MissEmily

@HopelessMummy I can’t find any info about this either. Are you able to share a link? Thank you!

@BisforBalletI cannot speak of it highly enough. My pupil did it three years ago when she was 10. I went to watch the end of course performance and was flabbergasted at how much they had achieved in a few days. There was a lot of dancing every day and classes were small enough that I felt the teachers had really got to know each child, and seemed to really take an interest in each of them. There was the opportunity for each parent to talk to the director at the end too to get some feedback. The evening activities were great too; they kept them really busy. The only reason she has only done it once is that it is the opposite end of the country from us and her parents couldn’t face repeating the drive 😅 She was offered a full-time place there for Year 7, and would have happily gone, but chose a better-known school a little closer to home. Do feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

Thank you everyone! That’s given me a great range of places to look.

@AllAboutTheJourneyApologies, I meant London Children’s Ballet: https://www.londonchildrensballet.com/training/summer-school/

I have a 7 year-old (Year 2) pupil who is very keen and shows potential. He would like to take part in some workshops/ one-off classes over the summer in London or the South, ideally specifically for boys or where he won’t be the only boy (as is the situation in his current class). I know Central has run boys’ ballet days in the past but I can’t currently see any advertised. Does London Boys’ Ballet School still exist? The website seems defunct. London Junior Ballet is running a boys’ Summer School but it’s for age 9+… Does anyone have any other suggestions? Thank you!

I would say it depends entirely on your child’s personality. If she has the qualities they’re looking for, they will also be watching her carefully in the audition to check she can concentrate for a sustained period of time and that she has the maturity to benefit from the type of in depth training JAs provides. The detailed discussion of movement quality and perfecting exercises which work tiny muscle groups (for example) would not interest or inspire every 8 year-old! I would strongly recommend signing up for one of the insight classes to establish whether the style of class suits her. The audition itself is a lovely experience with a live pianist and wonderful teachers so if she’s keen, I’d say go for it and see what happens. The chances of being accepted are tiny so she’ll need to be prepared for potential rejection regardless of her age.

So long as your child makes it through the first round, they will be examined by a physiotherapist and one of the things they’re looking for is the POTENTIAL for flexibility rather than their current range necessarily.

This is from two years ago, but there was a simple barre (pliés, tendus, grands battements, possibly développés). In the centre, they did temps levés across the room, pirouettes and sautés in first. There may also have been a port de bras, I don’t remember. They also had to show their frogs’ legs and box splits again. The main difference between the first round audition and the semi-final was how hands on the teachers were. At the barre, the teacher lifted my pupil’s leg to see how far it would go à la seconde, on the request of the audition panel.

@In at the deep end My pupil said exactly the same about last year’s YBS scholarship audition so it’s clearly their way of doing things.

@BallerinaMum13 If anything, I’d say being a day student would put her at an advantage as she wouldn’t need a bed! The selection process recently has seemed entirely random though so don’t read too much into your daughter’s result either way.

@sunrise81 Yes, you seem to have done 🤦🏻‍♀️ There are much better value (quality and quantity of training for price) out there.

When my students are ready for their first pointe shoes, I book appointments at Bloch and Freed and we go to Dancia too, so they can try on the widest possible selection of shoes to see what feels and looks best. In my experience, it's luck of the draw in each shop as to who you get, particularly in Freed, so it's helpful if you're with someone (like a teacher) who knows what to look for and can be firm. Good luck!

Agreed. I sat in on my pupil's first lesson and thought it was excellent. Well-paced and helpful with lots of personal feedback given, and the content was much what they would be doing in face-to-face classes.

@Thelittleswans Someone would have to have left Elmhurst in order for there to be any spaces for Year 10 so for me, that risk is too great at such a critical stage of education and the number of Year 9 students not getting into Year 10 at WL would be enough to put me off going there in the first place. It is interesting to see more and more very talented dancers turning down their places at WL either to go to Elmhurst/ Tring or to stay at home. That said, there is no doubt that the performance opportunities are superior at WL. Tring ballet students do get to do ENB’s Nutcracker if they’re the right height. Elmhurst only does in-house performances at Christmas and in the Summer, and it’s a real shame there aren’t any professional performance opportunities for them. Only two or three of the tiniest Year 7s get to do BRB’s Nutcracker. The training and nurturing ethos at Elmhurst are excellent, as is communication with parents. They are truly invested in the students they have chosen.

@Thelittleswans Both Moorland and YDA do have funding available. They’re just not government-funded. We also couldn’t pursue YDA due to lack of accommodation.

@Thelittleswans Elmhurst applications open mid-October. My pupil is about to start Year 8 there and applied to WL, Elmhurst, Tring, Moorland and YDA when she was in Year 6. Feel free to ask any questions you have about any stage of the process and good luck!

It would be wonderful if proper boarding arrangements could be put in place with this rebranding.

The Elmhurst Year 7s were told an absolute maximum of three weeks of dancing over the summer holidays. They then have a Zoom conditioning programme for the last two weeks of the holidays for an hour every other weekday. My (ex-)pupil, her family and I have collectively opted for, on average, one private lesson per week with excellent teachers with two weeks completely off instead of an intensive this year, as we felt it was a more beneficial use of finances for her at this stage. She makes a note of the corrections she’s been given after each lesson and works on them in her own time between classes. Whilst doing back-to-back intensives is understandably the dream for many young dancers, it is not achievable for all, and I doubt those children really benefit from each teacher’s tips, corrections and lessons as there is no time for reflection and self-practice, and the insight gained from each class must immediately be eclipsed by the next. So, in short, @BalletGirlAndBoy don’t panic. Quality over quantity every time, and rest and reflection are of equal importance.

I’ve found Gaynor Minden to be the best because the way the foot hole is constructed means they’re less prone to laddering. You can order them from Dance Devotion is Exeter. Silky are good for the price too though, but they do eventually ladder.

@kimsballet My student who is a young Year 4 is also at 9am.

In my experience, remote exam results are always lower and seemingly random. My school is ISTD rather than RAD but I know other RAD teachers who would say the same. It’s so sad that after all her hard work, she has not been awarded a mark she’s happy with but it is good preparation for the rollercoaster coming up if she decides she wants to pursue ballet vocationally! And as @Anna C has said, it won’t matter a jot for any auditions.

Well, I’m pleased to report that between my mum logging on in England and me logging on in Greece we managed to get enough tickets between us for me to run the trip 🥳 We’re spread over three rows which won’t make us popular but at least we’re relatively close to each other!

@blossom Thank you! I’m a ballet teacher trying to organise a school trip and it’s almost impossible. It being a school trip, we’re only interested in cheaper seats but to make a group booking you have to wait until the phone lines open at 10, by which time public booking has already been open for an hour and there probably won’t be any cheap seats left! 😰 You’d have thought they’d want to encourage this kind of endeavour, given impassioned children will be their future paying public… 🤷🏻‍♀️

What is the maximum number of tickets a non-friend can buy for one performance please?

Cheeky in the extreme that her three years at Elmhurst aren’t mentioned!