WhatsThePointe

How lovely to read. My daughter has just finished y7 and I enjoyed the show so much. I agree that they were very polished and confident and I loved the variety. 

17 hours ago, cavycapers said:

This is my way....and it seems to work!  When I send out tutu orders to customers, I beg large crisp boxes (the ones with many packets of crisps in) from Tesco.  Best to go during shelf stacking, late evening. Sometimes they are the right size, but mostly I cut them down a bit, not difficult, so that the box measures no more than 46cms x 46 cms x 63 cms.  This qualifies it as a 'medium parcel', and as such, is less than £5 to send second class.  You can pay a bit more for extras like signed for, etc.  I then line the box with a plastic sheet, in case the box gets wet, and I lay the tutu on top of the open box and push it down in the centre, so that the sides come up all around the bodice.  The hoop will bend in places to accommodate this, but with the excellent hoop material you can now get, they should spring out at the other end and you should be able to give them a quick shake to get them to how they were before packing.  I always tell customers to expect a crisp box, and that while I know it doesn't look very professional, I point out that the extra I might have spent on specially made boxes with my branding on would have had to be added to the price of their tutu.....

I've not had any complaints about this method yet!

When I had one made it came like this, had been led on top of a box and then pushed down in the middle. It was sent next day delivery and the tutu maker said to be sure to get it out of the box ASAP. It arrived just fine 🙂 

On 01/06/2022 at 12:42, meadowblythe said:

Unless things have changed dramatically, I would suggest that not all dance schools offer the widest, or most rigorous, of academic educations.  Some do and are proud of it.  

 

When my DS was assessed out at the end of year 9, one of the biggest problems when moving to another vocational school,  was that he was so far behind academically and he had passed 2 selective grammar school entrance exams with flying colours.  

 

If potential parents place as much importance on academics as dance, pick your school with care.

Absolutely agree with this. My child moved from vocational to local comp mid y10 and began to perform better in academics very quickly. The year groups at ballet school may be small, but if the whole year is in one class, that's a normal size class, not a small one. And the whole range of academic abilities may be all in together, and while the bright ones may fly, and the ones with academic needs may get support, there's a whole bunch in the middle struggling to keep up. I was very disappointed in the academics my DD experienced.

Give me a shout if you want to chat, my daughter is a current y7. 

They said after the Easter holidays when we picked up after today's audition. Good luck!

Waitlist places do come up. My DD was waitlist 2020 which of course didn't happen and she then got a place from the waitlist last year as everything was rolled over. She's got a place this year too 😊

https://www.facebook.com/EllieWrightPBT/

Ellie is brilliant. I think they may need some pbt experience to do the zoom sessions, but it's worth getting in touch even if your DD hasn't done it before. 

My daughter did BB last year when she was in y6. It was absolutely brilliant. They will place successful auditionees in a class based on their ability not their age. If she fancies it, I would say 100% give it a try, you have nothing to lose. It was such a fun programme. She also did Elmhurst young dancers and they were very different and she much preferred BB. The work was challenging and exciting. Throughout lockdowns, they provided excellent classs on zoom and I really felt that they genuinely cared about their dancers. 

An alternative view to Elmhurst is that as they get older they may not enjoy the activities as much. By y9 my daughter found a lot of them not to her taste but they weren't optional. They also don't get a lot of freedom, so by the time they are in y10 and allowed to opt out of the activities, there isn't necessarily a lot they are allowed to do instead. There were times she asked to come home rather than 'be trapped here with nothing to do'. Some days were better and houseparents agreed to more freedom but it was hit and miss.

Does anyone know how the schools that offer MDS places are regulated?

Specifically what I mean is, if the government are paying huge proportions of the fees via the MDS scheme, is there a department/person/governing body actually checking that this money is well spent, and the schools are offering the exceptional training they are claiming to offer?

Essentially, if you felt this wasn't the case, and that complaints/concerns were not addressed by the school, who could you approach next?

1 hour ago, jossbisson said:

Do you have this still available please? Happy to cover any postage 

Hi sorry its been sent to the original poster. 

There is also a Facebook group for associates where 2nd hand uniform is sold..I will message it to you.

Lettering is coming off a bit but good for spare. Free, just asking for postage. 

Hi, I have the old style tracksuit in age 9-10 and a leotard age 14 (but fit my daughter age 11).

Happy to send for free if you cover the postage. 

The school have posted a few photos recently from the Spring Intensive, you could have a look and see what people have on in those? I guess more likely to show dancewear than warmup though.

BBA is brilliant. Like Crazy above, my DD is only leaving because she is off to Vocational school. She's only done BB this last year and a lot of it was on Zoom but she found it challenging, exciting and fun. She has experienced a number of teachers due to shuffling about because of covid etc. but every one of them has been nice. I suppose it might be strict in terms of expectations of appearance and behaviour, but the teachers have all been really friendly and fun (and actually quite bonkers in a wonderful way!). I wish we had found it sooner, its been a wonderful experience. 

8 hours ago, KBM said:

Hi there- my daughter auditioned for the Year 7 elmhurst associates.

If she were lucky enough to be accepted I was hoping I could take some guidance from people if it would be worth accepting. We live 1.45hr away and I’m happy to do the drive if it will genuinely progress her. Also can someone explain the difference between Elmhurst & RB? 
sorry I’m quite new to these associate programmes x

We drove both our DDs for 1hr 45 for 3 years each. The first time it was def worth it. Recently with covid there was no jazz class and ballet class was only 1hr 15. I don't think it was worth it but as we were so close to the end we carried on. I have resented it a bit though to be honest! It would have been much better to have a longer class lesson often.

My older DD used to do Elmhurst and JAs on the same day, as did a number of others. My younger one does Elmhurst Saturdays and Ballet Boost Sundays. It will depend on the child I expect, some may find it too much, others won't bat an eyelid. It's certainly not unusual though.

My DD started in London in Sept. We heard very quickly after submitting the video but others took longer. The class is by ability and it is quite challenging which she loves as such a contrast to her other associates class. I have nothing but good things to say about the programme. She has had a couple of different teachers and they have all been brilliant. Over Zoom they brought in guests to teach some dances from shows and do q&a and they were all so informative and encouraging. Emma hosted a chat over Zoom which was also so helpful and lovely. I've not known an organisation that works so hard to overcome problems (thinking of all the spanners that covid threw in the works, they just kept adapting and changing).

DD is off to Vocational school this Sept and we will be so sad to say goodbye to Ballet Boost even after such a short time.

I have a child there. Happy to answer any general questions or you are welcome to contact me for more detailed stuff.

Ellie Wright PBT is fab also. You can find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EllieWrightPBT/

1 hour ago, Bookish said:

I’ve seen that the applications are now open for Young Dancers. What I’m not sure of and wonder if anyone knows is, if you are already in this year, do you have to reapply for next year? Or do they assess them in class for moving up? My dd started this year in yr5 but I haven’t seen anything to explain how they progress into yr6. Anyone with experience who could advise, I’d be grateful. Thanks.

They just progress from Y4  to 5 and from 5 to 6. They need to reaudition to continue with extended young dancers in y7 if you are a centre that offers this (I think its only at Birmingham but not certain)

Current y9s have yet to do any RAD exams (since they started in y7) so don't hold your breath 🤣

Mine is y9, we had to do it for y7. Our docs didn't charge but I think that was just lucky.