HollyLou

Thanks for replying. Our local council is an absolute nightmare. They've refused to accept license form without letter of support from school. I'm unsure if there's an issue with attendance etc as the same school has did a letter for another child in the cast?

Can anyone who did EYB previously help. My friends DD is having difficulty getting a letter from school for the dress rehearsal. What will happen if they don't authorise it? Show is next week so it's cutting it fine now.

Just thought I'd update. My youngest DD has a call back for this. She had a brilliant time with some fantastic feedback. My eldest wasn't as lucky but they said she did a great audition just unlucky her year group has very few places.

Has anyone heard about next week's auditions yet? Not leaving a lot of notice for working parents.

It scares me that 'professionals' behave in this way. Our children's joints need to be protected and not pushed to the extreme. I've never danced but have underlying health conditions, I currently have a badly torn hip labrum and it is extremely painful.  I've had one failed surgery already. I would hate to imagine a child going through the pain and limitations I do. 

I'm extremely grateful my DD has teachers who think the same Kate_N. My DD has  quite a sickening amount of flexibility in her hips, but she doesn't yet have the strength to control it. Lots and lots of hours of training and it's gradually coming. She has lessons with a Pilates teacher who has lectured her repeatedly on importance of looking after her joints otherwise she'll end up with a nasty injury.

It is, or so it seems still a hobby that requires a significant amount of money. My DD has as many lessons as I can afford but I know she's not getting the same level of training as some of the kids attending the auditions and it does make a massive difference. She absolutely loves her dance school but I know she needs more one on one lessons. It's harder too as she does love her singing so fitting in both hobbies is extremely difficult. 

I definitely wouldn't be too concerned. My youngest DD auditioned for vocational school this year and all were concerned with her hypermobility. My eldest dd has just started lessons with a new ballet teacher who has said her back is too flexible ? we've definitely found being too flexible has caused more problems for us.

I do have to agree with you regarding the finished article though. Everyone has said schools are looking for potential  etc etc. The girls my DD has seen have been outstanding with everything.   The feedback for my DD has been amazing........just seems not amazing enough to secure funding. Seems to be a sense of dejavu for us, she was in final few for a couple of West end shows and in the end too young/ too small. Almost makes it but not quite to the end. Thankfully she's a resilient little thing and takes everything as a good experience.

I'm not 100% certain.  I know she'd came into class a little gutted she hadn't gotten in but unsure if she was reserve or a no. She's a beautiful dancer, definitely has a certain grace that can't be taught. 

My friend was advised they still had a number of MDS awards to give out. I know one of the girls from my DD JA made it to finals and was originally told no but then contacted last week with an offer of a place for yr 7.

Auditions are live on the website now, inviting all yrs7-11 to apply for audition on 13th June. Invite based on photos.

It's  meant to be going online soon. I've emailed as advised by JA teacher to see if I can get more info.

That may explain why my DD JA teacher advised new photos then. Her photos were done back in September and her shape has completely changed. I've emailed but not heard back yet. 

I've heard that they're possibly adding another audition date next month as not all the MDS awards have been given out? Anyone heard the same? My DD JA teacher wasn't certain but advised me to email for details as she though it worth my DD trying again.

Thank you. My youngest DD is only 11 so not sure on her chances this year. My eldest is 14 and I think this could be just what she needs. She's very lacking in self confidence and think having something new to try away from her dance school could help her. Neither have really did any contemporary work but absolutely loved the taster day. 

Does anyone have any knowledge of the CAT scheme at Newcastle. Both my DD are auditioning this weekend, they attended a taster day and loved it. There'd limited information online though about hours required, class sizes etc.

Thank you. My DD had been looking online but couldn't work out which part it was.  

Does anyone know what the Tsars Courtiers wear? My DD desperate to know ?

My DD was at the casting of Swan Lake yesterday and has been cast as a tsars courtier. Does anyone have an idea what costume she'll wear? Hopefully it's just SATs nerves as she's taking the experience yesterday to heart. She loved experience from start to finish last time,  but yesterday felt a little type cast because of her small size. She was dismissed by staff on a few occasions even though they said she's brilliant for her age. Possibly taking everyone too personal now after the vocational auditions but yesterday has put her on a little downer ?

4 hours ago, Newdancermum said:

We have looked this a few times and the format for rehearsal seemed to change with some focused on weekend and holiday times and others including after school hours and some even in school time.  It does look such a great opportunity for training as well as performance experience.  Just hoping one day that we can make it work for us and go for the audition.  I might just need to plan it around some annual leave for myself.  Does anyone know if schools treat this the same as allowing time off for dance exams?

It depends on the school. My DD is taking part for the 2nd time. First time she was allowed authorised time away from school and school did a support letter with no issues.  This time however I've had major issues and had to speak to numerous people to get it sorted. My DD friends had no problems.

She did my DD at the theatre before the cast arrived on show day. An amazing experience for my DD performing on the stage alone. 

I know others who had them after they'd finished at EYB, they travelled to her just for the assessment.

Tootu I think I paid around  £60, money well spent though. Gave my DD the confidence she needed to apply for vocational schools.

It's advertised very poorly for the assessments. Miss Lewis  advised my DD to stop acro and do specific exercises to help her improve. She told her not to waste her talent and if she was serious about dance she'd need to work incredibly hard and make a lot of sacrifices. My DD was in total awe as Miss Lewis does the exercises with you,  she couldn't believe how flexible she was for being a teacher.

"From EYB page 

Will EYB help me with a career in dance? 

Any student who takes part in an EYB performance is given a confidence boost and an enormous sense of achievement which helps with any future they may have in dance.

With so many parents wishing to know whether their child has the potential for a professional career in dance, Miss Lewis now conducts official consultations and individual .assessments to advise parents about their children.

Please contact Miss Lewis personally by telephone (01689 856747) or email if you are interested in booking an appointment. The assessment takes up to two hours with interviews and a written report is given. There is a small fee for this service"

For any kids taking part, Miss Lewis offers a private assessment for those considering vocational training. It's done one to one with a written report at the end for a reasonable fee. She's incredibly honest and will tell you if it's worth spending time and money to persue it. My DD was a little nervous before hers but she really put her at ease. For us it was definitely worth the money.

My DD did Giselle at Newcastle in Sept and doing Swan Lake in Sunderland in June. She absolutely loved every second of it. Doing EYB definitely was the deciding point for her wanting to audition for audition training. The staff are brilliant and she made lots of new friends (as did I). It does seem a lot of money but when you consider the hours off training they receive it's good value.