MissEmily

Mariia leotard also sold.

@ThelittleswansAny time between 17th February (if they stick to four weeks) and 10th March (which is when the results came out last year). 

@abbie Of course. Can you see the attached OK? 

They have “leave out” every three weekends, when they leave at 14:45 on Friday and return on Sunday evening. They have to go home/ to a guardian those weekends. The Year 7s can go home as many weekends as they like in the first term, until their RAD lessons start on Saturday mornings in January. However, due to various factors, this year, those Saturday lessons haven’t started for them yet so they are still able to go home as often as they like so long as notice is given. Depending on how close you live, they could still go home from Saturday lunchtime until Sunday evening if they wanted to. My pupil has been going home more often than every three weekends, but not because SHE wants to! She’s having far too much fun, but her parents want her home, understandably.

They’re changing the system this year: fewer will get through to finals but everyone will attend both days.

Always better so assume later and be pleasantly surprised if we're put out of our misery a little earlier than anticipated!

Last year it was 10th March, so I'm assuming around then.

Degas now sold 🙂

I’m selling a number of leotards. I am a petite 5 foot 2. The Degas is a tad too small. The rest are a bit too big!

Brand new Degas: 9502 in citron Matt Lycra, Size 1 - £25 + P&P

Like new Elevé: Dark grey with beautiful pink and yellow floral print and dark green piping, Size Adult Small - £28 + P&P

Like new Mariia (like Yumiko): Navy with fuchsia pink cap sleeves and piping, Size Adult Small - £14 + P&P

Used but good condition Wear Moi: camisole with bow back, black, microfibre and mesh, size M - £10 + P&P

Used but good condition: Sansha cotton Lycra/ velvet, pale blue and black, Size Adult Medium - £8 + P&P

Used but good condition: Danskin cotton Lycra leotard, mauve, Size Adult Medium - £5 + P&P

Used but good condition: Roch Valley cotton Lycra/ velvet criss-cross leotard, purple, Size Adult Small - £5 + P&P

Photos all available on request.

My pupil did not get into White Lodge because of her "limited" turn-out (it is not flat but very good) but did get into everywhere else she applied (Elmhurst, Moorland, Tring, YDA), as well as RBS MAs. She is now at Elmhurst in Year 7 where she is thriving. 180 degrees is not the be all and end all for anywhere but White Lodge, where (in the words of her JA teacher) they "like the flat aesthetic".

Not pointe work, but I would highly recommend Sander Blommaert’s Thursday Zoom class. It’s 18:30-19:30 and the personal corrections he gives are amazing. He doesn’t miss anything! 

Thank you for the recommendations! I’m going to try Franziska Rosenweig’s class this Thursday. The timing is perfect so fingers crossed!

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know of any online ballet classes focussing on pointework which take place on:

Monday evenings

Tuesday early evenings (Zoë Epstein’s is sadly too late)

Thursday late evenings

Friday early evenings?

Thank you!

@DD Driver, exactly this. I was an interpreter at the Prix de Lausanne one year so got to observe it all at very close quarters. The year I was there, very unusually, there was a candidate from Vaganova. She was immaculate, highly accomplished and has gone on to be Principal with the Bolshoi. She did not make the finals! And I’m fairly sure it’s because there was no change in her style, approach or dancing throughout the week. She listened to the teachers’ corrections respectfully…but didn’t really seem to apply any of them to herself, but stuck to what she knew. 

@Peanut68 Here is the link:

https://www.blommaertballetschool.com/ballet-summer-school-1

I believe there’s only one place left on the junior course, due to someone getting a YBSS scholarship for the same week, but I’m not sure there are any spaces left for the senior course. Always worth asking though as people’s plans change. It is definitely the best Summer School I’ve ever done, in terms of class

size (and therefore personal feedback), calibre of teaching, positive atmosphere and as @SpideyDad said, the number of classes per day. It’s EXHAUSTING but the students improve so much over the course of a week! I’d desperately love for my pupil to be able to take that junior place but she can’t stay up in London alone.

@Tiaramum I will keep Kings in mind for the future but my pupil is Year 7 and only just turned 12. I know 12 year-olds can be very different depending on their life experience, but there’s no way she’s ready to look after herself to that extent yet!

Thank you everyone! Anything non-residential is a no-go unfortunately. Her parents can’t take a week off work to go with her, nor can they do their jobs remotely. She’d have gone to YBSS if she’d had a scholarship, and I’ve heard nothing but positive things about it, but I know the class sizes are large and I imagine that impacts how personal feedback can be, especially for girls. Great to read good things about the Tring Summer School. She does want to focus on ballet though. I hear lots of great things about Malvern so maybe that’s the one to go for if she doesn’t get WL and we can’t find a host family for Blommaert Ballet School. @SpideyDad I’m completely with you; I know that would be the best one for her to do. I’ve done it myself for the past three years 😉 

Hello everyone!

I know this is a massive long-shot, but is there anyone attending the Junior week of Sander Blommaert’s Summer School who might be able to host a 12 year-old (Year 7)? 

I’d love for my pupil to be able to do this Summer School as I know that the quality of teaching will be excellent and that lots of individual corrections will be given, but it’s tricky as it’s non-residential and of course, she’s far too young to stay up in London and commute alone.

Alternatively, does anyone know of other ballet Summer Schools where the class sizes aren’t enormous, where the teaching is excellent and where there is plenty of dancing each day?

She will apply for RBS but is obviously unlikely to be offered a place. She has been put on the Waiting List the last two years.

Moorland was excellent but it’s just so far away for us!

She will probably do Elmhurst’s as she is a full-time student there, but I would like her to experience something else too.

Off piste suggestions particularly welcome!

Thank you!

As predicted, no scholarship for us this year. Congratulations to your daughter @sunrise81! What great news to end the term with!

Last year, the London semi-finals were at RBS Upper School. Around 75 girls got through to the semi-finals for White Lodge with around 30 being put through to finals.

@sunrise81 Me too! I know she stands a microscopic chance but they must know by now! 

All the auditions are over now. I wonder when we’ll hear? Did you see that nearly 300 children auditioned?! 😰 My (ex-) pupil found the class very hard in terms of content so doubt she was able to show herself in her best light and she’s not expecting anything.

One of the current Year 7s at White Lodge received a straight no from Tring. There is an element of luck to these auditions and happening to have someone in the room whose eye you catch! 🤷🏻‍♀️

This is very good news, thank you!

As a teacher, I was also able to phone up to ask how far down the DaDa waiting list my pupil was which would have helped us with our decision making. If they’re two or three on the waiting list then I’d say they’re quite likely to be offered a funded place, but beyond that, probably not. Only a handful of funded places are available at Tring, across the whole age-range.

I have just finished Yasmine Naghdi’s mum’s book, Tears of a Ballet Mum. I would highly recommend reading that. Furthermore, she cites other worthwhile books on the subject in hers.