt on top of an already terrible situation! 
(I have chosen my words very carefully here and self edited several times) 
 

Do not forget these institutions, Elmhurst in particular, have nurses who are accountable for their actions and omissions. Where were the nurses and doctors when these particular children were becoming ill? Teachers may not necessarily have the knowledge to manage but mental health nurses should.